1 Corinthians 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
1Cor 7:1
Περὶ δὲ ὧν ἐγράψατε· καλὸν ἀνθρώπῳ γυναικὸς μὴ ἅπτεσθαι.
1Cor 7:2
διὰ δὲ τὰς πορνείας, ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω, καὶ ἑκάστη τὸν ἴδιον ἄνδρα ἐχέτω.
1Cor 7:3
Τῇ γυναικὶ, ὁ ἀνὴρ τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἀποδιδότω· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ, ἡ γυνὴ τῷ ἀνδρί.
1Cor 7:4
ἡ γυνὴ, τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλὰ ὁ ἀνήρ· ὁμοίως δὲ, καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος οὐκ ἐξουσιάζει, ἀλλὰ ἡ γυνή.
1Cor 7:5
Μὴ ἀποστερεῖτε ἀλλήλους, εἰ μήτι ἂν ἐκ συμφώνου, πρὸς καιρὸν, ἵνα σχολάσητε τῇ προσευχῇ· καὶ πάλιν, ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἦτε, ἵνα μὴ πειράζῃ ὑμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς, διὰ τὴν ἀκρασίαν ὑμῶν.
1Cor 7:6 τοῦτο δὲ λέγω κατὰ συνγνώμην, οὐ κατ’ ἐπιταγήν.
1Cor 7:7
θέλω δὲ πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ὡς καὶ ἐμαυτόν. ἀλλὰ ἕκαστος ἴδιον ἔχει χάρισμα ἐκ Θεοῦ· ὁ μὲν οὕτως, ὁ δὲ οὕτως.
1Cor 7:8
Λέγω δὲ τοῖς ἀγάμοις καὶ ταῖς χήραις, καλὸν αὐτοῖς ἐὰν μείνωσιν ὡς κἀγώ.
1Cor 7:9
εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐγκρατεύονται, γαμησάτωσαν· κρεῖττον γάρ ἐστιν γαμῆσαι ἢ πυροῦσθαι.
Paraphrase:
Comments:
1Cor 7:10
Τοῖς δὲ γεγαμηκόσιν παραγγέλλω— οὐκ ἐγὼ, ἀλλὰ ὁ Κύριος— γυναῖκα ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς μὴ χωρισθῆναι·
Now to those who are married, I command, not I but the Lord, a wife from the husband not to leave.
Paraphrase: Next I give my instructions to those Christians who are married. First, let me just note this instruction did not originate with me; it comes from Jesus Himself. (Matt 19:6); Therefore, our love for Christ and all what He means to us should lead us to remember with gratitude His teaching on this subject. Jesus clearly forbad divorce for all but a very limited set of circumstances.
Comments:
χωρισθῆναι is a complementary infinitive with παραγγέλλω.
“A Roman woman could get a divorce as easily as her husband could.” Keener, “Adultery, Divorce,” Dictionary of New Testament Background.
1Cor 7:11
ἐὰν δὲ καὶ χωρισθῇ, μενέτω ἄγαμος, ἢ τῷ ἀνδρὶ καταλλαγήτω· καὶ ἄνδρα γυναῖκα μὴ ἀφιέναι.
But even if she does leave, let her remain unmarried or to her husband let her be reconciled, and a husband is not to divorce the wife.
Paraphrase: Now if in spite of this command, a woman simply cannot live any longer with her husband, and she insists on leaving, then she has two options open to her. She must remain unmarried, or else she may work towards reconciliation with her husband. If she remarries, she commits adultery. (Matt 19:9) Of course, this command applies to the husband as well; he must not divorce his wife.
Comments:
1Cor 7:12
Τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς λέγω— ἐγώ οὐχ ὁ Κύριος· εἴ τις ἀδελφὸς γυναῖκα ἔχει ἄπιστον, καὶ αὕτη συνευδοκεῖ οἰκεῖν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, μὴ ἀφιέτω αὐτήν.
Now to the rest, I say; I not the Lord, if a certain brother has an unbelieving wife, and she agrees to live with him, let hem not send her away.
Paraphrase: Now let me speak to those of you who are married, but your spouse is not a believer. In these cases, we do not have any word from Jesus that we can look to. Nevertheless, I speak from the wisdom which the Spirit of God has given me. If any of you has come to faith in Christ but your wife remains an unbeliever, do not be alarmed. So long as your wife agrees to live with you in peace, do not divorce her. You should continue to show her all the grace and courtesy that God expects from us as Christians.
Comments:
Moffatt comments here that Paul’s care to distinguish between that teaching which came from Jesus and that which came from his own mind shows that in the NT times, teachers knew the negative social pressure that would come on those who just invented sayings from their favorite teachers to support their own ideas. source
1Cor 7:13
καὶ γυνὴ εἴ τις ἔχει ἄνδρα ἄπιστον, καὶ οὗτος συνευδοκεῖ οἰκεῖν μετ’ αὐτῆς, μὴ ἀφιέτω τὸν ἄνδρα.
and if any woman has an unbelieving husband and this one agrees to live with her, let her not divorce her husband.
Paraphrase: The same goes for a woman who has become a Christian, and her husband remains an unbeliever. Show him all the respect and grace that Christians are called to show to each other.
Comments:
1Cor 7:14
ἡγίασται γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ ἄπιστος, ἐν τῇ γυναικί· καὶ ἡγίασται ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄπιστος, ἐν τῷ ἀδελφῷ· ἐπεὶ ἄρα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν ἀκάθαρτά ἐστιν· νῦν δὲ ἅγιά ἐστιν.
for the unbelieving husband has been sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified in this brother. Assuming this, your children is unclean; but now it is holy.
Paraphrase: Here’s why you should not seek a divorce even when you find yourself married to an unbeliever. You might think to yourself; am I not as a Christian believer defiled by being married to an unbelieving spouse? Would it not be better to divorce my unbelieving spouse and thus avoid being defiled by my marriage to a non-Christian? Now this kind of thinking, while understandable, is completely wrong. In fact, the very opposite takes place. What really happens is that the unbelieving spouse is sanctified by being married to a Christian rather than the believing spouse being defiled by his/her marriage to a non-Christian. We all know and confess that the marriage relation is the most intimate human relationship possible. Now when a husband or a wife becomes a Christian, the entire relationship is sanctified even when one of the spouses remains a non-Christian. That is why we teach that even a non-Christian spouse is, in a sense, sanctified by the faith of his/her spouse. By sanctified here, I do not mean to say that they are saved by this relationship and reconciled to God. No, I mean to say that they are admitted into all the privileges of the covenant people of God. Now it’s surprising to me that you don’t see this since we already confess this to be true of our children. Don’t we all agree that our children are consecrated to God by being born to Christian parents and are thus participants with us in the covenant of grace? Otherwise, why would be baptize them if they are not recipients of God’s saving grace? How can we say that our children are consecrated to God by being born into a Christian family and at the same time say that our unbelieving spouse is not also sanctified by being in a Christian marriage? Why are the children sanctified but the unbelieving spouse is not? If one unbelieving spouse defiled the entire family, than even the children would be defiled and thus no different than pagan children. This, however, is not what we believe or practice.
Comments:
For ἐστιν, see principle 5.
For a more on this verse, see here.
1Cor 7:15
Εἰ δὲ ὁ ἄπιστος χωρίζεται, χωριζέσθω· οὐ δεδούλωται ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἡ ἀδελφὴ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις. ἐν δὲ εἰρήνῃ κέκληκεν ὑμᾶς ὁ Θεός.
But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. The brother or sister is not bound in such a case as this. Now in peace, God has called us.
Paraphrase: Nevertheless, if the unbelieving spouse abandons the spouse who has become a Christian, then this brother or sister is under no obligation to remain married. He or she is justified in seeking a divorce and is also free to remarry, only in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:39)
Comments:
Paul uses the verb δεω in 1 Corinthians 7:39 also referring to being released from the obligations of the marriage bond. I would argue that the meaning of δεω is the same as δεδούλωται in this verse; i.e. the believing spouse is no longer bound to her unbelieving spouse and is free to divorce and remarry which is clearly stated in v39. John Murray points out that δουλόω is a strong word than δέω; and therefore, there is no reason not to expect that the meaning is the same here as it pertains to the marriage bond. John Murray, “Divorce: Fourth Article,” Westminster Theological Journal 10, no. 2 (1947): 187–188.
1Cor 7:16
τί γὰρ οἶδας, γύναι, εἰ τὸν ἄνδρα σώσεις; ἢ τί οἶδας, ἄνερ, εἰ τὴν γυναῖκα σώσεις;
Paraphrase:
Comments:
1Cor 7:17
Εἰ μὴ ἑκάστῳ, ὡς ἐμέρισεν* ὁ Κύριος, ἕκαστον ὡς κέκληκεν ὁ Θεός, οὕτως περιπατείτω. καὶ οὕτως ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις πάσαις διατάσσομαι.
1Cor 7:18
περιτετμημένος τις ἐκλήθη; μὴ ἐπισπάσθω. ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ κέκληταί τις; μὴ περιτεμνέσθω.
1Cor 7:19
ἡ περιτομὴ οὐδέν ἐστιν, καὶ ἡ ἀκροβυστία οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τήρησις ἐντολῶν Θεοῦ.
1Cor 7:20
Ἕκαστος ἐν τῇ κλήσει ᾗ ἐκλήθη, ἐν ταύτῃ μενέτω.
Each in the calling which he was called, in this let him remain.
Paraphrase: My suggestion is that each person be content to remain in the calling to which God has called him.
Comments:
For μενέτω, see BBG 33.3.
1Cor 7:21
δοῦλος ἐκλήθης, μή σοι μελέτω· ἀλλ’ εἰ καὶ δύνασαι ἐλεύθερος γενέσθαι, μᾶλλον χρῆσαι.
A slave you were called? Let him it not be a worry to you, but if even you are able to become free, better to seize the opportunity.
Paraphrase: Were you a slave when God called you out of darkness and gave you a place in His family? Don’t let it bother you. Of course, if you have an opportunity of gaining you freedom, you should spring for it, but let me be clear, there is no shame in being a slave.
Comments:
1Cor 7:22
ὁ γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ κληθεὶς δοῦλος, ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου ἐστίν· ὁμοίως ὁ ἐλεύθερος κληθεὶς, δοῦλός ἐστιν Χριστοῦ.
For the one in the Lord being called a slave is a free man of the Lord. Likewise, a free man being called is a slave of Christ.
Paraphrase: The truth is that no matter what your status might be here on earth, it’s your status before God that really matters. Are you a slave on earth? You can be sure of this; you are a free man in the eyes of Jesus! Are you a free man on earth? Be sure of this; you are Christ’s slave!
Comments:
1Cor 7:23
Τιμῆς ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων.
A price you were bought, do not be slaves of men.
Paraphrase: Remember, your freedom was purchased at a high price. (1Peter 1:18) Now don’t go back to being slaves by seeking the approval of the society in which we live. Who cares what the world thinks of us? (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23)
Comments:
Diessmann sheds light on the ancient practice of manumission and Paul’s use of this concept. source He says that Paul made this ancient custom the basis of one of his profoundest contemplations about the Christ. See also Witherington Grace in Galatia, 340.
1Cor 7:24
ἕκαστος ἐν ᾧ ἐκλήθη, ἀδελφοί, ἐν τούτῳ μενέτω παρὰ Θεῷ.
1Cor 7:25
Περὶ δὲ τῶν παρθένων, ἐπιταγὴν Κυρίου οὐκ ἔχω· γνώμην δὲ δίδωμι, ὡς ἠλεημένος ὑπὸ Κυρίου, πιστὸς εἶναι.
1Cor 7:26 Νομίζω οὖν τοῦτο καλὸν ὑπάρχειν, διὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν ἀνάγκην, ὅτι καλὸν ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ οὕτως εἶναι.
1Cor 7:27 δέδεσαι γυναικί; μὴ ζήτει λύσιν. λέλυσαι ἀπὸ γυναικός; μὴ ζήτει γυναῖκα.
1Cor 7:28 ἐὰν δὲ καὶ γαμήσῃς, οὐχ ἥμαρτες· καὶ ἐὰν γήμῃ ἡ παρθένος, οὐχ ἥμαρτεν· θλῖψιν δὲ τῇ σαρκὶ ἕξουσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι· ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῶν φείδομαι.
1Cor 7:29 Τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί· ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν. τὸ λοιπὸν ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας, ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν·
1Cor 7:30 καὶ οἱ κλαίοντες, ὡς μὴ κλαίοντες· καὶ οἱ χαίροντες, ὡς μὴ χαίροντες· καὶ οἱ ἀγοράζοντες, ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες·
1Cor 7:31 καὶ οἱ χρώμενοι τὸν κόσμον, ὡς μὴ καταχρώμενοι. παράγει γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου.
1Cor 7:32 Θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀμερίμνους εἶναι. ὁ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῷ Κυρίῳ·
1Cor 7:33 ὁ δὲ γαμήσας, μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου, πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῇ γυναικί,
1Cor 7:34 καὶ μεμέρισται. καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος, μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ πνεύματι· ἡ δὲ γαμήσασα, μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου, πῶς ἀρέσῃ τῷ ἀνδρί.
1Cor 7:35 Τοῦτο δὲ πρὸς τὸ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν σύμφορον λέγω, οὐχ ἵνα βρόχον ὑμῖν ἐπιβάλω, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ εὔσχημον καὶ εὐπάρεδρον τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀπερισπάστως.
1Cor 7:36 Εἰ δέ τις ἀσχημονεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν παρθένον αὐτοῦ νομίζει, ἐὰν ᾖ ὑπέρακμος, καὶ οὕτως ὀφείλει γίνεσθαι, ὃ θέλει ποιείτω· οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· γαμείτωσαν.
1Cor 7:37 ὃς δὲ ἕστηκεν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἑδραῖος, μὴ ἔχων ἀνάγκην, ἐξουσίαν δὲ ἔχει περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου θελήματος, καὶ τοῦτο κέκρικεν, ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ καρδίᾳ, τηρεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον, καλῶς ποιήσει.
1Cor 7:38 Ὥστε καὶ, ὁ γαμίζων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον, καλῶς ποιεῖ· καὶ ὁ μὴ γαμίζων, κρεῖσσον ποιήσει.
1Cor 7:39 Γυνὴ δέδεται ἐφ’ ὅσον χρόνον ζῇ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς· ἐὰν δὲ κοιμηθῇ ὁ ἀνήρ, ἐλευθέρα ἐστὶν ᾧ θέλει γαμηθῆναι, μόνον ἐν Κυρίῳ.
1Cor 7:40 μακαριωτέρα δέ ἐστιν, ἐὰν οὕτως μείνῃ, κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν γνώμην· δοκῶ δὲ κἀγὼ Πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἔχειν.