1 CORINTHIANS 7:30 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;”
From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep. — The counsel is detachment, not abandonment of responsibilities. Wives should be loved but held lightly; grief should not consume; joy should not intoxicate; possessions should not possess. The hōs mē (as if not) construction suggests that while these things are real, they do not define the believer's ultimate identity or destiny. This is not Stoic apathy but eschatological sobriety.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 7:30
“Are you bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife.” These words carry no contradiction to what had been said before but rather the most entire agreement with them. For he says in that place also, “Except it be by consent:” as here he says, “Are you bound unto a wife? Seek not separation.” This is no contradiction. For its being against consent makes a dissolution: but if with consent both live continently, it is no…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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