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 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 bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. 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, 30those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form 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 who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble.
• Psalms 39:4“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.
• Psalms 90:5You carry them away like a flood; They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass which grows up:
• Psalms 103:15As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
• Ecclesiastes 6:12For who knows what is good for man in life, all the days of his vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun?
• Ecclesiastes 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
• Romans 13:11And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
• Hebrews 13:13Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
• 1 Peter 4:7But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
• 2 Peter 3:8But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
• 1 John 2:17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
• Ecclesiastes 12:7Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.
• Isaiah 24:1Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants.
• Isaiah 40:6The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
• James 4:13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
• 1 Peter 1:24because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

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