English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 7:27
27Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married.
Context of 1 Corinthians 7:27
25Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. 29This 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,
Read all of 1 Corinthians 71 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.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:27
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
In the dictionaries
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
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