King James Version · Under Rome
1 Corinthians 7
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Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to and ; and come together again, that you not for your incontinency. But I speak this by permission, and not of . For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of , one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and , It is good for them if they even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. And unto the married I command, yet not I, but , Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband his wife. But to the rest speak I, not : If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to with him, let him not put her away. 13And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is by the husband: else were your children ; but now are they . But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt thy wife? But as hath distributed to every man, as hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. Is any man called being ? let him not become . Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be . is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of of . Let every man in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be , use it rather. For he that is called in , being a servant, is ’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein with . Now concerning virgins I have no of : yet I give my , as one that hath obtained mercy of to be . I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not ; and if a virgin marry, she hath not . Nevertheless such shall have trouble in : but I spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives 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 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 , how he may please : But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of , that she may be both in body and in : but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon without distraction. 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. 37Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in , having no necessity, but hath over his own will, and hath so decreed in that he will keep his virgin, doeth well. So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. The wife is bound by as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be , she is at to be married to whom she will; only in . But she is happier if she so , after my : and I think also that I have of .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.