1 Corinthians 7:32-34

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:26-35

7:26-35 I think that this is the right thing because of the present crisis-- that it is the right thing for a man to remain as he is. Have you been bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released from that bond. Are you free from marriage ties? Do not seek a wife. But, if you do marry, you have committed no sin. Those who do marry will have trouble about bodily things, and I would wish to spare you this. This I do say, brothers, the time is short, so short that, for the future those who have... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 7:32

But I would have you without carefulness ,.... This is another reason, by which the apostle confirms the advice he gives to virgins to remain such, because the married state is full of cares, whereas the single life is no more free from them; and therefore he wishes them to continue in such a state, that they might be without anxious and distracting cares of temporal things, things relating to the good decorum and sustenance of a family, and so be more free and at leisure for the service of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 7:33

But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world ,.... Attending diligently to the business and calling of life, he is engaged in, that he may provide food and clothing, and other necessaries for the support and sustenance of his family: how he may please his wife : and make her and his children easy and comfortable. This also is not to be understood of every individual person in a married state as matter of fact; for, on the one hand, there are some who take no care to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 7:34

There is difference also between a wife and a virgin ,.... The word μεμερισται , translated "there is difference", stands in some copies at the end of the last verse, and in the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions, by which it is rendered, "and is divided"; referring to the married man, whose thoughts are distracted with the cares of the world, and his mind divided between the Lord and his wife, between the things that please the one, and those that please the other; so that he cannot... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:32

Without carefulness - Though all these things will shortly come to pass, yet do not be anxious about them. Every occurrence is under the direction and management of God. The wrath of man shall praise him, and the remainder of it he shall restrain, and none can harm you if ye be followers of that which is good. We should all take the advice of the poet: - "With patient mind thy course of duty run; God nothing does, nor suffers to be done, But thou wouldst do thyself, couldst thou but... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:33

But he that is married - He has a family to provide for, and his wife to please, as well as to fulfill his duty to God, and attend to the concerns of his own soul. The single man has nothing to attend to but what concerns his own salvation: the married man has all this to attend to, and besides to provide for his wife and family, and take care of their eternal interests also. The single man has very little trouble comparatively; the married man has a great deal. The single man is an atom in... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:34

There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin - That is: There is this difference between a married and an unmarried woman. The unmarried careth (only) for the things of the Lord, having no domestic duties to perform. That she may be holy - separated to Divine employments, both in body and spirit. Whereas she that is married careth (also) for the things of the world, how she may please her husband, having many domestic duties to fulfill, her husband being obliged to leave to her the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:32

Verse 32 32.But I would wish you. He returns to the advice which he had spoken of, (1 Corinthians 7:25,) but had not as yet fully explained, and in the outset he pronounces, as he is wont, a commendation upon celibacy, and then afterwards allows every one the liberty of choosing what he may consider to suit him best. It is not, however, without good reason that he returns so frequently to proclaim the advantages of celibacy, for he saw that the burdens of matrimony were far from light. The man... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:33

Verse 33 33.He that is married careth for the things of the world. By the things of the world you must understand the things that belong to the present life; for the world is taken here to mean the condition of this earthly life. But from this someone will infer, that all, therefore, who are married are strangers to the kingdom of God, (432) as thinking of nothing but this earth. I answer, that the Apostle speaks only of a portion of the thoughts, as though he had said: “They have one eye... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 7:34

Verse 34 34.The unmarried woman and the virgin. What he had laid down as to men he now declares in like manner as to women — that virgins and widows are not prevented by earthly things from devoting their whole cares and their whole affections to God. Not that all act this part, but that there is opportunity for it, if the mind is so disposed. When he says, that she may be holy in body and in spirit, he shows what kind of chastity is true and acceptable to God — when the mind is kept unpolluted... read more

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