Translation
And so then, the one who gives his own virgin [daughter] in marriage
Go to footnote numberdoes well, and the one who does not give her in marriage will do better.
Paraphrase
The same goes for a father; if he gives his daughter to a young man in marriage, he has fulfilled his responsibilities well, but [during difficult times like these], if he refrains from giving her to a young man in marriage, he has done something even better.
Footnotes
1
This verb means “to give in marriage.” The same word is used in the second half of this sentence.
WHO WILL ACCEPT THE HEARTACHE?
The reason it is better for a godly father to not give his godly daughter away in marriage during a time of persecution is that he has spared her from the heartache of seeing her godly husband tortured and killed, or her being killed in front of him. In this case the father is willing to take that heartache upon himself rather than pass it on to someone else.