1 Corinthians 7:1-9

1You wrote to ask me about certain things. You say, ‘It is a good thing when a man does not marry.’

2That may be true, but then people may have sex in wrong ways. So every man should have his own wife and every woman should have her own husband.

3Then they may have sex with each other in the right way. A husband should agree to have sex with his wife. And the wife should do the same thing for her husband.

4The wife does not rule over her own body to decide when to have sex. She belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not rule over his own body. He belongs to his wife.

5Do not refuse to have sex with each other, unless both of you agree to stop for a short time. Then you can use more time to pray. But you should come together again soon, as husband and wife. If not, Satan may try to make you do something wrong. You may want too strongly to have sex with someone else.

6I am saying these things to help you. I am not telling you what you must do.

7It would be good if all of you could live in the way that I do. But each person has his own gift from God. God helps one person to live in a certain way. God helps another person with a different gift.

8I will say this to those of you who have not married yet, and to those who are widows. It is better for you to remain alone. That is how I myself live.

9But if you want to have sex too strongly, then you should marry. It is better to do that than to want to have sex all the time.