But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
Parallel translations
- WEB But, because of sexual immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
- KJV Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
- NKJV Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
- NASB But because of sexual immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
- NLT But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
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 temptation to immorality, each man and woman should have their own spouse. It matters because marriage is God's honorable provision for sexual fulfillment and faithfulness.
Overview
In a city rife with sexual sin, Paul commends marriage as the proper, God-given context for sexual relations. Rather than viewing marriage as a concession to weakness only, he affirms it as the normal and good means of expressing sexuality faithfully. This balances the previous verse, honoring marriage alongside celibacy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Eph 5:28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- Eph 5:33Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
- 1 Cor 7:9But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
- Prov 18:22He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- Prov 5:18–19May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth:
- 1 Cor 6:18Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
- Mal 2:14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Prov 19:14Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
- 1 Tim 4:3They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
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 7:2 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.