1 Corinthians 7:29

1 Corinthians 7:29 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
• New International Version (NIV)What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not;
• English Standard Version (ESV)This 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,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none,

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:29

27The one bound to a wife should not seek divorce. The one released from a wife should not seek marriage. 28But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face difficult circumstances, and I am trying to spare you such problems. And I say this, brothers and sisters: The time is short. So then those who have wives should be as those who have none, 30those with tears like those not weeping, those who rejoice like those not rejoicing, those who buy like those without possessions, 31those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.

1 Corinthians 7:29 word by word

Τοῦτο δέ φημι, ἀδελφοί, ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν· τὸ λοιπόν ἵνα καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες γυναῖκας ὡς μὴ ἔχοντες ὦσιν,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• I sayφημίphēmi · to assertG5346
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• the timeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the timeκαιρόςkairos · time/right timeG2540
• shortσυστέλλωsustellō · to wrap upG4958
• it remainethεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• ·λοιπόνloipon · henceforthG3063
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• bothκαίkai · andG2532
• haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• wivesγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• as thoughὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• noneμήmē · notG3361

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Job 14:1“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:4“O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life! Let me realize how quickly my life will pass!
• Psalms 90:5You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;
• Psalms 103:15A person’s life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For no one knows what is best for a person during his life – during the few days of his fleeting life – for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.
• Romans 13:11And do this because we know the time, that it is already the hour for us to awake from sleep, for our salvation is now nearer than when we became believers.
• Hebrews 13:13We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced.
• 1 Peter 4:7For the culmination of all things is near. So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.
• 2 Peter 3:8Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.
• 1 John 2:17And the world is passing away with all its desires, but the person who does the will of God remains forever.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the life’s breath returns to God who gave it.
• Isaiah 24:1Look, the Lord is ready to devastate the earth and leave it in ruins; he will mar its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
• Isaiah 40:6A voice says, “Cry out!” Another asks, “What should I cry out?” The first voice responds: “All people are like grass, and all their promises are like the flowers in the field.
• James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”
• 1 Peter 1:24For all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of the grass; the grass withers and the flower falls off,

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 29The time is short - These persecutions and distresses are at the door, and life itself will soon be run out. Even then Nero was plotting those grievous persecutions with which he not only afflicted, but devastated the Church of Christ. They that have wives - Let none begin to think of any comfortable settlement for his family, let him sit loose to all earthly concerns, and stand ready prepared to escape for his life, or meet death, as the providence of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 29But this I say - Whether you are married or not, or in whatever condition of life you may be, I would remind you that life hastens to a close, and that its grand business is to be prepared to die. It matters little in what condition or rank of life we are, if we are ready to depart to another and a better world. The time is short - The time is “contracted,” “drawn into a narrow space” ( ́ sunestalmenos). The word which is used here is commonly applied to…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. 2929. this I say--A summing up of the whole, wherein he draws the practical inference from what precedes (1Co 15:50). the time--the season (so the Greek) of this present dispensation up to the coming of the Lord (Ro 13:11). He uses the Greek expression which the Lord used in Lu 21:8; Mr 13:33. short--literally, "contracted." it remaineth--The oldest manuscripts read, "The time (season) is shortened as to what remains, in order that both they," &c.; that is…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:29

• Continence
• Marriage
• Spirituality
• Watchfulness
• Wife
• Worldliness
• Zeal, Religious

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