1 Corinthians7:2

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Translation

However, due to the surrendering of sexual purity,

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let each man

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have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.

Paraphrase

However, due to sexual promiscuity of every kind, I acknowledge that the directive I just gave will not be best for everyone, so for some, it is best for a man to have his own wife to satisfy his sexual needs, and for a wife to have her own husband to satisfy her sexual needs.

Footnotes

1

This is the word from which we get our English word “porno” to which we usually add “graphy or graphic.” This Greek word is based on another root word meaning “to sell off,” and context often indicated it was a selling off, or surrendering of sexual purity. Thus the word used here has often been translated “sexual promiscuity” or “fornication.” It referred to sexual promiscuity of any kind.

Paul’s use of this phrase here can be taken in various ways. It can mean “because sexual promiscuity is rife,” “to avoid sexual promiscuity,” “due to fear of sexual promiscuity,” “due to the danger of sexual promiscuity,” or “because of the temptation to participate in sexual promiscuity.” Any and all of these are possible. Paul may have left his statement vague in order to include all these possibilities rather than writing something that was too narrow for real life.

2

The Geek actually uses a masculine form of “each one” and later a feminine form of “each one.”