So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does 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.
- BSB So then, he who marries the virgin does well, but he who does not marry her does even 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 13:4Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- 1 Cor 7:1–2Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
- 1 Cor 7:32–34But 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;
- 1 Cor 7:37But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no urgency, but has power over his own will, and has determined in his own heart to keep his own virgin, does well.
- 1 Cor 7:8But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am.
- 1 Cor 7:26I 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.
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 7:38 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.