1 Corinthians 7:11

But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
if	ἐὰν ean	G1437	a conditional particle · conditional particle
depart	χωρισθῇ, chōristhēa	G5563	to place room between · verb — aorist passive subjunctive, 3rd person singular
remain	μενέτω menetō	G3306	to stay (in a given place · verb — present active imperative, 3rd person singular
unmarried	ἄγαμος agamos	G22	unmarried · noun — nominative singular feminine
or	ἢ ē	G2228	disjunctive · conjunction
reconciled	καταλλαγήτω· katallagētō	G2644	to change mutually · verb — second aorist passive imperative, 3rd person singular
to	ἀνδρὶ andri	G435	a man (properly as an individual male) · noun — dative singular masculine
husband	ἄνδρα andra	G435	a man (properly as an individual male) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
let	ἀνήρ anḗr	G435	a man (properly as an individual male)
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
husband	ἀνήρ anḗr	G435	a man (properly as an individual male)
away	ἀφιέναι.¶ aphienai	G863	an intensive form of · verb — present active infinitive
wife	γυναῖκα gunaika	G1135	a woman · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be…
1 Corinthians 7:10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
Deuteronomy 22:19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil n…
Judges 19:2-3 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father’s house to Beth-lehem-judah, and was there four whole…
Isaiah 50:1 Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sol…
Mark 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

In this paragraph the apostle gives them direction in a case which must be very frequent in that age of the world, especially among the Jewish converts; I mean whether they were to live with heathen relatives in a married state. Moses's law permitted divorce; and there was a famous instance in the Jewish state, when the people were obliged to put away their idolatrous wives, Ezr 10:3. This might move a scruple in many minds, whether converts to Christianity were not bound to put away or desert their mates, continuing infidels. Concerning this matter the apostle here gives direction. And, I. In general, he tells them that marriage, by Christ's command, is for life; and therefore those who are…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:11

But and if she depart--or "be separated." If the sin of separation has been committed, that of a new marriage is not to be added (Mat 5:32). be reconciled--by appeasing her husband's displeasure, and recovering his good will. let not . . . husband put away . . . wife--In Mat 5:32 the only exception allowed is, "saving for the cause of fornication."

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:11

But, and if she depart - He puts the case as probable, because it was frequent, but lays it under restrictions. Let her remain unmarried - She departs at her own peril; but she must not marry another: she must either continue unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband put away his wife - Divorces cannot be allowed but in the case of fornication: an act of this kind dissolves the marriage vow; but nothing else can. It is a fact that, among the Jews, the wife had just as much right to put away her husband as the husband had to put away his wife. As divorces were granted, it was right that each should have an equal power; for this served as a mutual check.

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:11

But and if she depart,.... This is said, not as allowing of such a departure, which only in case of fornication is lawful; but supposing it a fact, that a woman cannot be prevailed upon to stay with her husband, but actually forsakes him upon some difference arising between them, let her remain unmarried: she ought not to marry another man; her departure does not make the marriage void; nor is it to be made void by any difference between them, either on religious or civil accounts, only in case of adultery; and therefore, if upon such separation she marries, she is guilty of adultery: or be reconciled to her husband; which is rather to be chosen, than to remain separate, though unmarried;…

The Church Fathers

A woman may not marry if she has left her husband because of fornication or apostasy, if he wishes to have sexual relations with her. But if the husband turns away from the faith or desires to have extramarital sexual relations, the wife may neither marry another nor return to him. The husband should not divorce his wife, but one should add the clause "except for fornication."
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Marriage — Was instituted in Paradise when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:18-24). Here we have its original charter, which was confirmed by our Lord, as the basis on which all regulations are to be framed (Matt.…
Revelation of Christ — The second advent of Christ. Three different Greek words are used by the apostles to express this, (1) apokalupsis (1 Cor. 1;7; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13); (2) parousia (Matt. 24:3, 27; 1 Thess.…
Divorce · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Husbands · Duty of, to wives: Not to leave them, though unbelieving — Duty of, to wives: Not to leave them, though unbelieving
Wife · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Corinthians 7:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:11

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:11

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 7:11

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:10-16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:11

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:11

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:11

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 7:10-17

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 7:10-11