5. Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from intimate relations for a time. You might do this so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again. This is so that Satan cannot tempt you in your weakness.
6. I say this to give you permission. It is not a command.
7. I wish everyone were like me. But each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.
8. Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay single as I am.
9. But if they cannot control their bodies, then they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with lust.
10. Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband.
11. But if she does leave, she must not marry again. Or she should go back to her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.
12. For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): A brother in Christ might have a wife who is not a believer. If she will live with him, he must not divorce her.
13. And a woman might have a husband who is not a believer. If he will live with her, she must not divorce him.
14. The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true, then your children would not be clean. But now your children are holy.
15. But if the person who is not a believer decides to leave, let him leave. When this happens, the brother or sister in Christ is free. God called us to a life of peace.
16. Wives, maybe you will save your husband; and husbands, maybe you will save your wife. You do not know now what will happen later.
17. But each one should continue to live the way God has given him to live—the way he was when God called him. This is a rule I make in all the churches.
18. If a man was already circumcised when he was called, he should not change his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, he should not be circumcised.
19. It is not important if a man is circumcised or not circumcised. The important thing is obeying God’s commands.
20. Each one should stay the way he was when God called him.
21. If you were a slave when God called you, do not let that bother you. But if you can be free, then become free.