5. You shouldn't stop giving yourselves to each other except when you both agree to do so. And that should be only to give yourselves time to pray for a while. Then you should come together again. In that way, Satan will not tempt you when you can't control yourselves.
6. I say those things to you as my advice, not as a command.
7. I wish all of you were like me. But you each have your own gift from God. One has this gift. Another has that.
8. I speak to those who are not married. I also speak to widows. It is good for you to stay single like me.
9. But if you can't control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with sexual longing.
10. I give a command to those who are married. It is a direct command from the Lord, not from me. A wife must not leave her husband.
11. But if she does, she must not get married again. Or she can go back to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12. I also have something to say to everyone else. It is from me, not a direct command from the Lord. Suppose a brother has a wife who is not a believer. If she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
13. And suppose a woman has a husband who is not a believer. If he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
14. The unbelieving husband has been made holy through his wife. The unbelieving wife has been made holy through her believing husband. If that were not the case, your children would not be pure and clean. But as it is, they are holy.
15. If the unbeliever leaves, let that person go. In that case, a believing man or woman does not have to stay married. God wants us to live in peace.
16. Wife, how do you know if you can save your husband? Husband, how do you know if you can save your wife?