1st Corinthians Chapter 7 verse 38 Holy Bible
So then both he that giveth his own virgin `daughter' in marriage doeth well; and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better.
read chapter 7 in ASV
So then, he who gets married to his virgin does well, and he who keeps her unmarried does better.
read chapter 7 in BBE
So that he that marries himself does well; and he that does not marry does better.
read chapter 7 in DARBY
So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
read chapter 7 in KJV
read chapter 7 in WBT
So then both he who gives his own virgin in marriage does well, and he who doesn't give her in marriage does better.
read chapter 7 in WEB
so that both he who is giving in marriage doth well, and he who is not giving in marriage doth better.
read chapter 7 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 38. - Doeth well. Because" marriage is honourable in all." Doeth better. Obviously not morally, because, if one course be morally better than another, we are bound to take it; but "better" with reference to expediency in "the urgent necessity" which rested on the Christian world in that day. It is quite clear that, if these words are meant to disparage matrimony in comparison with celibacy, or to treat celibacy in the abstract as a holier state that marriage, they have been set aside by the universal practice and theory of the Christian world. But, as we have seen, they are expressed by St. Paul only as a relative and diffident opinion. It is remarkable that not one word is said as to the choice of the virgin herself in the matter, which is one of the most essential points on which the decision must turn. St. Paul, no doubt, assumes the acquiescence or preference of the maiden as one of the elements in the absence of any "need" for her marriage; but also he writes after lifelong familiarity with the all but absolute control exercised by Jewish parents over their youthful daughters.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(38) So then . . .--Better, So then he that gives his daughter in marriage does well, and (not "but") he that giveth her not shall do better. It is worth noticing how, in the case of the one who gives his daughter in marriage, we have the present tense "does well"--as if the good he did began and ended there; and, in the other case, the future "shall do" (in 1Corinthians 7:37 also)--the good result of his action continuing while the girl remains with her parent. This passage clearly shows how St. Paul has not been contrasting right and wrong: but comparative degrees of what is expedient.All throughout this passage the Apostle takes for granted the absolute control of the parent over the child, in accordance with the principles of both Greek and Jewish jurisprudence. Hence, no advice is given to the young maiden herself, but only to her father.
