1 Corinthians 7:35

35. A snare A lasso by which, being thrown, an animal is caught in its noose; figuratively, a fetter by which one is hampered and burdened. Paul would not lay fetters upon the Corinthians by these injunctions, requiring them to be celibates against their will. His object is their profit. The apostle’s condensed Greek is difficult to be given in exact parallel English, and so our translators have paraphrased it. We translate: I speak not that I may throw a lasso upon you, but in behalf of the becoming, and well-beside-sitting to the Lord, undistractedly. And now our English will need translating about as much as St. Paul’s Greek.

He alludes, we think, to Luke 10:38-42, where see our notes upon the relation between outward and inner piety. Both passages have several of the same peculiar Greek words, and the comparison conclusively proves to our own mind that Paul had read Luke. The word which we literally render well-beside-sitting, has a close parallel with the Greek of Mary’s sat at Jesus’ feet. But among manuscript critics there was a curious contest (see Bloomfield’s Recensio Synoptica) whether the true reading is ευπαρεδρον , well-beside-sitting, or ευπροσεδρον , well-toward-sitting. Anciently the suppliant was accustomed to sit ευπροσεδρον , with face toward the altar, and the pupil with face toward the rabbi or sophos; and so we should have expected that Luke would make Mary sit (as our English translation really does) facing Jesus; whereas his real words are παρκαθεσθεισα , beside-sitting.

Without distraction Produced by worldly cares.