For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
- 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.
- 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.
- NASB For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.
- NLT 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.
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
The unbelieving spouse and the children are 'sanctified' through the believer, set in a place of holy influence. It matters because the believer's presence brings God's gracious nearness to the whole family.
Overview
Paul explains that an unbelieving spouse is 'sanctified'—not automatically saved, but set apart under the influence of grace—through the believing partner, and the children are likewise 'holy.' This addresses the believer's fear of being defiled by the marriage; rather, holiness flows outward. The verse encourages believers that their faithful presence is a channel of God's grace to their household, even as personal faith remains necessary for salvation.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mal 2:15–16Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- Isa 52:1Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- 1 Tim 4:5because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
- Rom 11:16If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
- Ezra 9:1–2After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.
- 1 Cor 6:15–17Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!
- Acts 10:23So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.
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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 7:14 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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