5. Don’t refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from sex for a while so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not be able to tempt you in your weakness.
6. I say this only to give you permission to be separated for a time. It is not a rule.
7. I wish everyone could be like me. But God has given each person a different ability. He makes some able to live one way, others to live a different way.
8. Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for you to stay single like me.
9. But if you cannot control your body, then you should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.
10. Now, I have a command for those who are married. Actually, it is not from me; it is what the Lord commanded. A wife should not leave her husband.
11. But if a wife does leave, she should remain single or get back together with her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.
12. The advice I have for the others is from me. The Lord did not give us any teaching about this. If you have a wife who is not a believer, you should not divorce her if she will continue to live with you.
13. And if you have a husband who is not a believer, you should not divorce him if he will continue to live with you.