But, he that joineth himself unto the Lord, is, one Spirit.

Flee fornication! Every sin, whatsoever a man shall commit, is, outside his body, but, he that committeth fornication, bringeth sin into his own body.

Or are you not conscious that your body is a house for the Holy Spirit which is in you, and which has been given to you by God? and you are not the owners of yourselves;

But concerning those things about which you wrote to me: That it is good for a man not to receive a wife:

But there is so much immorality that every man had better have a wife of his own, and every woman a husband of her own.

Let the husband give to the wife that which is due, and likewise the wife also to the husband.

Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control.

But I say this by way of advice, not by way of precept. For I would that all men were even as myself:

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.

But I say, to the unmarried, and to the widows, good, were it for them, that they should abide, even as I;

But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband

(Or if she goes away from him, let her keep unmarried, or be united to her husband again); and that the husband may not go away from his wife.

But, unto the rest, say, I - not the Lord, - if, any brother, hath, a wife that believeth not, and, she, is well pleased to dwell with him, let him not leave her;

And, a woman who hath a husband that believeth not, and, he, is well pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband; -

For the husband that believeth not is hallowed in the wife, and the wife that believeth not is hallowed in the brother: else were, your children, impure, but, now, are they, pure.

But if the one who is not a Christian has a desire to go away, let it be so: the brother or the sister in such a position is not forced to do one thing or the other: but it is God's pleasure that we may be at peace with one another.

For how may you be certain, O wife, that you will not be the cause of salvation to your husband? or you, O husband, that you may not do the same for your wife?

Only, everybody must continue to live in the station which the Lord assigned to him, in that in which God called him. These are my orders in all the churches.

Is any one called that is circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised: is any one called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised: for circumcision is nothing,

Being circumcised or being uncircumcised does not make any difference; all that matters is keeping God's commands.

Let each man abide in that calling wherein he was called.

Were you called while a slave? Stop letting that annoy you. Yet, if you can win your freedom, take advantage of such an opportunity.

For, he who in the Lord was called, being a bond-servant, is, a freed-man of the Lord: in like manner, he that was called being, a freeman, is Christ's bond-servant: -

My brothers, let every man keep in that condition which is the purpose of God for him.

Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.

I consider this, then, to be, good, in the circumstances, by reason of the existing distress, - that it is, good for a man, so, to be:

If, however, thou shouldst even marry, thou hast not sinned; and, if one who is virgin should marry, that one hath not sinned; - but, tribulation of the flesh, shall, such, have: - howbeit, I, spare you.

But, this, I say - the opportunity is, contracted for what remaineth - in order that, they who have wives, may be, as though they had none,

And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.

But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:

But, he that hath married, is anxious for the things of the world, how may please his wife -

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.

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.

But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.

But, he that standeth in his heart, steadfast, having no necessity, but hath authority concerning his own will, and, this, hath determined in his own heart, - to preserve his own virginity, well shall he do.

So that, he that giveth in marriage his own virginity, doeth, well; and, he that giveth it not, shall do, better.

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.

But it will be better for her to keep as she is, in my opinion: and it seems to me that I have the Spirit of God.

Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

If anyone thinketh that he knoweth anything, not yet knoweth he, as he must needs come to know,

But if anyone loves God, that person is known by God.

So, then, as to the question of taking food offered to images, we are certain that an image is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.

For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)

Still, all men have not that knowledge: but some, being used till now to the image, are conscious that they are taking food which has been offered to the image; and because they are not strong in the faith, their minds are troubled.

However, food will not bring us closer to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat food that has been offered to an idol, and no better off if we do.

But take care that this power of yours does not give cause for trouble to the feeble.

For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, taking food as a guest in the house of an image, will it not give him, if he is feeble, the idea that he may take food offered to images?

In fact, he that is weak, is being destroyed, by thy knowledge - the brother for whose sake Christ died.

For this reason, if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, I will give up taking meat for ever, so that I may not be a cause of trouble to my brother.

Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Can it be denied that I have seen Jesus, our Lord? Are not you yourselves my work in the Lord?

If to others I am not an Apostle, at least I am one to you: for the fact that you are Christians is the sign that I am an Apostle.

Mine answer to them that do examine me is this,

It cannot be that we have no right to our food and drink, can it?

Have we no right to lead about a wife that is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?

Or is it I only and Barnabas, that have not power to forbear working?

Is it, after the manner of men, that these things I am saying? Or doth not, even the law, the same things, say?

For it says in the law of Moses, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. Is it for the oxen that God is giving orders?

Or, for our sakes altogether, is he saying it? For our sakes, it was written; because, he that ploweth, ought, to plow, in hope, - and, he that thresheth, to thresh in hope of partaking.

If it is we who sowed the spiritual grain in you, is it a great thing that we should reap a temporal harvest from you?

If others have a part in this right over you, have we not even more? But we did not make use of our right, so that we might put nothing in the way of the good news of Christ.

Do you not see that the servants of the holy things get their living from the Temple, and the servants of the altar have their part in the food which is offered on the altar?

Even so did the Lord give orders that the preachers of the good news might get their living from the good news.

But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.

In that I preach the gospel, I have nothing to rejoice of. For necessity is put unto me. Woe is it unto me if I preach not the gospel.

For if I do it of my own accord, I have my pay, but if I do it because I must, it is still a responsibility that I am charged with.

What then is my reward? This, that when I am giving the good news, I may give it without payment, not making use of my rights as a preacher of the good news.

For though I was free from all men, I made myself a servant to all, so that more might have salvation.

And to the Jews I was as a Jew, so that I might give the good news to them; to those under the law I was the same, not as being myself under the law, but so that I might give the good news to those under the law.

To those without the law I was as one without the law, not as being without law to God, but as under law to Christ, so that I might give the good news to those without the law.

To the feeble, I was as one who is feeble, so that they might have salvation: I have been all things to all men, so that some at least might have salvation.

And I do all things for the cause of the good news, so that I may have a part in it.

Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward.

But, every man who striveth in the games, in all things, useth self-control; - they, indeed, then, that a corruptible crown, they may receive; but, we, an incorruptible!

I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.

For it is my desire, my brothers, that you may keep in mind how all our fathers were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea;

That in the cloud and in the sea they all underwent baptism as followers of Moses;

And that they all ate the same supernatural food,

And, all, drank, the same spiritual drink, - for they continued to drink of the spiritual rock that followed them, and, the rock, was the Christ: -

Now these things were for an example to us, so that our hearts might not go after evil things, as they did.

Neither should we commit sexual immorality as some of them did, [with] 23,000 people falling dead in one day. [Note: Num. 25:9 mentions 24,000 people slain, but that number could have included the additional people slain by the judges. See Num. 25:5].

Nor let us try the patience of the Lord too far, as some of them tried it, with the result that they 'were, one after another, destroyed by the snakes.'

Now these events happened to those people as examples [to us], and they were written as warnings to us, to whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. [Note: This refers to past ages concluding with the coming of Christ in that day].

So that, he that thinketh he is standing, let him take heed lest he fall.

You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.

The cup of blessing that we give thanks for, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

Behold Israel after the flesh: have not they that eat the sacrifices communion with the altar?

Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?

What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.

Or, are we [trying to] make the Lord jealous [by doing this]? [Do we think] we are stronger that He is?

Let, no one, be seeking, what concerneth himself, but that which concerneth some one else.

Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:

for the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.

If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.

But, if anyone should say unto you, - This, is, a holy sacrifice, do not eat, for that man's sake who disclosed it, and for conscience sake: -

Right and wrong, I say, not for you, but for the other man; for the fact that I am free is not dependent on another man's sense of right or wrong.

But if I give praise to God for the food which I take, let no man say evil of me for that reason.

See that ye give none occasion of evil: neither to the Jews, nor yet to the gentiles, neither to the congregation of God.