1 Corinthians 7:25-40 - Concerning The Unmarried
25 About unmarried women I have no command from the Lord, but I will give you my opinion as of one who is trustworthy, since I have had mercy shown me by the Lord. 26 Now this is my opinion in the light of the present distress: That it is a good thing for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you married? Stop trying to get a divorce. Are you unmarried? Stop looking for a wife. 28 But if you do get married, you have not sinned in doing so. And if a girl gets married, she has not sinned in doing so. But those who do will have trouble in their earthly life, and I am trying to spare you this. 29 I mean this, brothers. The time has been cut short. For the future, men who have wives should live as though they had none, 30 and those that mourn as though they did not mourn, and those who are glad as though they were not glad, and those who buy as though they did not own a thing, 31 and those who are enjoying the world as though they were not entirely absorbed in it. For the outward order of this world is passing away.
32 I want you to be free from worldly worries. An unmarried man is concerned about the affairs of the Lord. 33 A married man is concerned about the affairs of the world, and how he can please his wife, and so his devotion is divided. 34 An unmarried woman or a girl is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, so as to be consecrated in body and spirit, but a married woman is concerned about the affairs of the world, and how she can please her husband. 35 It is for your welfare that I am saying this, not to put restraint on you, but to foster good order and to help you to an undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 Now if a father thinks that he is not doing the proper thing regarding his single daughter, if she is past the bloom of her youth, and she ought to do so, let him do what she desires; he commits no sin. Let the daughter and her suitor marry. 37 But the father who stands firm in his purpose, without having any necessity for doing so, and he has made the decision in his own heart to keep her single, will do what is right. 38 And so the man who gives his daughter in marriage does what is right, and yet the man who does not do so does even better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she pleases, except that he must be a Christian. 40 But in my opinion she will be happier, if she remains as she is, and I think too that I have God's Spirit.