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1 Corinthians 7:34-36
New Catholic Bible
1 Corinthians 7:34-36
New Catholic Bible
34 and his interests are divided. In the same way, an unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the affairs of the Lord and strives to be holy in both body and spirit, whereas the married woman is concerned about worldly matters and how she may please her husband.
35 I am speaking about this for your own good. I have no intention to impose any restraint upon you, but I wish you to be guided by a sense of propriety, to devote yourself to the Lord free from distraction.
36 Freedom To Marry.[a] If a man feels that he is behaving improperly toward his virgin because a critical moment has come[b] and it seems that something should be done, let him do what he wills. He does not sin if there is a marriage.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 7:36 It is not clear whether Paul is speaking of a father who has a daughter of marriage age, or of the guardian of an orphan, or simply of fiancés (a Jewish espousal was a real marriage, but not yet consummated). Paul is keeping to his general principle: Answer God’s call in the life situation in which we find ourselves.
Another translation could read as follows:
“36If a man feels that he is behaving improperly toward his fiancée and he believes that something should be done because he is having difficulty restraining his passions, they should marry as he wishes. There is nothing sinful in that. 37However, if he stands firm in his resolve and is under no obligation, and, being free to carry out his own will, he decides to respect her virginity, he will do well. 38Therefore, the man who marries his fiancée does well, and the man who refrains from marriage does better still.” - 1 Corinthians 7:36 A critical moment has come: this probably refers to the fact that the woman or virgin may soon be beyond the usual age to marry and bear children or the fact that passions are becoming uncontrollable (see 1 Cor 7:9).
