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

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.

⁷ It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.

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.

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:

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.

³⁵ Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord.