1 Corinthians 7:14

1 Corinthians 7:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
• New International Version (NIV)For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:14

12Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15(But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you to live in peace.) 16Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?

1 Corinthians 7:14 word by word

ἡγίασται γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ ἄπιστος ἐν τῇ γυναικί, καὶ ἡγίασται ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄπιστος ἐν τῷ ἀδελφῷ· ἐπεὶ ἄρα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν ἀκάθαρτά ἐστιν, νῦν δὲ ἅγιά ἐστιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• the unbelievingἄπιστοςapistos · unbelievingG571
• husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
• is sanctifiedἁγιάζωhagiazō · to sanctifyG37
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
• elseἐπείepei · sinceG1893
• ·ἄραara · thereforeG686
• wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• uncleanἀκάθαρτοςakathartos · uncleanG169
• butδέde · thenG1161
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:14

• 1 Corinthians 6:15Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!
• Ezra 9:1When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
• 1 Timothy 4:5For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.
• Ezra 9:2For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.”
• Isaiah 52:1Wake up, wake up, O Zion! Clothe yourself with strength. Put on your beautiful clothes, O holy city of Jerusalem, for unclean and godless people will enter your gates no longer.
• Malachi 2:15Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.
• Acts 10:23So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
• Romans 11:16And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife - Or rather, is to be reputed as sanctified on account of his wife; she being a Christian woman, and he, though a heathen, being by marriage one flesh with her: her sanctity, as far as it refers to outward things, may be considered as imputed to him so as to render their connection not unlawful. The case is the same when the wife is a heathen and the husband a Christian. The word sanctification here is to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14For the unbelieving husband - The husband that is not a Christian; who still remains a pagan, or an impenitent man. The apostle here states reasons why a separation should not take place when there was a difference of religion between the husband and the wife. The first is, that the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife. And the object of this statement seems to be, to meet an objection which might exist in the mind, and which might…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-16Verses 10-16 Man and wife must not separate for any other cause than what Christ allows. Divorce, at that time, was very common among both Jews and Gentiles, on very slight pretexts. Marriage is a Divine institution; and is an engagement for life, by God's appointment. We are bound, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men, Ro 12:18, therefore to promote the peace and comfort of our nearest relatives, though unbelievers. It should be the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14By staying committed to the marriage, the Christian makes the unbelieving spouse holy. This holiness also benefits the children, who gain from having a Christian parent (see Malachi 2:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. sanctified--Those inseparably connected with the people of God are hallowed thereby, so that the latter may retain the connection without impairing their own sanctity (compare 1Ti 4:5); nay, rather imparting to the former externally some degree of their own hallowed character, and so preparing the way for the unbeliever becoming at last sanctified inwardly by faith. by ... by--rather, "in ... in"; that is, in virtue of the marriage tie between them…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:14

• Children
• Divorce
• Husband
• Marriage
• Wife

In the dictionaries

• Abuse
• Attend
• Baptism, Christian
• Church
• Consent
• Contain
• Distraction
• Loose
• Mercy
• Revelation of Christ

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