But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am.
Parallel translations
- KJV I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
- BSB Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am.
- NKJV But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am;
- NASB But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I.
- NLT So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am.
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
To the unmarried and widows Paul says it is good to remain single as he is. It matters because singleness is a genuinely good and honorable state for serving Christ.
Overview
Paul commends remaining unmarried to those currently single or widowed, holding up his own celibate life as an example of a good path. In a context awaiting Christ and given to gospel service, singleness offers freedom. The counsel is permissive and esteeming, not a denigration of marriage, as the next verse shows.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Cor 7:32But 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 7:34–35There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world — how she may please her husband.
- 1 Cor 7:7Yet I wish that all men were like me. However each man has his own gift from God, one of this kind, and another of that kind.
- 1 Cor 7:26–27I 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.
- 1 Cor 7:1Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
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 7:8 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.