1 Corinthians 7:2-16

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.

10I will say this to people who have married. (This is not my rule. It is a rule that comes from the Lord himself.) A wife must not leave her husband.

11But if she does leave him, she must not marry another man. Or she should go back to live with her husband. In the same way, a husband must not send his wife away.

12To all you other people, I say this. (This is what I think. The Lord has not spoken about it.) A Christian man may have a wife who does not believe in Christ. If she agrees to continue living with him, then he should not send her away.

13Also, a Christian woman may have a husband who does not believe in Christ. If he agrees to continue living with her, then she should not leave him.

14God accepts a husband who does not believe in Christ because of his Christian wife. And God accepts a wife who does not believe in Christ because of her Christian husband. If that was not true, the children would not belong to God. But God does accept them, because to him they are now clean.

15But the husband or wife who does not believe in Christ may want to leave. If they want to become separate, let them do that. If that happens, the Christian man or woman is now free. God wants you to live in peace.

16If you are a Christian wife, you might save your husband. If you are a Christian husband, you might save your wife. But you can not be sure of what will happen.