I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
- KJV But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
- NKJV But I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord.
- NASB But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
- NLT I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him.
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 wants believers free from anxious cares; the unmarried person can give undivided attention to pleasing the Lord. Singleness can offer a focus that benefits devotion.
Overview
Here Paul gives the positive reason behind his counsel toward singleness: freedom for undistracted service. The unmarried believer has fewer competing obligations and can concentrate on the Lord's concerns. This is not a claim that single people are holier, but that their circumstances can allow a particular undividedness of devotion—a gift to be valued rather than pitied.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 6:25–34Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
- 1 Tim 5:5The widow who is truly in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers.
- Phil 4:6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Ps 55:22Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
- Matt 13:22The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
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 7:32 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.