Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, that it’s good for a man to remain as he is.
Parallel Translations
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Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, that it’s good for a man to remain as he is.
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I suppose that it is good for the present necessite. For it is good for a man so to be.
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I suppose then this to bee good for the present necessitie: I meane that it is good for a man so to be.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 7:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
- 1 Corinthians 7:8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I am.
- Luke 23:28-29 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’
- 1 Peter 4:17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?
- 1 Corinthians 7:28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.
- 1 Corinthians 7:35-38 This I say for your own profit; not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction. But if any man thinks that he is behaving inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the flower of her age, and if need so requires, let him do what he desires. He doesn’t sin. Let them marry. But he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no urgency, but has power over his own will, and has determined in his own heart to keep his own virgin, does well. So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn’t give her in marriage does better.
- Jeremiah 16:2-4 “You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.” For Yahweh says concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land: “They will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and by famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
- Matthew 24:19 But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!
- Luke 21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 26. I think therefore that this is good. While…
26. I think therefore that this is good. While I translate this passage of Paul’s writings differently from Erasmus or the Vulgate, I at the same time do not differ from them as to its meaning. They divide Paul’s words in such a way, that the same thing is repeated twice. I, on the other hand, make it simply one proposition, and not without authority, for I follow ancient and approved manuscripts, which make it all one sentence, with merely a colon between. The meaning is this: “I think it expedient on account of the necessity, with which the saints are always harassed in this life, that all should enjoy the liberty and advantage of celibacy, as this would be of advantage to them.” There are some, however, that view the term necessity as referring to the age of the Apostle, which was, undoubtedly, full of trouble to the pious: but he appears to me to have had it rather in view to express the disquietude with which the saints are incessantly harassed in the present life. I view it, therefore, as extending to all ages, and I understand it in this way, that the saints are often, in this world, driven hither and thither, and are exposed to many and various tempests, so that their condition appears to be unsuitable for marriage. The phrase so to be, signifies to remain unmarried, or to abstain from marriage.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To remain a virgin.
To remain a virgin.
For the necessity which the Saints are daily subject unto, who are continually tossed up and down, so that their estate may seem most unfit for marriage, were it not that the weakness of the flesh enforced them to it.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 26 I suppose therefore that this is good for…
26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
Ver. 26. I suppose therefore] This is his judgment, his vote or verdict: the first part thereof we have here; the second, 1Co 7:28; the third, 1Co 7:35.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Good here signifieth convenient, (as before), if other circumstances…
Good here signifieth convenient, (as before), if other circumstances of particular persons make it not sinful; or better with respect to
the present distress or necessity: by which, without doubt, the apostle meaneth, not the common necessities of all men that are born once to die, (which is the more easy the fewer relations we have to part from), nor yet of family troubles and concerns, for there is none who hath a family in this world to look after, but will have trouble in the flesh; but the continual troubles with which the church of God was disquieted, as the ark upon the waters, and the more special troubles of the primitive church; for though their great persecutions from the heathen were not, possibly, at that time begun, yet Christ had foretold them, and the apostles had them in a very near prospect (Paul is thought to have died the tenth or eleventh year of Nero). For this present necessity or distress, the apostle gives his opinion, that it was convenient and better, for those that could honestly abstain from marriage, to keep themselves in their single and unmarried condition.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I suppose, therefore, that this is good,.... The opinion…
I suppose, therefore, that this is good,.... The opinion of the apostle, the sentiment of his mind, his judgment in this case were, that it was better, more advisable and eligible, for persons that were single to continue so; his reason for it follows,
for the present necessity; by which is meant not the shortness of life, and the necessity of dying, when husband and wife must part, upon which trouble ensues; nor the various sorrows, cares, encumbrances, trials, and exercises that attend a conjugal state, as bearing and bringing forth, and bringing up children, provision for the family, &c. which are common to all, and at all times more or less; but the present time of persecution, under which the churches of Christ were; agreeably the Syriac version reads it, , "because of the necessity of the time", or season: using the very Greek word in text; as the Targumists (q) also have frequently adopted it into their language, and use the phrase , "an hour, or time of necessity", for a time of great affliction and distress, just as the apostle does here; because this was the present case of the Christians, he thought it most prudent for such as were single to remain so; since as they were often obliged to move from place to place, to fly from one city to another, this would be very incommodious for married persons, who might have young children to take care of, and provide for; see Mat 24:19 upon a like account, the Jewish doctors advise to the same the apostle here does (r);
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"from the day that the empire is extended, which decrees hard decrees upon us, and causes the law and the commandments to cease from us, and does not suffer us to circumcise children; it is right that we agree among ourselves, , not to marry, and beget children:''
I say it is good for a man so to be; to remain unmarried, to live a single life, to be a virgin; for the word "virgin", as here used, relates to men as well as maidens, and denotes the single state of either. The apostle does not add, "even as I"; as he does in Co1 7:8 which seems to confirm the conjecture already made, that he was not a bachelor, but a widower; otherwise he would doubtless have enforced this advice by his own example, as before.
(q) Targum Jon. & Hieros. in Gen. xxii. 14. & xxxviii. 25. & Targum Sheni in Esth. v. 1. (r) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 60. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain This is good for the present distress - While…
This is good for the present distress - While any church is under persecution. For a man to continue as he is - Whether married or unmarried. St. Paul does not here urge the present distress as a reason for celibacy, any more than for marriage; but for a man's not seeking to alter his state, whatever it be, but making the best of it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. This is good for the present distress]…
Verse 26. This is good for the present distress] There was no period in the heathen times when the Church was not under persecutions and afflictions; on some occasions these were more oppressive than at others.
The word αναγκη signifies, necessity, distress, tribulation, and calamity; as it does in Lu 21:23; 2Co 6:4; 2Co 12:10. In such times, when the people of God had no certain dwelling-place, when they were lying at the mercy of their enemies without any protection from the state-the state itself often among the persecutors-he who had a family to care for, would find himself in very embarrassed circumstances, as it would be much more easy to provide for his personal safety than to have the care of a wife and children. On this account it was much better for unmarried persons to continue for the present in their celibacy.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I suppose - I think; I give the following…
I suppose - I think; I give the following advice.
For the present distress - In the present state of trial. The word “distress” (ἀνάγκην anagkēn, necessity) denotes calamity, persecution, trial, etc.; see Luk 21:23. The word rendered “present” (ἐνεστῶσαν enestōsan) denotes that which “urges on,” or that which at that time presses on, or afflicts. Here it is implied:
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That at that time they were subject to trials so severe as to render the advice which he was about to give proper; and, That he by no means meant that this should be a “permanent arrangement” in the church, and of course it cannot be urged as an argument for the monastic system.
What the “urgent distress” of this time was, is not certainly known. If the Epistle was written about 59 a.d. (see the introduction), it was in the time of Nero; and probably he had already begun to oppress and persecute Christians. At all events, it is evident that the Christians at Corinth were subject to some trials which rendered the cares of the marriage life undesirable.
It is good for a man so to be - The emphasis here is on the word “so” οὕτως houtōs; that is, it is best for a man to conduct “in the following manner;” the word so referring to the advice which follows. “I advise that he conduct in the following manner, to wit.” Most commentators suppose that it means “as he is:” that is, unmarried; but the interpretation proposed above best suits the connection. The advice given is in the following verses.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain I suppose--"I consider."
I suppose--"I consider."
this--namely, "for a man so to be," that is, in the same state in which he is (Co1 7:27).
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for--by reason of.
the present distress--the distresses to which believers were then beginning to be subjected, making the married state less desirable than the single; and which would prevail throughout the world before the destruction of Jerusalem, according to Christ's prophecy (Mat 24:8-21; compare Act 11:28).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. The present distress—Present αναγκην, compulsion. Necessities of the…
26. The present distress—Present αναγκην, compulsion. Necessities of the times compelling a caution against forming ties, for such ties would involve trouble, 1Co_7:28. Alford absurdly explains this distress as referring to the second advent, then imagined by Paul to be at hand. In refutation of which we esteem it sufficient at present to say, that the Greek word here rendered present is, in 2Th_2:2, the very word which is translated at hand, and is denied to be predicable of our Lord’s coming.
So to be—Just as he is.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26. the present distress] The literal rendering of the…
26. the present distress] The literal rendering of the word here translated distress is necessity, and it is so translated in 1Co_7:37. But it frequently in the New Testament, as in the Septuagint, has the sense of distress, as in St Luk_21:23; 2Co_6:4; 2Co_12:10; 1Th_3:7. Here it means either (1) ‘the great tribulation’ which was to precede our Lord’s coming (see St Matthew 24.; St Mark 13.; St Luke 21.; Rev_7:14), or (2) the general distress and anxiety which attended the profession of Christianity in those times.
so to be] “thus to be,” as explained in the next verse.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) I suppose therefore that this is good for…
(26) I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress.—Better, I think then that it is good because of the impending distress—that it is good for a person to be so—i.e., to continue in the state in which he is, married or unmarried, as the case may be.
The construction of this sentence is strikingly characteristic of a writing which has been taken down from dictation. The speaker commences the sentence, and afterwards commences it over again: “I think it is good,” &c., and then, “I say I think it is good.”
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From this verse to the end of 1Co_7:35 the Apostle deals again with the general question of marriage, introducing a new element of consideration—“the impending distress”; and at 1Co_7:36 he returns to the immediate subject with which he had started in 1Co_7:25, viz., duty of parents regarding their young unmarried daughters. The “impending distress” is that foretold by Christ, Mat_24:8 et seq. The Apostle regarded the coming of Christ as no distant event, and in the calamities already threatening the Church, such as the famine in the time of Claudius (Act_11:28), and in the gathering persecutions, he heard the first mutterings of the storm which should burst upon the world before the sign of the Son of Man should appear in the heavens.
It is good for a man.—It is most important to remember how much stress St. Paul lays upon this point as the ground of his preference for celibacy. As the reason for the preference has ceased to exist, so the advice, so far as it springs from that cause, is no longer of binding obligation (see 1Co_7:29-31).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I suppose. St. Paul only states this modestly, and…
I suppose. St. Paul only states this modestly, and somewhat hesitatingly, as his personal opinion. For the present distress; rather, on account of the pressing necessity; in the urgent and trying conditions which at the present moment surround the Christian"s life, and which were the prophesied "woes of the Messiah". (Mat_24:3, etc.) For a man; rather, for a person whether man or woman. Be to be; that is, unmarried. The words are not improbably a quotation from the Corinthian letter. Otherwise we might explain the "so" to mean as he is whether married or unmarried."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 26. I suppose … for the present distress. The…
26. I suppose … for the present distress. The critical condition in which Christians were placed by the spirit of persecution which then prevailed. Good for a man so to be. To remain in the state he already is.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain I think therefore that this is good by reason…
I think therefore that this is good by reason of the distress that is upon us, namely, that it is good for a man to be as he is .
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.