Marriage, singleness and faithfulness

22 Wives should place themselves under their own husbands,[ref] just like they’re under the master, 23 because the husband is the leader of the wife just like the messiah is the head and saviour of his body, the church. 24 ⇔Wives should place themselves under their husbands in everything just like the church should place itself under the messiah.

25 You husbands must love your wives,[ref] just like the messiah loved the church and gave himself completely for it, 26 so that he could separate the church from the world and wash it clean with the water of the good message 27 in order to present the splendid church to himself—without any stains or wrinkles or anything like that—just pure and unblemished. 28 So husbands should love their wives just like their own bodies—anyone who loves his wife is loving himself. 29 No one hates their own body, but they feed and look after it, just like the messiah does for the church 30 and we are parts of his body. 31 That’s the reason why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes joined with his wife and the two of them become one unit.[ref] 32 This is an amazing mystery but I’m talking about the messiah and the church. 33 But it applies to you all: each one of you should love your wife like yourself and the wife should respect her husband.

13 Continue to love your fellow believers. 2 Don’t be lax in showing hospitality to others, because some people who’ve been hospitable have actually hosted God’s messengers without even realising.[ref] 3 Don’t forget about those who are in prison—help them as if you all were in prison with them. Also, help those who are being mistreated because you, yourselves are human.

4 Marriage needs to be honoured by everyone and the marriage relationship kept pure, because God will judge adulterers and those who are sexually immoral.

5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said:

“I’ll never leave you;

Indeed I’ll never abandon you.”[ref]

6 So in turn, we can confidently say:

“Yahweh is my helper,

so I won’t be afraid.

What can mere people do to me?”[ref]

7 Now concerning what you all wrote to me: “It’s good for a man not to touch a woman.” 2 However, because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 Both husbands and wives have a marital duty to each other in terms of sexual needs: 4 wives’ bodies belong to their husbands, not to themselves, and similarly, husbands’ bodies belong to their wives, not to themselves. 5 Don’t deprive each other, except by mutual agreement so that you may devote yourselves to prayer for an agreed time, and then be together again, so that Satan can’t easily tempt you all because of your lack of self-control.

6 But that isn’t a command—I’m only suggesting that it’s good to do,[fn] 7 and I wish everyone could be like me. But each person has their own gift from God—one has such-and-such a gift while someone else has a different one.

8 Now to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it’s good if they remain like me,[fn] 9 but if they don’t have self-control, they should marry because it’s better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

10 Now I (well, not I, but the master) command married people that a wife is not to be separated from her husband[ref] 11 (but even if she might be separated, let her remain unmarried, or let her be reconciled to the husband), and a husband is not to divorce a wife.

12 But to the rest I say (I, not the master) that if any believing husband has an unbelieving wife and she agrees to live with him, he shouldn’t divorce her. 13 Similarly, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he agrees to live with her, she shouldn’t divorce him. 14 You see, the unbelieving husband is exposed to faith through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is exposed to faith through the believing husband, otherwise your children would be ‘defiled’, but now they are declared innocent. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let that person go. In such cases, the believing spouse is not tied down to serving their departed spouse, but rather God has called us to peace. 16 You see, how do you know, woman, whether you will cause your husband to be saved? Or how do you know, man, whether you will cause your wife to be saved?

25 Now concerning unmarried women, I don’t have instructions from Yahweh but I’ll give my opinions as someone who’s trustworthy thanks to Yahweh’s mercy.

26 Therefore, I think it’s good because of the distress that’s about to come, that people should stay as they are currently. 27 If you’re married, then don’t try to get out of it. If you’re not committed, don’t look for a spouse. 28 But if a single guy or single girl get married, that’s not a sin, but they’ll likely face difficult circumstances and I’m trying to spare you from that.

29 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. 30 Those who are mourning should act as if they’re not, those who are celebrating should act as if they’re not, and those who are buying act as if they don’t own anything, 31 and those who are using this world, as if they’re not using it, because the present form of this world will soon pass away.

32 But I’d like you to be free from concern. Single men are concerned about things of the master—pleasing the master—33 but married men are concerned about worldly affairs—wanting to please their wives—so they’re divided. And unmarried or single women 34 are concerning about things of the master—so that both their bodies and their spirits can be separate from the world—but married women are concerned about worldly affairs—wanting to please their husbands.

35 Now I said all that for your benefit—not to load you all with rules, but to act in ways that are appropriate and devoted to the master without any distractions.