¹ Now, as to the things in your letter to me: It is good for a man to have nothing to do with a woman.

⁸ But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am.

²⁶ In my opinion then, because of the present trouble, it is good for a man to keep as he is.

²⁷ If you are married to a wife, make no attempt to get free from her: if you are free from a wife, do not take a wife.

³⁷ But the man who is strong in mind and purpose, who is not forced but has control over his desires, does well if he comes to the decision to keep her a virgin.

³⁸ So then, he who gets married to his virgin does well, and he who keeps her unmarried does better.

⁶ And God said to him in the dream, I see that you have done this with an upright heart, and I have kept you from sinning against me: for this reason I did not let you come near her.

⁹ Keep your eyes on the field they are cutting, and go after them; have I not given orders to the young men not to put a hand on you? And when you are in need of drink go to the vessels and take of what the young men have put there.

²⁹ So it is with him who goes in to his neighbour's wife; he who has anything to do with her will not go free from punishment.

¹⁰ The disciples say to him, If this is the position of a man in relation to his wife, it is better not to be married.

¹¹ But he said to them, Not all men are able to take in this saying, but only those to whom it is given.