KJV: For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
YLT: for I wish all men to be even as I myself am; but each his own gift hath of God, one indeed thus, and one thus.
Darby: Now I wish all men to be even as myself: but every one has his own gift of God: one man thus, and another thus.
ASV: Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.
θέλω | I wish |
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular Root: θέλω Sense: to will, have in mind, intend. |
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δὲ | now |
Parse: Conjunction Root: δέ Sense: but, moreover, and, etc. |
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ἀνθρώπους | men |
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural Root: ἄνθρωπος Sense: a human being, whether male or female. |
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εἶναι | to be |
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active Root: εἰμί Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present. |
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ὡς | like |
Parse: Adverb Root: ὡς Sense: as, like, even as, etc. |
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καὶ | even |
Parse: Conjunction Root: καί Sense: and, also, even, indeed, but. |
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ἐμαυτόν | myself |
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 1st Person Singular Root: ἐμαυτοῦ Sense: I, me, myself etc. |
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ἕκαστος | each |
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ἕκαστος Sense: each, every. |
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ἴδιον | his own |
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: ἴδιος Sense: pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self. |
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χάρισμα | gift |
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular Root: χάρισμα Sense: a favour with which one receives without any merit of his own. |
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Θεοῦ | God |
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: θεός Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities. |
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ὁ | one [has] |
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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μὲν | indeed |
Parse: Conjunction Root: μέν Sense: truly, certainly, surely, indeed. |
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οὕτως | this |
Parse: Adverb Root: οὕτως Sense: in this manner, thus, so. |
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ὁ | one |
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc. |
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δὲ | however |
Parse: Conjunction Root: δέ Sense: but, moreover, and, etc. |
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οὕτως | that |
Parse: Adverb Root: οὕτως Sense: in this manner, thus, so. |
Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 7:7
“But I wish.” Followed by accusative and infinitive This is Paul‘s personal preference under present conditions (1 Corinthians 7:26). [source]
This clearly means that Paul was not then married and it is confirmed by 1 Corinthians 9:5. Whether he had been married and was now a widower turns on the interpretation of Acts 26:10 “I cast my vote.” If this is taken literally (the obvious way to take it) as a member of the Sanhedrin, Paul was married at that time. There is no way to decide. His own gift from God (ιδιον χαρισμα εκ τεου idion charisma ek theou). So each must decide for himself. See note on 1 Corinthians 1:7 for χαρισμα charisma a late word from χαριζομαι charizomai f0). [source]
So each must decide for himself. See note on 1 Corinthians 1:7 for χαρισμα charisma a late word from χαριζομαι charizomai f0). [source]
Not unmarried, but continent. It is not necessary to assume that Paul had never been married. Marriage was regarded as a duty among the Jews, so that a man was considered to have sinned if he had reached the age of twenty without marrying. The Mishna fixed the age of marriage at seventeen or eighteen, and the Babylonish Jews as early as fourteen. A rabbinical precept declared that a Jew who has no wife is not a man. It is not certain, but most probable, that Saul was a member of the Sanhedrim (Acts 26:10). If so, he must have been married, as marriage was a condition of membership. From 1 Corinthians 7:8it is plausibly inferred that he classed himself among widowers. Farrar (“Life and Work of St. Paul,” i., 80) has some beautiful remarks upon the evidence for his marriage afforded by the wisdom and tenderness of his words concerning it. [source]
See on Romans 1:11. As regards the matter of continence, fitting some for marriage and some for celibacy. [source]
Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 7:7
Lit., laid down my vote. See on counteth, Luke 14:28. Some suppose that Paul here refers to casting his vote as a member of the Sanhedrim; in which case he must have been married and the father of a family. But this there is no reason for believing (compare 1 Corinthians 7:7, 1 Corinthians 7:8); and the phrase may be taken as expressing merely moral assent and approval. [source]
“The authority,” he says. Paul was the official persecutor of the saints under the direction of the Sanhedrin. He mentions “chief priests” (Sadducees), though a Pharisee himself. Both parties were co-operating against the saints. And when they were put to death (αναιρουμενων τε αυτων anairoumenōn te autōn). Genitive absolute with present passive participle of αναιρεω anaireō I gave my vote against them “I cast down my pebble” (a black one). The ancient Greeks used white pebbles for acquittal (Revelation 2:17), black ones for condemnation as here (the only two uses of the word in the N.T.). Paul‘s phrase (not found elsewhere) is more vivid than the usual καταπσηπιζω katapsēphizō for voting. They literally cast the pebbles into the urn. Cf. συμπσηπιζω sumpsēphizō in Acts 19:19, συγκαταπσεπιζο sugkatapsephizo in Acts 1:26. If Paul‘s language is taken literally here, he was a member of the Sanhedrin and so married when he led the persecution. That is quite possible, though he was not married when he wrote 1 Corinthians 7:7., but a widower. It is possible to take the language figuratively for approval, but not so natural. [source]
“I cast down my pebble” (a black one). The ancient Greeks used white pebbles for acquittal (Revelation 2:17), black ones for condemnation as here (the only two uses of the word in the N.T.). Paul‘s phrase (not found elsewhere) is more vivid than the usual καταπσηπιζω katapsēphizō for voting. They literally cast the pebbles into the urn. Cf. συμπσηπιζω sumpsēphizō in Acts 19:19, συγκαταπσεπιζο sugkatapsephizo in Acts 1:26. If Paul‘s language is taken literally here, he was a member of the Sanhedrin and so married when he led the persecution. That is quite possible, though he was not married when he wrote 1 Corinthians 7:7., but a widower. It is possible to take the language figuratively for approval, but not so natural. [source]
It is possible that by “the unmarried” (masculine plural) the apostle means only men since widows are added and since virgins receive special treatment later (1 Corinthians 7:25) and in 1 Corinthians 7:32 ο αγαμος ho agamos is the unmarried man. It is hardly likely that Paul means only widowers and widows and means to call himself a widower by ως καγω hōs kagō (even as I). After discussing marital relations in 1 Corinthians 7:2-7 he returns to the original question in 1 Corinthians 7:1 and repeats his own personal preference as in 1 Corinthians 7:7. He does not say that it is better to be unmarried, but only that it is good (καλον kalon as in 1 Corinthians 7:1) for them to remain unmarried. Αγαμος Agamos is an old word and in N.T. occurs only in this passage. In 1 Corinthians 7:11, 1 Corinthians 7:34 it is used of women where the old Greeks would have used ανανδρος anandros without a husband. [source]
Not mere wish as in 1 Corinthians 7:7, 1 Corinthians 7:8. Not I, but the Lord (ουκ εγω αλλα ο κυριος ouk egō alla ho kurios). Paul had no commands from Jesus to the unmarried (men or women), but Jesus had spoken to the married (husbands and wives) as in Matthew 5:31.; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:9-12; Luke 16:18. The Master had spoken plain words about divorce. Paul reenforces his own inspired command by the command of Jesus. In Mark 10:9 we have from Christ: “What therefore God joined together let not man put asunder” (μη χοριζετω mē chorizetō). That the wife depart not from her husband First aorist passive infinitive (indirect command after παραγγελλω paraggellō) of χοριζω chorizō old verb from adverbial preposition χωρις chōris separately, apart from, from. Here used of divorce by the wife which, though unusual then, yet did happen as in the case of Salome (sister of Herod the Great) and of Herodias before she married Herod Antipas. Jesus also spoke of it (Mark 10:12). Now most of the divorces are obtained by women. This passive infinitive is almost reflexive in force according to a constant tendency in the Koiné{[28928]}š (Robertson, Grammar, p. 817).sa120 [source]
Lit. private, personal, peculiar, as 1 Corinthians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 7:7. Sometimes strange, eccentric. Contrasted with δημόσιος publicor κοινός commonSee Acts 4:32. Sometimes without emphasis, substantially = possessive pronoun, just as Lat. proprius passes into suus or ejus, or οἰκεῖος belongingto one's house into the simple one's own. See on Galatians 6:10, and comp. Matthew 22:5; Matthew 25:14. In lxx commonly with the emphatic sense. Very often in the phrase κατ ' ἰδίαν privatelyas Mark 4:34; Luke 9:10; Galatians 2:2, but nowhere in Pastorals. [source]
Comp. 1 Timothy 3:12; Titus 1:6. Is the injunction aimed (a) at immoralities respecting marriage - concubinage, etc., or (b) at polygamy, or (c) at remarriage after death or divorce? The last is probably meant. Much of the difficulty arises from the assumption that the Pastorals were written by Paul. In that case his views seem to conflict. See Romans 7:2, Romans 7:3; 1 Corinthians 7:39; 1 Corinthians 8:8, 1 Corinthians 8:9, where Paul declares that widows are free to marry again, and puts widows and virgins on the same level; and comp. 1 Timothy 5:9, according to which a widow is to be enrolled only on the condition of having been the wife of but one man. The Pauline view is modified in detail by the writer of the Pastorals. Paul, while asserting that marriage is right and honorable, regards celibacy as the higher state (1 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Corinthians 7:7, 1 Corinthians 7:26, 1 Corinthians 7:34, 1 Corinthians 7:37, 1 Corinthians 7:38). In this the Pastoral writer does not follow him (see 1 Timothy 2:15; 1 Timothy 3:4, 1 Timothy 3:12; 1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Timothy 5:10, 1 Timothy 5:14). The motive for marriage, namely, protection against incontinency, which is adduced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:2, 1 Corinthians 7:9, is given in 1 Timothy 5:11-14. As in Paul, the married state is honorable, for Bishops, Deacons, and Presbyters are married (1 Timothy 3:2, 1 Timothy 3:12; Titus 1:6), and the honor of childbearing conferred upon the mother of our Lord is reflected in the Christian woman of later times (1 Timothy 2:15). While Paul advises against second marriages (1 Corinthians 7:8, 1 Corinthians 7:9, 1 Corinthians 7:27, 1 Corinthians 7:39, 1 Corinthians 7:40), in the Pastorals emphasis is laid only on the remarriage of church-officers and church-widows. In the Pastorals we see a reflection of the conditions of the earlier post-apostolic age, when a non-Pauline asceticism was showing itself (see 1 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 4:4, 1 Timothy 4:8; Titus 1:15). The opposition to second marriage became very strong in the latter part of the second century. It was elevated into an article of faith by the Montanists, and was emphasized by Tertullian, and by Athenagoras, who called second marriage “a specious adultery” ( εὐπρεπής μοιχεία )|Vigilant ( νηφάλιον )|Only in the Pastorals. See 1 Timothy 3:11, and Titus 2:2. olxx. The kindred verb νήφειν means to be sober with reference to drink, and, in a metaphorical sense, to be sober and wary; cool and unimpassioned. Thus Epicharmus, νᾶφε καὶ μέμνας ἀπιστεῖν bewary and remember not to be credulous. See on 1 Thessalonians 5:6. In N.T. the meaning of the verb is always metaphorical, to be calm, dispassionate, and circumspect. The A.V. vigilant is too limited. Wise caution may be included; but it is better to render sober, as A.V. in 1 Timothy 3:11and Titus 2:2, in the metaphorical sense as opposed to youthful levity.|Of good behavior ( κόσμιον )|oP. Only here and 1 Timothy 2:9, see note. Rend. orderly.|Given to hospitality ( φιλόξενον )|oP. Comp. Titus 1:8; 1 Peter 4:9. See note on pursuing hospitality, Romans 12:13.|Apt to teach ( διδακτικόν )|oP. Only here and 2 Timothy 2:24. olxx, oClass. In the Pastorals the function of teaching pertains to both Bishops and Elders (see 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:9). It is at this point that the tendency to confound and identify the two reveals itself. Bishops and Presbyters are not identical. Earlier, the teaching function does not seem to have attached to the position of ἐπίσκοπος. The office acquired a different character when it assumed that function, which is not assigned to it in Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians. In the Didache or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (about 100 a.d.) the ministry of teaching is to be assumed by the Bishops only in the absence of the Prophets and Teachers (xiii., xv).| [source]
See note on 1 Timothy 4:14. Here Paul says μου mou (my), there he mentions the presbytery. Paul felt a deep personal interest in Timothy. See note on 1 Corinthians 7:7; Romans 6:23; Romans 11:29 for the gift of God. [source]
Old compound to remind (1 Corinthians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 7:15). That thou stir up (σε αναζωπυρειν se anazōpurein). Present active infinitive of αναζωπυρεω anazōpureō old double compound (ανα ana and ζωπυρον zōpuron live coal, ζωος zōos and πυρ pur then the bellows for kindling), to rekindle, to stir into flame, to keep blazing (continuous action, present time), only here in N.T. See note on 1 Thessalonians 5:19 for the figure of fire concerning the Holy Spirit. See αναπτω anaptō in Luke 12:49. The gift of God See note on 1 Timothy 4:14. Here Paul says μου mou (my), there he mentions the presbytery. Paul felt a deep personal interest in Timothy. See note on 1 Corinthians 7:7; Romans 6:23; Romans 11:29 for the gift of God. [source]