But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
Parallel translations
- WEB But to the rest I — not the Lord — say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.
- KJV But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
- BSB To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
- NKJV But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
- NLT Now, 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.
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
Paul now gives his own apostolic counsel: a believer with a willing unbelieving spouse should not divorce them. It matters because the Christian should preserve the marriage even when only one partner believes.
Overview
Addressing situations Jesus did not directly speak to, Paul (with apostolic authority) advises that a believer married to a content unbeliever should remain. The marriage covenant is not nullified by differing faith. This pastoral instruction promotes stability and opens the door for the unbeliever to encounter the gospel through the home.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Cor 7:6But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment.
- 2 Cor 11:17That which I speak, I don’t speak according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.
- 1 Cor 7:25Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy.
- Ezra 10:11–19Now therefore make confession to Yahweh, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.”
- Ezra 10:2–3Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered Ezra, “We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land. Yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing.
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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 7:12 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
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