1 Corinthians 7:12 BSB

1 Corinthians 7:12

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

But to the rest say I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her.

KJV

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.

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Commentary

3 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

But to the rest speak I, not the Lord - As if he had said: For what I have already spoken I have the testimony of the Lord by Moses, and of my own Lord and Master, Christ; but for the directions which I am now about to give there is no written testimony, and I deliver them now for the first time. These words do not intimate that the apostle was not now under the influences of the Divine Spirit; but, that there was nothing in the sacred writings which bore directly on this point.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

To the rest - Who are married to unbelievers. Speak I - By Revelation from God, though our Lord hath not left any commandment concerning it. Let him not put her away - The Jews, indeed, were obliged of old to put away their idolatrous wives, Ezra x, 3; but their case was quite different.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

The Christian calling did not dissolve the marriage covenant, but bind it the faster, by bringing it back to the original institution, limiting it to two persons, and binding them together for life. The believer is not by faith in Christ loosed from matrimonial bonds to an unbeliever, but is at once bound and made apt to be a better relative.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

23 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Τοῖς	Tois	To the	G3588 →
δὲ	de	now	G1161 →
λοιποῖς	loipois	rest	G3062 →
λέγω	legō	say	G3004 →
ἐγὼ	egō	I myself	G1473 →
οὐχ	ouch	— not	G3756 →
ὁ	ho	the	G3588 →
κύριος,	kurios	Lord:	G2962 →
εἴ	ei	If	G1487 →
τις	tis	any	G5100 →
ἀδελφὸς	adelphos	brother	G80 →
γυναῖκα	gunaika	a wife	G1135 →
ἔχει	echei	has	G2192 →
ἄπιστον	apiston	unbelieving	G571 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
αὕτη	hautē	she	G3778 →
συνευδοκεῖ	suneudokei	consents	G4909 →
οἰκεῖν	oikein	to dwell	G3611 →
μετ᾽	met᾽	with	G3326 →
αὐτοῦ,	autou	him,	G846 →
μὴ	mē	not	G3361 →
ἀφιέτω	aphietō	he should divorce	G863 →
αὐτήν·	autēn	her;	G846 →

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
1 Corinthians 7:25
Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 7:6
  I say this as a concession, not as a command.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 4:2
  Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
- 2 Corinthians 8:8–10
  I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.
- 1 Corinthians 7:40
  In my judgment, however, she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
Through
1 Corinthians 7:6
I say this as a concession, not as a command.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 7:25
  Now about virgins, I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 8:8
  I am not making a demand, but I am testing the sincerity of your love in comparison to the earnestness of others.
Through
2 Corinthians 11:17
In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool.
leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:4
  Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—to say nothing of you—would be ashamed of having been so confident.
- Philippians 3:3–6
  For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

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About 1 Corinthians

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

1 Corinthians: the study guide →Read chapter 7 →The featured study →

Continue: 1 Corinthians 7 →

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