1 Corinthians 7 · Verse 27

1 Corinthians 7:27

Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
1 Corinthians 7:27, King James Version

1 Corinthians 7:27 in other translations

BSBAre you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you free of commitment? Do not look for a wife.
WEBAre you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don’t seek a wife.
ASVArt thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
YLTHast thou been bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; hast thou been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
DARBYArt thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; art thou free from a wife? do not seek a wife.
BBEIf you are married to a wife, make no attempt to get free from her: if you are free from a wife, do not take a wife.
WebsterArt thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

What does 1 Corinthians 7:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. Illustrating the meaning of "so to be," 1Co 7:26. Neither the married (those "bound to a wife") nor the unmarried (those "loosed from a wife") are to "seek" a change of state (compare 1Co 7:20, 24).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 27. Art thou bound unto a wife? Art thou already married? Marriage is often thus represented as a tie, a bond, etc. Rom 7:2.

Seek not to be loosed. Seek not a dissolution (λυσιν) of the connexion, either by divorce or by a separation from each other. 1Cor 7:10, also 1Cor 7:11-17.

Art thou loosed from a wife? Art thou unmarried? It should have been rendered, free from a wife; or, art thou single? It does not imply of necessity that the person had been married, though it may have that meaning, and signify those who had been separated from a wife by her death. There is no necessity of supposing that Paul refers to persons who had divorced their wives. So Grotius, Schleusner, Doddridge, etc,

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 Art thou bound unto a wife? - i.e. Married; for the marriage contract was considered in the light of a bond. Seek not to be loosed - Neither regret your circumstances, notwithstanding the present distress, nor seek on this account for a dissolution of the marriage contract. But if thou art under no matrimonial engagements, do not for the present enter into any.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians 7:25-35

Considering the distress of those times, the unmarried state was best. Notwithstanding, the apostle does not condemn marriage. How opposite are those to the apostle Paul who forbid many to marry, and entangle them with vows to remain single, whether they ought to do so or not! He exhorts all Christians to holy indifference toward the world. As to relations; they must not set their hearts on the comforts of the…

Read the full comment on 1 Corinthians 7:25-35 →

1 Corinthians 7:27 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

δέδεσαιdedesaiHave you been boundG1210
γυναικί;gunaikito a wife?G1135
μὴmēNotG3361
ζήτειzēteido seekG2212
λύσιν·lusinto be loosed;G3080
λέλυσαιlelusaiHave you been loosedG3089
ἀπὸapofromG575
γυναικός;gunaikosa wife?G1135
μὴmēNotG3361
ζήτειzēteido seekG2212
γυναῖκα.gunaikaa wife.G1135

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Corinthians 7:27

  • 1 Corinthians 7:12-14

    But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:20

    Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
thou bound.
12-14,20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Corinthians 7:26

    I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:27

    Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:28

    But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.

Read all of 1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians 7:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		¿Estás ligado á mujer? no procures soltarte. ¿Estás suelto de mujer? no procures mujer.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Es-tu lié à une femme, ne cherche pas à en être séparé. N’es-tu pas lié à une femme, ne cherche pas de femme.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Bist du an ein Weib gebunden, so suche nicht los zu werden; bist du frei von einem Weibe, so suche kein Weib.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Alligatus es uxori? noli quærere solutionem. Solutus es ab uxore? noli quærere uxorem.