But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
Parallel translations
- WEB (but if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband not leave his wife.
- BSB But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
- NKJV But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
- NASB (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to divorce his wife.
- NLT But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
If a wife does separate, she should stay unmarried or be reconciled, and the husband likewise must not divorce his wife. It matters because reconciliation, not remarriage, is the goal when separation occurs.
Overview
Acknowledging that separation may happen, Paul still upholds the marriage bond: the separated wife should remain single or reconcile, and husbands too must not divorce. The aim is restoration of the covenant, reflecting God's reconciling heart. This careful counsel guards marriage's permanence while addressing real hardship pastorally.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
- 1 Cor 7:10And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
- Judg 19:2–3And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.
- Deut 22:19And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
- Isa 50:1Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.
- Mark 10:2And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 7:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.