the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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1 Corinthians 7:12
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The advice I have for the others is from me. The Lord did not give us any teaching about this. If you have a wife who is not a believer, you should not divorce her if she will continue to live with you.
To the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
To the remnaunt speake I and not the lorde. Yf eny brother have a wyfe that beleveth not yf she be content to dwell with him let him not put her awaye.
But to the rest I -- not the Lord -- say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.
I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to live with him, he must not abandondivorce">[fn] her.1 Corinthians 7:6;">[xr]
But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer, and she is happy to live with him, he must not divorce her.
But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
But to the rest I speak, not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
But to the rest I -- not the Lord -- say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.
And let not the husband put away his wife. To the rest speak I, not the Lord. If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she consent to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
To the rest it is I who speak--not the Lord. If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, let him not send her away.
But to othere Y seie, not the Lord. If ony brother hath an vnfeithful wijf, and sche consenteth to dwelle with hym, leeue he hir not.
But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
I don't know of anything else the Lord said about marriage. All I can do is to give you my own advice. If your wife isn't a follower of the Lord, but is willing to stay with you, don't divorce her.
To the rest I declare—I, not the Lord [since Jesus did not discuss this]—that if any [believing] brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ], and she consents to live with him, he must not leave her.
But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.
To the rest I say — I, not the Lord: if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she is satisfied to go on living with him, he should not leave her.
But as to the rest, *I* say, not the Lord, If any brother have an unbelieving wife, and *she* consent to dwell with him, let him not leave her.
But to the rest I say, not my Lord, If a brother hath a wife who is not a believer, and she be willing to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
And to the rest, say I,- I, not my Lord,-that if there be a brother, who hath a wife that believeth not, and she is disposed to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
But to the rest speake I, not the Lord, If any brother hath a wife that beleeueth not, and shee bee pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her.
I have this to say. These words are not from the Lord. If a Christian husband has a wife who is not a Christian, and she wants to live with him, he must not divorce her.
To the rest I say—I and not the Lord—that if any believer has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
But to ye remnant I speake, & not ye Lord, If any brother haue a wife, ye beleeueth not, if she be cotent to dwell wt him, let him not forsake her.
But to the rest, I say this, not my LORD: If any brother has a wife who is not a convert, and she wishes to live with him, let him not leave her.
But, unto the rest, say, I - not the Lord, - if, any brother, hath, a wife that believeth not, and, she, is well pleased to dwell with him, let him not leave her;
For to the rest I speak, not the Lord. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not and she consent to dwell with him: let him not put her away.
But to the renmaunt speake I, not the Lorde: If any brother haue a wife that beleueth not, if she be content to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her.
But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
Now to the rest I say—not the Lord—if any brother has an unbelieving wife and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
But to the rest I say, not the Lord, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, let him not leave her.
And to the rest I speak -- not the Lord -- if any brother hath a wife unbelieving, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not send her away;
As for the other, vnto the saye I, not ye LORDE: Yf eny brother haue an vnbeleuynge wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not put hir awaye.
But as to the other cases, which were not decided by the Lord; I say, if any brother has a pagan wife, who likes to live with him, let him not put her away.
For the rest of you who are in mixed marriages—Christian married to non-Christian—we have no explicit command from the Master. So this is what you must do. If you are a man with a wife who is not a believer but who still wants to live with you, hold on to her. If you are a woman with a husband who is not a believer but he wants to live with you, hold on to him. The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is likewise touched by the holiness of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is, they also are included in the spiritual purposes of God.
To the rest I say—I, not the Lord—if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her.
But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.
To the rest of you, God hasn't given me anything explicit to pass on, but it's safe to say that if a cowboy who rides for the Lord has a wife who doesn't believe, he must not divorce her if she's willing to stay married.
But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
speak: 1 Corinthians 7:6, 1 Corinthians 7:25, 2 Corinthians 11:17
If: Ezra 10:2, Ezra 10:3, Ezra 10:11-19
Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 24:1 - send her 1 Corinthians 5:11 - called 1 Corinthians 7:10 - yet 1 Corinthians 7:27 - thou bound 2 Corinthians 8:8 - speak
Cross-References
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.
And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:
And I fell down before the Lord , as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord , to provoke him to anger.
And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy thee.
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
But to the rest speak I, not the Lord,.... He had spoken before to married persons in general, and had delivered not his own sentiments barely, but the commandment of the Lord, that such should never separate from, or put away each other; in which he has respect to such as were upon equal foot in matters of religion, who were both of them believers in Christ; but now he speaks to the rest, to such as were unequally yoked, the one a believer, the other an unbeliever; and what he delivers on this head, concerning their living together, there being no express determination of this matter by the Lord himself, he under divine inspiration gives his sense of it; as that such marriages were valid, and that such persons ought to live together, and not separate on account of difference in religion: or the sense is, that as "to the rest" of the things they had wrote to him about, besides what he had given answer to already, he should speak to under divine illumination; though he had not an express law of Christ to point unto them, as the rule of their conduct: and particularly, whereas they had desired his judgment and advice upon this head, whether one who before conversion had married an unbeliever, ought to live with such an one, or whether it would not be advisable to leave, or put such away, to it he answers,
if any brother hath a wife that believeth not; that is, if any man who is now a brother, one called by the grace of God, and is in church fellowship, has a wife to whom he was married whilst in a state of unregeneracy and infidelity; who is as she was when he married her, entirely destitute of faith in Christ; not one that is weak in the faith, or only makes an outward profession, but that has no faith at all in Christ, nor in his Gospel, not so much as an historical one; who disbelieves, denies, and rejects, the truths of the Gospel:
and she be pleased to dwell with him; loves her husband, chooses to continue with him, notwithstanding their different sentiments of religion:
let him not put her away; infidelity is no reason for a divorce. The Gospel revelation does not dissolve the natural obligations men and women are in to one another. The Jews had a law prohibiting marriages with Heathens and idolaters; and such marriages were dissolved, and such wives put away, Exodus 34:16 but this was a law peculiar to that people, and was not obligatory on other nations, and especially has no place under the Gospel dispensation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
But to the rest - âI have spoken in regard to the duties of the unmarried, and the question whether it is right and advisable that they should marry, 1 Corinthians 7:1-9. I have also uttered the command of the Lord in regard to those who are married, and the question whether separation and divorce were proper. Now in regard to âthe rest of the personâs and casesâ referred to, I will deliver my opinion.â âThe rest,â or remainder, here referred to, relates particularly to the cases in which one party was a Christian and the other not. In the previous verses he had delivered the solemn, explicit law of Christ, that divorce was to take place on neither side, and in no instance, except agreeably. to the law of Christ; Matthew 5:32. That was settled by divine authority. In the subsequent verses he discusses a different question; whether a âvoluntary separationâ was not advisable and proper when the one party was a Christian and the other not. The word ârestâ refers to these instances, and the questions which would arise under this inquiry.
Not the Lord - See the note at 1 Corinthians 7:6. âI do not claim, in this advice, to be under the influence of inspiration; I have no express command on the subject from the Lord; but I deliver my opinion as a servant of the Lord 1 Corinthians 7:40, and as having a right to offer advice, even when I have no express command from God, to a church which I have founded, and which has consulted me on the subject.â This was a case in which both he and they were to follow the principles of Christian prudence and propriety, when there was no express commandment. Many such cases may occur. But few, perhaps none, can occur, in which some Christian principle shall not be found, that will be sufficient to direct the anxious inquirer after truth and duty.
If any brother - Any Christian.
That believeth not - That is not a Christian; one who is a pagan.
And if she be pleased - If it seems best to her; if she consents; approves of living together still. There might be many cases where the wife or the husband, that was not a Christian, would be so opposed to Christianity, and so violent in their opposition, that they would not be willing to live with a Christian. When this was the case, the Christian husband or wife could not prevent the separation. When this was not the case, they were not to seek a separation themselves.
To dwell with him - To remain in connection with him as his wife, though they differed on the subject of religion.
Let him not put her away - Though she is a pagan, though opposed to his religion, yet the marriage vow is sacred and inviolable. It is not to be sundered by any change which can take place in the opinions of either party. It is evident that if a man were at liberty to dissolve the marriage tie, or to discard his wife when his own opinions were changed on the subject of religion, that it would at once destroy all the sacredness of the marriage union, and render it a nullity. Even, therefore, when there is a difference of opinion on the vital subject of religion, the tie is not dissolved; but the only effect of religion should be, to make the converted husband or wife more tender, kind, affectionate, and faithful than they were before; and all the more so as their partners are without the hopes of the gospel, and as they may be won to love the Saviour, 1 Corinthians 7:16.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Corinthians 7:12. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord — As if he had said: For what I have already spoken I have the testimony of the Lord by Moses, and of my own Lord and Master, Christ; but for the directions which I am now about to give there is no written testimony, and I deliver them now for the first time. These words do not intimate that the apostle was not now under the influences of the Divine Spirit; but, that there was nothing in the sacred writings which bore directly on this point.
If any brother — A Christian man, have a wife that believeth not, i.e. who is a heathen, not yet converted to the Christian faith, and she be pleased to dwell with him, notwithstanding his turning Christian since their marriage, let him not put her away because she still continues in her heathen superstition.
