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

⁴ Let married life be honoured among all of you and not made unclean; for men untrue in married life will be judged by God.

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.

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.

² But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband.

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.

³² But it is my desire for you to be free from cares. The unmarried man gives his mind to the things of the Lord, how he may give pleasure to the Lord:

³³ But the married man gives his attention to the things of this world, how he may give pleasure to his wife.

³⁴ And the wife is not the same as the virgin. The virgin gives her mind to the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit: but the married woman takes thought for the things of the world, how she may give pleasure to her husband.