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;
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage.

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:29

27Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. 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; 30those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form 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“Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:4“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.
• Psalms 90:5Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning:
• Psalms 103:15The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for a person in life, during the few and meaningless days they pass through like a shadow? Who can tell them what will happen under the sun after they are gone?
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
• Romans 13:11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
• Hebrews 13:13Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.
• 1 Peter 4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
• 2 Peter 3:8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
• 1 John 2:17The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
• Isaiah 24:1See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
• Isaiah 40:6A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
• James 4:13Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”
• 1 Peter 1:24For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,

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