I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
Parallel translations
- WEB I think that it is good therefore, because of the distress that is on us, that it is good for a man to be as he is.
- BSB Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is.
- NKJV I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—that it is good for a man to remain as he is:
- NASB I think, then, that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.
- NLT Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are.
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
Because of the present "distress" pressing on believers, Paul judges it good for a person to remain as they are. The hardships of the age make singleness a wise, freeing option.
Overview
The "present distress" likely refers to the pressures and persecutions of the church's situation, perhaps with an eye to the shortness of the age (v. 29). Paul does not forbid marriage but counsels that, under such conditions, staying single can be advantageous for undistracted service. His advice is pastoral and situational, not a universal devaluation of marriage, which he elsewhere honors highly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 7:8I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
- 1 Cor 7:1Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
- 1 Pet 4:17For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
- Luke 23:28–29But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
- 1 Cor 7:28But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
- 1 Cor 7:35–38And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
- Jer 16:2–4Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
- Luke 21:23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
- Matt 24:19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
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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 7:26 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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