1 Corinthians 7:11 BSB

1 Corinthians 7:11

But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

(but should she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife.

KJV

But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

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Commentary

4 voices

Ambrosiaster

COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES (384)

A woman may not marry if she has left her husband because of fornication or apostasy, if he wishes to have sexual relations with her. But if the husband turns away from the faith or desires to have extramarital sexual relations, the wife may neither …

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

But his meaning is that the Lord himself, with his own mouth, had forbidden such separations, Matt. v. 32; xix. Note, Man and wife cannot separate at pleasure, nor dissolve, when they will, their matrimonial bonds and relation. They must not separate for any other cause than what Christ allows.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

But and if she depart - If she have withdrawn by a rash and foolish act; if she has attempted to dissolve the marriage vow, she is to remain unmarried, or be reconciled. She is not at liberty to marry another. This may refer, I suppose, to instances where wives, ignorant of the rule of Christ, and supposing that they had a right to separate themselves from their husbands, had rashly left them, and had supposed that the marriage contract was dissolved.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

15 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἐὰν	ean	if	G1437 →
δὲ	de	however	G1161 →
καὶ	kai	indeed	G2532 →
χωρισθῇ,	chōristhēa	she shall be separated,	G5563 →
μενέτω	menetō	she should remain	G3306 →
ἄγαμος	agamos	unmarried	G22 →
ἢ	ē	or	G2228 →
τῷ	tō	to the	G3588 →
ἀνδρὶ	andri	husband	G435 →
καταλλαγήτω·	katallagētō	she should be reconciled;	G2644 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ἄνδρα	andra	a husband	G435 →
γυναῖκα	gunaika	a wife	G1135 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
ἀφιέναι.¶	aphienai	is to send away.	G863 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jeremiah 3:1
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with…
leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
  If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Isaiah 50:1
This is what the LORD says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of My creditors did I sell you? Look, you were sold for…
leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:30
  How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Jeremiah 3:8
  She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Matthew 18:25
  Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.
Through
1 Corinthians 7:10
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
leads to
- Matthew 5:32
  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- Luke 16:18
  Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- Matthew 19:3–9
  Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
- Malachi 2:14–16
  Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your…

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About 1 Corinthians

The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Corinthians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Corinthians