So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even better.
Parallel translations
- WEB So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn’t give her in marriage does better.
- KJV So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
- NKJV So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
- NASB So then, both the one who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and the one who does not give her in marriage will do better.
- NLT So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
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
So the one who gives in marriage does well, and the one who refrains does even better—given the present circumstances. Both choices are good; Paul mildly prefers singleness for its freedom.
Overview
Paul sums up the immediate discussion: proceeding with marriage is good, and choosing not to is, in his situational judgment, better—because of the present distress and the freedom singleness affords for the Lord. This is comparative counsel, not a claim that marriage is morally inferior. The "better" is measured by undistracted devotion under the pressures of the age, not by intrinsic holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- 1 Cor 7:1–2Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.
- 1 Cor 7:32–34I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
- 1 Cor 7:37But the man who is firmly established in his heart and under no constraint, with control over his will and resolve in his heart not to marry the virgin, he will do well.
- 1 Cor 7:8Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am.
- 1 Cor 7:26Because of the present crisis, I think it is good for a man to remain as he is.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 7:38 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.