19 Bible Verses about Singleness

For Scripture says--'Rejoice, thou barren one, who dost never bear, Break into shouts, thou who art never in labor, For many are the children of her who is desolate--aye, more than of her who has a husband.'

I should wish every one to be just what I am myself. But every one has his own gift from God-one in one way, and one in another.

"If that," said the disciples, "is the position of a man with regard to his wife, it is better not to marry." "It is not every one," replied Jesus, "who can accept this teaching, but only those who have been enabled to do so. Some men, it is true, have from birth been disabled for marriage, while others have been disabled by their fellow men, and others again have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let him accept it who can."

But, if they cannot control themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to be consumed with passion.

But you should exclude the younger widows from the list; for, when they grow restive under the yoke of the Christ, they want to marry, and so they bring condemnation upon themselves for having broken their previous promise. And not only that, but they learn to be idle as they go about from house to house. Nor are they merely idle, but they also become gossips and busy-bodies, and talk of what they ought not.read more.
Therefore I advise young widows to marry, bear children, and attend to their homes, and so avoid giving the enemy an opportunity for scandal.

With regard to unmarried women, I have no command from the Master to give you, but I tell you my opinion, and it is that of a man whom the Master in his mercy has made worthy to be trusted. I think, then, that, in view of the time of suffering that has now come upon us, what I have already said is best-that a man should remain as he is. Are you married to a wife? Then do not seek to be separated. Are you separated from a wife? Then do not seek for a wife.read more.
still, if you should marry, that is not wrong; nor, if a young woman marries, is that wrong. But those who marry will have much trouble to bear, and my wish is to spare you.

To those who are married my direction is-yet it is not mine, but the Master's-that a woman is not to leave her husband

But, owing to the prevalence of immorality, I advise every man to have his own wife, and every woman her husband. A husband should give his wife her due, and a wife her husband. It is not the wife, but the husband, who exercises power over her body; and so, too, it is not the husband, but the wife, who exercises power over his body.read more.
Do not deprive each other of what is due-unless it is only for a time and by mutual consent, so that your minds may be free for prayer till you again live as man and wife-lest Satan should take advantage of your want of self-control and tempt you. I say this, however, as a concession, not as a command.

My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be well for them to remain as I am myself.

With reference to the subjects about which you wrote to me: It would be well for a man to remain single.

I want you to be free from anxiety. The unmarried man is anxious about the Master's Cause, desiring to please him; While the married man is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please his wife; And so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master's Cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband.read more.
I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction.

While the next said 'I am just married, and for that reason I am unable to come.'

He had four unmarried daughters, who had the gift of prophecy.

As for the woman who is really widowed and left quite alone, her hopes are fixed on God, and she devotes herself to prayers and supplications night and day.

For at the resurrection there is no marrying or being married, but all who rise are as angels in Heaven.

When men rise from the dead, there is no marrying or being married; but they are as angels in Heaven.

But, for those who are thought worthy to attain to that other world and the resurrection from the dead, there is no marrying or being married,

What I mean, Brothers, is this-The time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none, Those who are weeping as if not weeping, those who are rejoicing as if not rejoicing, those who buy as if not possessing, And those who use the good things of the world as using them sparingly; for this world as we see it is passing away.