1 Corinthians 7:12

Verse

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.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.

Douay-Rheims 1899

For to the rest I speak, not the Lord. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she consent to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

Free Bible Version

Now, to the rest of you, (and this is me speaking, not the Lord), I would say, “If a Christian man has a non-Christian wife and she is willing to stay with him, he should not leave her.

Geneva Bible 1599

But to ye remnant I speake, and not ye Lord, If any brother haue a wife, ye beleeueth not, if she be content to dwell with him, let him not forsake her.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Plain English Version

Now I will talk to you people that are married, but your partner is not a Christian. This is not a rule that comes from our leader, Jesus, but this is what I reckon. If a Christian man has a wife, and if she doesn’t believe in Jesus, but she agrees to stay with him, that man can’t split up the marriage, he can’t divorce her.

Translation for Translators

Now I say this to the rest of you, to those who became believers after they were married. This is what I am saying, not what the Lord has commanded. If someone has a wife who is not a believer, if she is willing to keep living with him, he must not divorce her.

Unlocked Literal Bible

But to the rest I say—I, not the Lord—that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and if she is content to live with him, he should not divorce her.

Noah Webster Bible

But to the rest I speak, not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

World English Bible

But to the rest I—not the Lord—say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.

Young's Literal Translation

And to the rest I speak — not the Lord — if any brother hath a wife unbelieving, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not send her away;

Context

Principles of Marriage

¹¹But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.¹²To 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.¹³And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.

Sermons

2 Corinthians 13:10

St. John Chrysostom

Yet Not I, But

H.J. Vine

Summary

In this verse, Paul addresses believers who are married to unbelievers, advising them to remain in the marriage if the unbelieving spouse is willing to stay. He emphasizes the sanctifying influence that the believing partner can have on the unbelieving spouse and children. Paul's counsel reflects the importance of maintaining peace and unity within the marriage, as well as the potential for the unbelieving spouse to be positively impacted by the believer's faith and conduct.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

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. If any brother - A Christian man, have a wife that believeth not, i.e. who is a heathen, not yet converted to the Christian faith, and she be pleased to dwell with him, notwithstanding his turning Christian since their marriage, let him not put her away because she still continues in her heathen superstition.

John Gill Bible Commentary

But to the rest speak I, not the Lord,.... He had spoken before to married persons in general, and had delivered not his own sentiments barely, but the commandment of the Lord, that such should never separate from, or put away each other; in which he has respect to such as were upon equal foot in matters of religion, who were both of them believers in Christ; but now he speaks to the rest, to such as were unequally yoked, the one a believer, the other an unbeliever; and what he delivers on this head, concerning their living together, there being no express determination of this matter by the Lord himself, he under divine inspiration gives his sense of it; as that such marriages were valid, and that such persons ought to live together, and not separate on account of difference in religion: or the sense is, that as "to the rest" of the things they had wrote to him about, besides what he had given answer to already, he should speak to under divine illumination; though he had not an express law of Christ to point unto them, as the rule of their conduct: and particularly, whereas they had desired his judgment and advice upon this head, whether one who before conversion had married an unbeliever, ought to live with such an one, or whether it would not be advisable to leave, or put such away, to it he answers, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not; that is, if any man who is now a brother, one called by the grace of God, and is in church fellowship, has a wife to whom he was married whilst in a state of unregeneracy and infidelity; who is as she was when he married her, entirely destitute of faith in Christ; not one that is weak in the faith, or only makes an outward profession, but that has no faith at all in Christ, nor in his Gospel, not so much as an historical one; who disbelieves, denies, and rejects, the truths of the Gospel: and she be pleased to dwell with him; loves her husband, chooses to continue with him, notwithstanding their different sentiments of religion: let him not put her away; infidelity is no reason for a divorce. The Gospel revelation does not dissolve the natural obligations men and women are in to one another. The Jews had a law prohibiting marriages with Heathens and idolaters; and such marriages were dissolved, and such wives put away, Exo 34:16 but this was a law peculiar to that people, and was not obligatory on other nations, and especially has no place under the Gospel dispensation.

1 Corinthians 7:12

Principles of Marriage

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

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.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.

Douay-Rheims 1899

For to the rest I speak, not the Lord. If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she consent to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

Free Bible Version

Now, to the rest of you, (and this is me speaking, not the Lord), I would say, “If a Christian man has a non-Christian wife and she is willing to stay with him, he should not leave her.

Geneva Bible 1599

But to ye remnant I speake, and not ye Lord, If any brother haue a wife, ye beleeueth not, if she be content to dwell with him, let him not forsake her.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

Plain English Version

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

But to the rest I say—I, not the Lord—that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and if she is content to live with him, he should not divorce her.

Noah Webster Bible

But to the rest I speak, not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

World English Bible

But to the rest I—not the Lord—say, if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she is content to live with him, let him not leave her.

Young's Literal Translation

And to the rest I speak — not the Lord — if any brother hath a wife unbelieving, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not send her away;

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

1 Corinthians 7:12

Verse

Context

Principles of Marriage

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

1 Corinthians 7:12

Principles of Marriage

2 Corinthians 13:10

Yet Not I, But

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes