Art thou bound to a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife.
δεδεσαι γυναικι μη ζητει λυσιν λελυσαι απο γυναικος μη ζητει γυναικα
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 11 commentaries
These words do not contradict the former ones, but fully agree with them. There he said, "except by agreement." Here he says, "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek release." One does not contradict the other. What is done against the will is dissolution. But if both husband and wife practice continence by agreement, this is not dissolution.
By the words, "Are you bound to a wife?" he showed that marriage, like a bond, brings troubles with it. By divorce he does not mean continence by mutual consent, but divorce without sufficient cause. If spouses practice continence by agreement, this is not divorce.
Each of us has his rights. Give me mine, and possess your own. If you are bound to a wife, do not give her a divorce. If I am loosed from a wife, I must not seek a wife. As I do not dissolve marriages once they have been bound, so you must not bind what has been loosed. Attention should also be paid to the meaning of the words. The man who has a wife is called a debtor, uncircumcised, a slave of his wife, and, as is proper to bad slaves, bound. But he who lives without a wife is, first, debtor to no one. Then he is circumcised. Third, he is free. Finally, he is loosed.
In another place, after citing the Apostle's definition, in which he says, "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek release. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife" (1 Cor 7:27), we added the following. "Let each one keep within his own bounds. Give me what is mine, and take what is yours. If you are joined to your wife, do not give her a divorce. If you have parted from a wife, do not seek her. As I do not sever a marriage once it has joined people, so you must not join what has been severed." Concerning another text, we expressed most clearly what we thought about virginity and marriage. "The Apostle does not fasten a noose around our neck. He does not compel us to be what we do not wish. Rather, he persuades us toward what is honorable and beautiful.
He urges us to serve the Lord diligently and always to be attentive as we await the Lord's will, ready to be revealed. Thus, whatever He commands, we may fulfill at once. So a good soldier, ready for battle, carries out orders and endures no care of every sort, which God has given, according to Ecclesiastes, to the sons of men, to be exercised in it (Eccl 3:10)." At the end of the comparison of virginity and marriage, we concluded our inquiry with these words. "Where there is good and better, the reward is not the same. There, certainly, the gifts differ. Thus between marriage and virginity there is as much difference as between not committing sin and doing good. To speak still more simply, it is the difference between good and better."
One thing I tolerate, another I admire. "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek release. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife" (1 Cor 7:27). Such is the commandment to those who are in marriage. But what does he say about virgins? "He who gives his virgin in marriage does well, and he who does not give her does better" (1 Cor 7:38).
These are the counsels of one who heals, since he says that a wife must not be put away except for fornication. Often those who put away their wives deceive others under the guise of continence, while growing cold toward their own resolve. But if someone chooses to live with his wife, let him urge her to live more purely, without scandals. "Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife." He who knows this as more acceptable to God should not seek a wife, and should abstain from the rest as well. For what profit is there in suppressing the torment of the flesh, that is, despising what is lawful, while submitting to what is unlawful?
He added, "I think," not because he doubts that virginity is good and the best of goods. Rather, lest counsel be turned into law, he expressed himself with hesitation. For law is accompanied by observance, transgression, and punishment of transgressors. Therefore he does not make this great thing a law, but offers it as counsel. After saying, "Do not seek a wife," he added:
Directing everything toward one goal, holiness and purity of life, the Apostle enters into a more detailed assessment of married and unmarried life. Since married life requires the fulfillment of various duties toward a wife, it hinders orderly and uninterrupted service to the Lord without distraction (1 Cor 7:35). Therefore the Apostle counsels that virginity be preferred, and later also widowhood to marriage (1 Cor 7:40). Especially in the present swift and brief time of life, the obligation of marriage can bring a Christian much affliction in the flesh. The Apostle would have the Christian stand above all obligations and pleasures of the world and the flesh. He wants nothing to hinder him from striving toward God and the pious life.
He wants even the married to live as though unmarried, pleasing God. He wants those pressed down by earthly sorrows, who weep, to live as though not weeping, and so on. For one thing alone is precious and important: eternal salvation. Everything in the world, even the very form of the world, is swiftly passing away (Chrysostom, Homily 19.6 on Corinthians).
"Because of the present necessity," that is, because of the difficulties and sorrows of the married state, as Theophylact says, "I judge it better that it is good for a person, whether man or woman, to remain so," that is, alone. Yet the married "will have afflictions in the flesh, and I spare you." Since the words "afflictions in the flesh" correspond to the words "because of the present necessity," perhaps the Apostle also had in mind what blessed Photius saw in the present necessity. These were the persecutions and oppressions for the faith that were always ready to rise against the Corinthians. It is easier for the unmarried to endure them, or to hide from them (Bishop Theophan).
In setting forth at length his view of celibacy, the Apostle again first presents the general teaching related to this view. Then he gives certain particular rules. The Apostle's first general point is that virgins should remain in their state, just as those in the marriage bond should remain, and likewise widows, or those who have renounced marriage. The Apostle's other fundamental thought is that it is better to be celibate than married. He proves this first by his personal conviction, which he regards as sound because he was called by the Lord Himself to proclaim right life. Second, he proves it from the fact that married life, difficult in general, was especially difficult during the founding of the Church.
Then come allusions to the dangers of persecutions, the difficulties of religious perfection, and the like. As before, the Apostle speaks of virginity in the form of counsel. According to blessed Theodoret, the Apostle speaks as though saying, "I do not introduce a law, but offer counsel. For the Lord also, after giving law to what accords with nature, offers only as counsel what is above nature. He says, 'I think,' not because he doubts that virginity is good and the best of good things, but so that counsel should not turn into law. He expressed himself as though in doubt." Blessed Theophylact writes, "It is good, and very good, for a man to abstain from marriage. Yet this is not because marriage is unclean, but because of the difficulties and sorrows of the married state. By affliction of the flesh he means the cares and concerns unavoidable in marriage. The unmarried are free from them."
"Are you bound to a wife?" This means, through marriage. It is the same as saying, have you entered marriage, or have you married? "Do not seek release." This does not mean the temporary self-deprivation by mutual consent spoken of earlier (1 Cor 7:5). It means divorce, namely abandoning one's wife. He again confirms the indissolubility of marriage. Before entering marriage, seek freedom from a wife. Once you have entered it, bear its burden and do not abandon her, however difficult it may be. "Are you released from a wife?" The Greek lelysai can be understood in this way: are you released from the wife to whom you were joined in marriage, because of her death? It can also mean: are you free from a wife, that is, have you never entered marriage at all?
In either case, do not seek a wife, that is, do not enter marriage. This is expressed in the form of a decisive command. Yet throughout this passage it is offered as counsel, that is, if you can and if you feel strong enough for it. Therefore either this condition must be understood, or the decisive form must be explained as follows. Above he said that because of the present necessity it is better for a man to be so, that is, not to have a wife. Married men could have thought, or raised the question, "What then? Should we abandon our wives?" "No," the Apostle answered. "My thought is this. If you are released and not bound in marriage to a wife, do not seek a wife. But if you are bound, do not seek release, that is, do not seek to abandon her." Thus Photius, in Oecumenius.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 11 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS