31. and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
32. But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
33. But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
34. And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
35. Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
36. But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
37. But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
38. And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
39. A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
40. But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.