1 Corinthians 7:27

1 Corinthians 7:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
• New International Version (NIV)Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:27

25You asked me a question about people who have not yet married. The Lord has not told me any special rule about this. But I will tell you what I myself think about it. The Lord has been very kind to me. You know that you can believe what I say. 26This is what I think: There are many troubles in the world today. So it is better for everybody to continue as they are. If you have a wife, do not try to send her away. If you do not have a wife, do not try to marry. 28But if you do marry, that is not wrong. And if a young woman marries, that is not wrong. But people who marry will have many troubles during their life together. I want to save you from problems like that. 29My Christian friends, this is what I mean: The time that remains is very short. So men who have wives should live as if they had no wife.

1 Corinthians 7:27 word by word

δέδεσαι γυναικί; μὴ ζήτει λύσιν· λέλυσαι ἀπὸ γυναικός; μὴ ζήτει γυναῖκα.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Art thou boundδέωdeō · to bindG1210
• unto a wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• seekζητέωzēteō · to seekG2212
• notμήmē · notG3361
• to be loosedλύσιςlusis · divorceG3080
• Art thou loosedλύωluō · to looseG3089
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:27

• 1 Corinthians 7:12To 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.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27Art thou bound unto a wife? - i.e. Married; for the marriage contract was considered in the light of a bond. Seek not to be loosed - Neither regret your circumstances, notwithstanding the present distress, nor seek on this account for a dissolution of the marriage contract. But if thou art under no matrimonial engagements, do not for the present enter into any.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27Art thou bound unto a wife? - Art thou already married? Marriage is often thus represented as a “tie,” a “bond,” etc.; see the note at Romans 7:2. Seek not to be loosed - Seek not a “dissolution” ( ́ lusin) of the connection, either by divorce or by a separation from each other; see the notes on 1 Corinthians 7:10-17. Art thou loosed from a wife? - Art thou unmarried? It should have been rendered “free from” a wife; or art thou single? It does not imply…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. 2727. Illustrating the meaning of "so to be," 1Co 7:26. Neither the married (those "bound to a wife") nor the unmarried (those "loosed from a wife") are to "seek" a change of state (compare 1Co 7:20, 24).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:27

• Continence
• Marriage
• Wife

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