God’s Word Translation
1 Corinthians 7:6
6What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion.
1 Corinthians 7:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
- New International Version (NIV)I say this as a concession, not as a command.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now as a concession, not a command, I say this.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment.
Context of 1 Corinthians 7:6
4A wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does. 5Don’t withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should get back together so that Satan doesn’t use your lack of self-control to tempt you. What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion. 7I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, and these gifts vary from person to person. 8I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 71 Corinthians 7:6 word by word
τοῦτο δὲ λέγω κατὰ συγγνώμην οὐ κατ᾽ ἐπιταγήν.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:6
- 1 Corinthians 7:12I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her.
- 2 Corinthians 8:8I’m not commanding you, but I’m testing how genuine your love is by pointing out the dedication of others.
- 2 Corinthians 11:17What I say as I start bragging is foolishness. It’s not something I would say if I were speaking for the Lord.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6I speak this by permission, etc. - It was a constant custom of the more conscientious rabbins, to make a difference between the things which they enjoined on their own judgment, and those which they built on the authority of the law. Thus Rabbi Tancum: "The washing of hands before meat is in our own power; washing after meat is commanded." In relation to this point Dr. Lightfoot produces some examples from the Jewish writers: "The man is commanded…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6But I speak this by permission - It is not quite certain whether the word “this” ( ͂ touto), in this verse, refers to what precedes, or to what follows. On this commentators are divided. The more natural and obvious interpretation would be to refer it to the preceding statement. I am inclined to think that the mare natural construction is the true one. and that Paul refers to what he had said in 1 Corinthians 7:5. Most recent commentators, as Macknight…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-7Paul prefers being single, but he acknowledges that both marriage and being single are gifts from God to different people.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. by permission ... not of commandment--not by God's permission to me to say it: but, "by way of permission to you, not as a commandment." "This" refers to the directions, 1Co 7:2-5.Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:6
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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