[7:1] Now, to deal with the matters you wrote about. A man does well not to marry.
[7:2] But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.
[7:3] A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs.
[7:4] A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is.
[7:5] Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.
[7:6] I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a permission.
[7:7] Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.
[7:8] Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do.
[7:9] But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry—it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
[7:10] For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband;
[7:11] but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.
[7:12] To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her.
[7:13] And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him.
[7:14] For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.
[7:15] However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.
[7:16] How can you be sure, Christian wife, that you will not save your husband? Or how can you be sure, Christian husband, that you will not save your wife?