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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV) But brothers and sisters, I will say this: the time is short, so from now on, even those who are married should live as if they’re not.![]()
OET-LV But this I_am_saying, brothers, the season having_been_shortened is.
For/Because_the rest, in_order_that even the ones having wives, as not having may_be,![]()
SR-GNT Τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν. Τὸ λοιπὸν, ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας, ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν, ‡
(Touto de faʸmi, adelfoi, ho kairos sunestalmenos estin. To loipon, hina kai hoi eⱪontes gunaikas, hōs maʸ eⱪontes ōsin,)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, magenta:vocative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT But this I say, brothers: The time is shortened, so that from now on, even the ones having wives should be as having none;
UST My fellow believers, what I am about to tell you is important. The end times are not far away. Therefore, until then, each man who has a wife should live like a man who does not have a wife.
BSB [What] I am saying, brothers, [is] that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
MSB [What] I am saying, brothers, [is] that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
BLB Now I say this, brothers: The season is shortened; that from now on both those having wives, should be as having none;
AICNT But this I say, brothers, the time is short; from now on, let those who have wives be as though they had none,
OEB What I mean, friends, is this – the time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none,
WEBBE But I say this, brothers: the time is short. From now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;
WMBB (Same as above)
NET And I say this, brothers and sisters: The time is short. So then those who have wives should be as those who have none,
LSV And this I say, brothers, the time from now on is having been shortened—that both those having wives may be as not having;
FBV I'm telling you, brothers and sisters, that time is short, and from now on for those who are married it may seem as if they are not married,
TCNT But I say this, brothers: The time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as though they had none,
T4T My fellow believers, this is what I mean: There is not much time left before Christ returns. So, from now on those men who are married should devote themselves to serving the Lord as much as they would if they were not married.
LEB But I say this, brothers: the time is shortened, that from now on even those who have wives should be as if they do not have wives,
BBE But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not;
Moff I mean, brothers,--
⇔ the interval has been shortened;
⇔ so let those who have wives live as if they had none,
Wymth Yet of this I warn you, brethren: the time has been shortened—so that henceforth those who have wives should be as though they had none,
ASV But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;
DRA This therefore I say, brethren; the time is short; it remaineth, that they also who have wives, be as if they had none;
YLT And this I say, brethren, the time henceforth is having been shortened — that both those having wives may be as not having;
Drby But this I say, brethren, the time is straitened. For the rest, that they who have wives, be as not having [any]:
RV But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none;
(But this I say, brethren/brothers, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none; )
SLT And this I say, brethren, the time is restricted; as to the rest, that they also having wives should be as not having;
Wbstr But this I say, brethren, The time is short. It remaineth, that both they that have wives, be as though they had none;
KJB-1769 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
(But this I say, brethren/brothers, the time is short: it remaineth/remains, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; )
KJB-1611 But this I say, brethren, the time is short. It remaineth, that both they that haue wiues, be as though they had none:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)
Bshps But this say I brethren, the tyme is short: It remayneth, that they which haue wyues, be as though they had none:
(But this say I brethren/brothers, the time is short: It remaineth/remains, that they which have wives, be as though they had none:)
Gnva And this I say, brethren, because the time is short, hereafter that both they which haue wiues, be as though they had none:
(And this I say, brethren/brothers, because the time is short, hereafter that both they which have wives, be as though they had none: )
Cvdl Howbeit this I saye brethren: the tyme is shorte. Farthermore this is the meanynge, yt they which haue wyues, be as though they had none:
(Howbeit this I say brethren/brothers: the time is shorte. Farthermore this is the meaning, it they which have wives, be as though they had none:)
TNT This saye I brethren the tyme is shorte. It remayneth that they which have wives be as though they had none
(This say I brethren/brothers the time is shorte. It remaineth/remains that they which have wives be as though they had none )
Wycl But Y spare you. Therfor, britheren, Y seie this thing, The tyme is schort. Another is this, that thei that han wyues, be as thouy thei hadden noon;
(But I spare you. Therefore, brethren/brothers, I say this thing, The time is schort. Another is this, that they that have wives, be as though they had noon;)
Luth Das sage ich aber, liebe Brüder: Die Zeit ist kurz. Weiter ist das die Meinung: Die da Weiber haben, daß sie seien, als hätten sie keine, und die da weinen, als weineten sie nicht,
(The said I but, love(v) brothers: The time/period is short. Further is the the opinion: The there women have, that they/she/them be, as would_have they/she/them no, and the there weep/cry, as cried they/she/them not,)
ClVg Hoc itaque dico, fratres: tempus breve est: reliquum est, ut et qui habent uxores, tamquam non habentes sint:[fn]
(This therefore I_mean/say, brothers: time/season short/brief it_is: remainder it_is, as and who/which they_have wives, as_if not/no having let_them_be: )
7.29 Hoc itaque dico. Hic ad temperantiam monet, quasi diceret: Quando conjungemini, ut id sine peccato possit fieri; hoc consilium do vobis, ut qui habent Tanquam non habentes sint. Hoc facit qui habens uxorem, reddit et non exigit debitum; qui propter infirmitatem propriam ducit uxorem, plangens potius quia sine uxore esse non potuit, quam gaudens quia duxit, et maxime quia pari consensu continentiam servant. Beatiora sane conjugia indicanda sunt, quæ sive filiis procreatis, sive prole contempta continentiam pari consensu servare potuerunt.
7.29 This therefore I_mean/say. Here/This to temperantiam advises, as_if would_say: When conyungemini, as that without sin can to_be_done; this advice do to_you(pl), as who/which they_have Tanquam not/no having let_them_be. This he_does who/which having wife, returns and not/no demands debitum; who/which because weakness ownm leads wife, plangens rather because without wife to_be not/no could, how gaudens because led, and especially/most because pari consensu continence servant. Blessedora sane conyugia indicanda are, which if/or to_the_children procreatis, if/or prole contempta continence pari consensu to_keep they_could.
UGNT τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν. τὸ λοιπὸν, ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας, ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν;
(touto de faʸmi, adelfoi, ho kairos sunestalmenos estin. to loipon, hina kai hoi eⱪontes gunaikas, hōs maʸ eⱪontes ōsin;)
SBL-GNT τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ⸂ἐστίν· τὸ λοιπὸν⸃ ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν,
(touto de faʸmi, adelfoi, ho kairos sunestalmenos ⸂estin; to loipon⸃ hina kai hoi eⱪontes gunaikas hōs maʸ eⱪontes ōsin,)
RP-GNT Τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος· τὸ λοιπόν ἐστιν ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν·
(Touto de faʸmi, adelfoi, ho kairos sunestalmenos; to loipon estin hina kai hoi eⱪontes gunaikas hōs maʸ eⱪontes ōsin;)
TC-GNT Τοῦτο δέ φημι, [fn]ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος· [fn]τὸ λοιπόν ἐστιν ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσι·
(Touto de faʸmi, adelfoi, ho kairos sunestalmenos; to loipon estin hina kai hoi eⱪontes gunaikas hōs maʸ eⱪontes ōsi; )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
7:1-40 Paul consistently states his strong conviction that true Christians, as slaves of Christ, are wholly claimed by Christ the Lord for his own service. Because of this, he recommends that Christians remain single, but concedes that getting married is no sin.
In an earlier letter to Paul, the Corinthians had mentioned some problems and asked him some questions. There are no longer any copies of this letter, so we can only guess what they wrote by reading Paul’s answers. Apparently some of the questions the Corinthians had asked were about marriage and sex. In this section Paul discussed these topics. He wrote about sexual intercourse, divorce, marrying again after a person’s husband or wife dies, and never marrying.
From the way Paul talked, it appears that the Corinthians were thinking that if believers want to be holy, they should abstain from sexual relations. The Corinthians were wondering if married people should sleep together, if Christians who were married to non-Christians should divorce them, and if Christians should get married. Paul gave them some wise teaching on each of these topics. In 7:1–16 he addressed Christians who were married. In 7:17–24 he wrote about his general rule for Christians: Remain as you are. In 7:25–38 he taught Christians who were not married. In 7:39–40 he addressed women whose husbands had died.
Other possible section headings include:
Paul gave/wrote instructions about Christian marriage
Paul’s teaching on marriage
Paul addressed the whole group of believers. He told them that the present way of life in this world would not last much longer. He instructed them as to how they should think and live when all will soon change.
What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short.
¶ My fellow believers, I will explain what I mean. Our(incl) time here is brief/limited.
¶ And furthermore, my friends, consider this: This time we live in will not last much longer.
What I am saying: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as What I am saying here can literally be translated as: “Now this I declare.” Here Paul introduced some important Christian teaching that is background explanation for what he had just said.
brothers: The Greek word that the BSB translates as brothers here refers to the believers in the church.
the time is short: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as the time is short is more literally “the time has been shortened.” Paul was saying that the time had become or grown brief/short. Soon God will change the world and the way people live in it. Other ways to translate this include:
we(incl) do not have much time
only a short while remains
the time we live in will not last long (REB)
there is not much time left (GNT)
the time: The Greek word that the BSB translates as time refers to a period of time set aside for a purpose. Here it refers to the time God has set aside to finish his work. That time will end when Christ comes back to earth again.
These five verse parts are very similar in form. Each of them is a polite or soft command. Paul was telling the Corinthian believers how he wanted them to live. He wanted them to realize that the things of this earthly life are not the most important. Christ will return and then all these things will come to an end. Things like marrying and buying are all part of our life in this world and will not last forever.
In some languages it may be natural to translate these indirect third-person commands as polite second-person commands. For example:
From now on I want those of you who have wives to live as if you had no wives, those of you who weep as though you did not weep, those of you who are joyful, as though you were not, and those of you who make a purchase, as though you had nothing. And those of you who use the things of this world, I want you to not be dependent on them.
For another suggestion as to how to break up the long sentence in the BSB into shorter sentences, see the General Comment on 7:29b-31a at the end of 7:31a.
From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
So from this time on, Christian/believing men who are married should live as if they were not married.
So for the rest of the time we are living in this world, do not be overly/too concerned/worried about your wife/marriage.
So during the time we have left in this world, remember that having a wife or not is not the most important thing in our life.
those who have wives should live as if they had none: In this part Paul addressed men, but the same teaching would be true for anyone who was married. Paul wanted them to remember that our time here in this life is short. He did not want them to spend all their time thinking about the things of this life such as marriage. Other ways to translate this include:
those with wives should not focus only on their marriage (NLT)
you married men should not make your wife your main concern
Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns
τοῦτο & φημι
this & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
Here, this refers forward to what Paul is about to say. Paul refers to what he will say before he says it in order to emphasize what he is about to say. If your language would not use this to refer to something that will soon be said, you could use a word or phrase that does introduces something about to be said and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [listen to what I am about to say]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ἀδελφοί
brothers
Although brothers is masculine, Paul is using it to refer to any believer, whether man or woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express brothers with a non gendered word or refer to both genders. Alternate translation: [brothers and sisters]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
When time is shortened, an event at the end of that time is about to happen. In other words, something is about to happen. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind The time is shortenedwith a comparable metaphor or a descriptive phrase. Alternate translation: [There is not much time left] or [The time until the event occurs is short]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on the time, which is shortened, rather than focusing on the person doing the “shortening.” If you must state who does the action, Paul implies that “God” does it. Alternate translation: [God has shortened the time]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ καιρὸς
the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
Here, The time could refer to the time until: (1) the events of the end times begin. Alternate translation: [The time until the end] or [The time until Jesus comes back] (2) the “distress” he has mentioned in [7:26](../07/26.md), [28](../07/28.md) begins. Alternate translation: [The time until the distress]
Note 6 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
τὸ λοιπὸν, ἵνα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
Here Paul introduces how the Corinthians should behave now that the time has been shortened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express so that from now on with a word or phrase that draws an inference or introduces a result. If you use the following alternate translation, you may need to add a period before it. Alternate translation: [This means that, from the present on]
ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν
as (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
Alternate translation: [should behave like those who have none]
Note 7 topic: writing-pronouns
μὴ ἔχοντες
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τοῦτο Δέ φημί ἀδελφοί ὁ καιρός συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν Τό λοιπόν ἵνα καί οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μή ἔχοντες ὦσιν)
Here, none refers back to wives. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express none by clarifying that it refers to wives. Alternate translation: [those having no wives]