1 Corinthians 7:38

So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
So	ὥστε hōste	G5620	so too · conjunction
then	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
he	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
giveth	ἐκγαμίζω ekgamízō	G1547	to marry off a daughter
marriage	ἐκγαμίζω ekgamízō	G1547	to marry off a daughter
doeth	ποιεῖ, poiei	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
well	καλῶς kalōs	G2573	well (usually morally) · adverb
but	δέ dé	G1161	but
he	τὴν tēn	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative singular feminine
giveth	ἐκγαμίζω ekgamízō	G1547	to marry off a daughter
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
marriage	ἐκγαμίζω ekgamízō	G1547	to marry off a daughter
doeth	ποιήσει.¶ poiēsei	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
better	κρεῖσσον kreisson	G2908	(as noun) better · adjective — accusative singular neuter, comparative

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

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
1 Corinthians 7:8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
1 Corinthians 7:32-34 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
1 Corinthians 7:37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart…
1 Corinthians 7:26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38

In this passage the apostle is commonly supposed to give advice about the disposal of children in marriage, upon the principle of his former determination. In this view the general meaning is plain. It was in that age, and those parts of the world, and especially among the Jews, reckoned a disgrace for a woman to remain unmarried past a certain number of years: it gave a suspicion of somewhat that was not for her reputation. "Now," says the apostle, "if any man thinks he behaves unhandsomely towards his daughter, and that it is not for her credit to remain unmarried, when she is of full age, and that upon this principle it is needful to dispose of her in marriage, he may use his pleasure. It…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:38

her--The oldest manuscripts have "his own virgin daughter." but--The oldest manuscripts have "and."

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:36

Uncomely towards his virgin - Different meanings have been assigned to this verse; I shall mention three of the principal. 1. "In those early times, both among the Hebrews and Christians, the daughters were wholly in the power of the father, so that he might give or not give them in marriage as he chose; and might bind them to perpetual celibacy if he thought proper; and to this case the apostle alludes. If the father had devoted his daughter to perpetual virginity, and he afterwards found that she had fixed her affections upon a person whom she was strongly inclined to marry, and was now getting past the prime of life; he, seeing from his daughter's circumstances that it would be wrong to f…

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John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:38

So then he that giveth her in marriage doth well,.... Does that which is in its own nature good; that which is agreeable to the will of God, is of his institution and appointment, and therefore must be good, and answer many good ends and purposes. Such an one that marries his daughter, he seeing a necessity for it, and a propriety in it, does a very good thing; secures her chastity, and his own credit; prevents fornication, and other evils that might follow; consults the good of mankind, and the honour of religion. But he that giveth her not in marriage doth better; not a better action in itself, simply considered; but more profitable and advantageous under such and such circumstances, with…

The Church Fathers

The one who refrains from marriage does better because he earns merit for her with God and delivers her from the cares of this world.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

Thus he pronounces that the "preserver of a virgin" doeth" better" than her "giver in marriage." Thus, too, he discriminatingly judges her to be more blessed, who, after losing her husband subsequently to her entrance into the faith, lovingly embraces the opportunity of widowhood.
— Tertullian, On Modesty

The one is bound by the chains of marriage, the other is free from chains; the one is under the Law, the other under Grace. Marriage is good, for thereby the means of continuing the human race has been devised, but virginity is better, for thereby the heritage of the heavenly kingdom is regained, and the mode of attaining to heavenly rewards discovered.
— Ambrose of Milan, Letters 41-50, Letter 42, 3

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

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.…
Celibacy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Continence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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 7:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:38

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:36

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 7:38

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 7:38

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 7:36

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 7:38

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 7:36-38