1 Corinthians 7:29

1 Corinthians 7:29 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
• New International Version (NIV)What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not;
• English Standard Version (ESV)This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:29

27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28However, if you do get married, you have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited, so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything, 31and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.

1 Corinthians 7:29 word by word

Τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν· τὸ λοιπόν ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• I sayφημίphēmi · to assertG5346
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• the timeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the timeκαιρόςkairos · time/right timeG2540
• shortσυστέλλωsustellō · to wrap upG4958
• it remainethεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ·λοιπόνloipon · henceforthG3063
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• bothκαίkai · andG2532
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• wivesγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• as thoughὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• noneμήmē · notG3361

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Job 14:1Anyone born of woman is short of days and full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:4“Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am.
• Psalms 90:5You end their lives; they sleep. They are like grass that grows in the morning —
• Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass — he blooms like a flower of the field;
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for anyone in life, in the few days of his futile life that he spends like a shadow? Who can tell anyone what will happen after him under the sun?
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
• Romans 13:11Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
• Hebrews 13:13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing his disgrace.
• 1 Peter 4:7The end of all things is near; therefore, be alert and sober-minded for prayer.
• 2 Peter 3:8Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
• 1 John 2:17And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
• Isaiah 24:1Look, the Lord is stripping the earth bare and making it desolate. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants:
• Isaiah 40:6A voice was saying, “Cry out!” Another said, “What should I cry out?” “All humanity is grass, and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.
• James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”
• 1 Peter 1:24For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls,

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29The time is short - These persecutions and distresses are at the door, and life itself will soon be run out. Even then Nero was plotting those grievous persecutions with which he not only afflicted, but devastated the Church of Christ. They that have wives - Let none begin to think of any comfortable settlement for his family, let him sit loose to all earthly concerns, and stand ready prepared to escape for his life, or meet death, as the providence of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29But this I say - Whether you are married or not, or in whatever condition of life you may be, I would remind you that life hastens to a close, and that its grand business is to be prepared to die. It matters little in what condition or rank of life we are, if we are ready to depart to another and a better world. The time is short - The time is “contracted,” “drawn into a narrow space” ( ́ sunestalmenos). The word which is used here is commonly applied to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 25-35Verses 25-35 Considering the distress of those times, the unmarried state was best. Notwithstanding, the apostle does not condemn marriage. How opposite are those to the apostle Paul who forbid many to marry, and entangle them with vows to remain single, whether they ought to do so or not! He exhorts all Christians to holy indifference toward the world. As to relations; they must not set their hearts on the comforts of the state. As to afflictions; they…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-35Paul provides three reasons why it is often better for single people to stay unmarried. First, single people face fewer daily problems than married people. Second, since the end is near, Christians should not let marriage and worldly matters be their main focus. Their main focus should be Christ and eternity. Third, marriage involves earthly responsibilities and divided interests, so those who stay single can dedicate their lives more fully to serving…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2929. this I say--A summing up of the whole, wherein he draws the practical inference from what precedes (1Co 15:50). the time--the season (so the Greek) of this present dispensation up to the coming of the Lord (Ro 13:11). He uses the Greek expression which the Lord used in Lu 21:8; Mr 13:33. short--literally, "contracted." it remaineth--The oldest manuscripts read, "The time (season) is shortened as to what remains, in order that both they," &c.; that is…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Continence
• Marriage
• Spirituality
• Watchfulness
• Wife
• Worldliness
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Abuse
• Attend
• Consent
• Contain
• Distraction
• Loose
• Mercy
• Revelation of Christ
• Snare
• Sorrow

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings