от Bulgarian Bible Society1А за което ми бяхте писали – добре е за човека да се не допира до жена.2Но, за да се избягва блудството, нека всеки си има своя жена, и всяка жена да си има свой мъж.3Мъжът да отдава на жена си дължимата любов; също и жената – на мъжа. (1 Пет 3:7)4Жената не е господарка на тялото си, а мъжът; също и мъжът не е господар на тялото си, а жената.5Недейте се лишава един от други освен по съгласие за някое време, за да пребъдвате в пост и молитва; след това бъдете си пак заедно, за да ви не изкушава сатаната, поради вашето невъздържане. (Йоил 2:16)6Това обаче казвам като съвет, а не като заповед.7Защото желая, всички човеци да са като мене; ала всеки си има своя дарба от Бога, един – тъй, други – инак. (Мт 19:12)8А на неженените и вдовиците казвам: добре им е, ако си останат като мене.9Но, ако не се въздържат, нека се женят; защото по-добре е да се женят, отколкото да се разпалват. (1 Тим 5:14)10А на женените заповядвам – не аз, а Господ – жена да се не разделя от мъж, – (Вт 24:1; Мт 5:32; Мт 19:6; Мк 10:11; Лк 16:18)11ако пък се и раздели, да остане неомъжена, или да се примири с мъжа си, – и мъж да не оставя жена си.12А на останалите аз говоря, а не Господ: ако някой брат има жена неповярвала, и тя е съгласна да живее с него, да я не оставя;13и ако някоя жена има мъж неповярвал, и той е съгласен да живее с нея, да го не оставя.14Защото неповярвал мъж бива осветен чрез вярващата жена, и неповярвала жена бива осветена чрез вярващия мъж; инак, децата ви биха били нечисти, а сега те са свети.15Ако някой неповярвал иска да се разведе, нека се разведе; в такива случаи брат или сестра не са заробени; за мир ни е повикал Бог. (Рим 12:18; 1 Кор 14:33)16Защото, отде знаеш, жено, не ще ли спасиш ти мъжа? Или, отде знаеш, о мъжо, не ще ли спасиш ти жената?17Само нека всякой да постъпва тъй, както му е определил Бог, както го е призвал Господ. Тъй поръчвам по всички църкви. (Д А 15:28; Еф 4:1)18Обрязан ли е призван някой, да не крие; необрязан ли е призван някой, да се не обрязва. (1 Мак 1:15)19Обрязването е нищо, и необрязването е нищо, а пазенето Божиите заповеди е всичко. (Гал 5:6)20Всякой да си остава в званието, в което е призван. (1 Сол 2:12)21Роб ли си призван, да те не е грижа; но, дори и ако можеш да станеш свободен, още повече се възползувай от робството.22Защото призваният в Господа роб бива Господен свободник; тъй също и призваният свободник бива роб Христов. (Йн 8:36; Рим 6:22)23Вие сте скъпо купени; не ставайте роби на човеци. (1 Кор 6:20)24Всякой в каквото звание е призван, братя, в него и да остава пред Бога.25За девствениците нямам заповед от Господа, но ви давам съвет, като помилуван от Господа да Му бъда верен. (2 Кор 2:17)26Поради настоящата нужда за добро намирам това: добре е за човека да си бъде тъй.27Свързан ли си с жена, не търси развод; развързан ли си от жена, не търси жена.28Па, ако се и ожениш, няма да съгрешиш; и девица, ако се омъжи, няма да съгреши. Но такива ще имат грижи за плътта, а пък аз ви щадя.29Това ви казвам, братя, защото времето нататък е късо, та ония, които имат жени, да бъдат като че нямат; (Йов 9:25; Йов 14:1; Пс 102:15)30и които плачат – като че не плачат; и които се радват – като че се не радват; и които купуват – като че не притежават;31и които се ползуват от тоя свят – като да се не ползуват; защото е преходен образът на тоя свят. (Ис 40:6; Як 1:10; Як 4:14; 1 Пет 1:24; 1 Йн 2:17)32Пък аз искам вие да бъдете без грижи. Нежененият се грижи за Господни работи – как да угоди Господу;33а жененият се грижи за световни работи – как да угоди на жената.34Има разлика между жена и девица; неомъжената се грижи за Господни работи – как да угоди Господу, за да стане света телом и духом. А омъжената се грижи за световни работи – как да угоди на мъжа си.35Говоря ви това за ваша полза; не за да ви метна примка, а за благоприлично и постоянно служене Господу безпрепятствено.36Ако някой мисли, че е неприлично девицата му да остане тъй в напреднала възраст, той нека прави каквото иска: няма да сгреши; нека такива се омъжват.37Но който е непреклонно твърд в сърцето си, без да е в нужда и е властен над волята си, па реши в сърцето си да пази своята девица, той добре прави.38Така щото и оня, който омъжва девицата си, добре прави, но оня, който я не омъжва, по-добре прави.39Жената е свързана чрез закона, докле е жив мъж и; ако пък умре мъж и, тя е свободна да се омъжи за когото иска, но само в име Господне. (Рим 7:2)40Но тя е по-блажена, ако си остане тъй, според моето мнение; а мисля, че и аз имам Дух Божий.
1Now I want to deal with the things you wrote me about. Some of you say, ‘It is good for a man not to sleep with a woman.’2But since sexual sin is happening, each man should sleep with his own wife. And each woman should sleep with her own husband.3A husband should satisfy his wife’s needs. And a wife should satisfy her husband’s needs.4The wife’s body does not belong only to her. It also belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong only to him. It also belongs to his wife.5You shouldn’t stop giving yourselves to each other. You might possibly do this when you both agree to it. And you should only agree to it to give yourselves time to pray. Then you should come together again. In that way, Satan will not tempt you when you can’t control yourselves.6I say those things to you as my advice, not as a command.7I wish all of you were single like me. But you each have your own gift from God. One has this gift, and another has that one.8I speak now to those who are not married. I also speak to widows. It is good for you to stay single like me.9But if you can’t control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with desire.10I 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.11But 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.12I 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.13And suppose a woman has a husband who is not a believer. If he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.14The 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.15But if the unbeliever leaves, let that person go. In that case, the believer does not have to stay married to the unbeliever. God wants us to live in peace.16Wife, how do you know if you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know if you will save your wife?
Stay as you were when God chose you
17But each believer should live in whatever situation the Lord has given them. Stay as you were when God chose you. That’s the rule all the churches must follow.18Was a man already circumcised when God chose him? Then he should not become uncircumcised. Was he uncircumcised when God chose him? Then he should not be circumcised.19Being circumcised means nothing. Being uncircumcised means nothing. Doing what God commands is what counts.20Each of you should stay as you were when God chose you.21Were you a slave when God chose you? Don’t let it trouble you. But if you can get your master to set you free, do it.22The person who was a slave when the Lord chose them is now the Lord’s free person. The one who was free when God chose them is now a slave of Christ.23Christ has paid the price for you. Don’t become slaves of human beings.24Brothers and sisters, each person is accountable to God. So each person should stay as they were when God chose them.
Advice for those who are not married
25Now I want to say something about virgins. I have no direct command from the Lord. But I give my opinion. Because of the Lord’s mercy, I give it as one who can be trusted.26Times are hard for you right now. So I think it’s good for a man to stay as he is.27Are you engaged to a woman? Then don’t try to get out of it. Are you free from such a promise? Then don’t look for a wife.28But if you do marry someone, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries someone, she has not sinned. But those who marry someone will have many troubles in this life. I want to save you from this.29Brothers and sisters, what I mean is that the time is short. From now on, those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not.30Those who mourn should live as if they did not. Those who are happy should live as if they were not. Those who buy something should live as if it were not theirs to keep.31Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away.32I don’t want you to have anything to worry about. A single man is concerned about the Lord’s matters. He wants to know how he can please the Lord.33But a married man is concerned about the matters of this world. He wants to know how he can please his wife.34His concerns pull him in two directions. A single woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s matters. She wants to serve the Lord with both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the matters of this world. She wants to know how she can please her husband.35I’m saying those things for your own good. I’m not trying to hold you back. I want you to be free to live in a way that is right. I want you to give yourselves completely to the Lord.36Suppose someone is worried that he is not acting with honour towards the virgin he has promised to marry. Suppose his desires are too strong, and he feels that he should marry her. He should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.37But suppose the man has decided not to marry the virgin. And suppose he has no compelling need to get married and can control himself. If he has made up his mind not to get married, he also does the right thing.38So then, the man who marries the virgin does the right thing. But the man who doesn’t marry her does a better thing.39A woman has to stay married to her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she wants to. But the one she marries must belong to the Lord.40In my opinion, she is happier if she stays single. And I also think that I am led by the Spirit of God in saying this.