But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if they don’t have self-control, let them marry. For it’s better to marry than to burn.
- BSB But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
- NKJV but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
- NASB But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
- NLT But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
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
But those lacking self-control should marry, since it is better to marry than to burn with passion. It matters because marriage is God's good and honorable provision for sexual desire.
Overview
Paul gives a realistic, pastoral counterbalance: where the gift of celibacy is absent and passions are strong, marriage is the right and honorable course. Marrying is not a spiritual failure but God's wise provision. This protects against both unhealthy asceticism and the danger of immorality, affirming marriage as good.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Tim 5:14I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
- 1 Cor 7:2Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
- 1 Tim 5:11But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
- 1 Cor 7:28But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
- 1 Cor 7:36But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
- 1 Cor 7:39The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
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 7:9 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.