1 CORINTHIANS 7:13 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.”
And if any woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. — The parallel for wives ensures reciprocal rights and obligations. The unbelieving husband's consent to remain is the decisive criterion. Paul's protection of existing mixed marriages prioritizes preserving the household and possibly allowing for the unbeliever's conversion (cf. 1 Pet 3:1). The symmetrical treatment reinforces that both spouses have agency and rights.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 7:13
“But to the rest speak I, not the Lord. If any brother have a wife that believes not, and she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her. And if any woman has an husband that believes not, and he is content to dwell with her, let her not leave him.” For as when discoursing about separating from fornicators, he made the matter easy by the correction which he applied to his words, saying, “Howbeit, not altogether with the fornicators of this world;” so also in this…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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