Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Bible in Basic English

1 Corinthians 7:4

The wife has not power over her body, but the husband; and in the same way the husband has not power over his body, but the wife.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Continence;   Marriage;   Stoicism;   Wife;   Scofield Reference Index - Holy Spirit;   The Topic Concordance - Defrauding;   Marriage;   Sexual Activities;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Husbands;   Wives;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Husband;   Marriage;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Polygamy;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Wife;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Family;   Marriage;   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   1 Corinthians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Marriage;   Woman;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Abstinence;   Worldliness;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Corinthians;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Authority in Religion;   Benevolence;   Of;   Papyrus;   Text and Manuscripts of the New Testament;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.
King James Version (1611)
The wife hath not power of her owne body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his owne body, but the wife.
King James Version
The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
English Standard Version
For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
New American Standard Bible
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise the husband also does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
New Century Version
The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them. And the husband does not have full rights over his own body; his wife shares them.
Amplified Bible
The wife does not have [exclusive] authority over her own body, but the husband shares with her; and likewise the husband does not have [exclusive] authority over his body, but the wife shares with him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
Legacy Standard Bible
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
Berean Standard Bible
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.
Contemporary English Version
A wife belongs to her husband instead of to herself, and a husband belongs to his wife instead of to himself.
Complete Jewish Bible
The wife is not in charge of her own body, but her husband is; likewise, the husband is not in charge of his own body, but his wife is.
Darby Translation
The wife has not authority over her own body, but the husband: in like manner also the husband has not authority over his own body, but the wife.
Easy-to-Read Version
The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The wife hath not the power of her owne bodie, but ye husband: & likewise also the husband hath not ye power of his own body, but the wife.
George Lamsa Translation
The wife has no authority over her own body, but her husband; and likewise also the husband has no authority over his own body, but his wife.
Good News Translation
A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is.
Lexham English Bible
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife does.
Literal Translation
The wife does not have authority of her own body, but the husband. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.
American Standard Version
The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife.
Hebrew Names Version
The wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the wife.
International Standard Version
A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but his wife does.
Etheridge Translation
so also the wife to her husband. For the wife hath not authority over her body, but the husband; so also the man hath not authority over his body, but his wife.
Murdock Translation
The woman is not the sovereign over her body, but her husband: so also the man is not the sovereign over his body, but the wife.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The wyfe hath not the power of her owne body, but the husbande: And likewyse also the husbande hath not the power of his owne body, but the wife.
English Revised Version
The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife.
World English Bible
The wife doesn't have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise also the husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but the wife.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband; and in like manner the husband also hath not power over his own body, but the wife.
Weymouth's New Testament
A married woman is not mistress of her own person: her husband has certain rights. In the same way a married man is not master of his own person: his wife has certain rights.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The womman hath not power of hir bodi, but the hosebonde; and the hosebonde hath not power of his bodi, but the womman.
Update Bible Version
The wife does not have power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband does not have power over his own body, but the wife.
Webster's Bible Translation
The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
New English Translation
It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife.
New King James Version
The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
New Living Translation
The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
New Life Bible
The wife is not the boss of her own body. It belongs to the husband. And in the same way, the husband is not the boss of his own body. It belongs to the wife.
New Revised Standard
For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The wife, over her own body, hath not authority, but the husband, and, in like manner, the husband also, over his own body, hath not authority, but the wife.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The wife hath not power of her own body: but the husband. And in like manner the husband also hath not power of his own body: but the wife.
Revised Standard Version
For the wife does not rule over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not rule over his own body, but the wife does.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
The wyfe hath not power over her awne body: but the husbande. And lykewyse the man hath not power over his awne body: but the wyfe
Young's Literal Translation
the wife over her own body hath not authority, but the husband; and, in like manner also, the husband over his own body hath not authority, but the wife.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The wife hath not power ouer hir awne body, but the hussbande: & likewyse the man hath not power ouer his awne body, but the wife.
Mace New Testament (1729)
the wife has not the right of her own person, but the husband: and so likewise the husband has not the right of his own person, but the wife.
Simplified Cowboy Version
The wife gives her body to her husband, and the husband gives his body to his wife.

Contextual Overview

1 Now, as to the things in your letter to me: It is good for a man to have nothing to do with a woman. 2 But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband. 3 Let the husband give to the wife what is right; and let the wife do the same to the husband. 4 The wife has not power over her body, but the husband; and in the same way the husband has not power over his body, but the wife. 5 Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control. 6 But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord. 7 It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am. 9 But if they have not self-control let them get married; for married life is better than the burning of desire.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hosea 3:3, Matthew 19:9, Mark 10:11, Mark 10:12

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:16 - rule Numbers 30:8 - General Matthew 5:32 - whosoever Matthew 19:5 - and they Luke 16:18 - General Romans 7:2 - the woman

Cross-References

Genesis 2:5
In the day when the Lord God made earth and heaven there were no plants of the field on the earth, and no grass had come up: for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to do work on the land.
Genesis 6:3
And the Lord said, My spirit will not be in man for ever, for he is only flesh; so the days of his life will be a hundred and twenty years.
Genesis 6:7
And the Lord said, I will take away man, whom I have made, from the face of the earth, even man and beast and that which goes on the earth and every bird of the air; for I have sorrow for having made them.
Genesis 6:13
And God said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come; the earth is full of their violent doings, and now I will put an end to them with the earth.
Genesis 6:17
For truly, I will send a great flow of waters over the earth, for the destruction from under the heaven of all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything on the earth will come to an end.
Genesis 7:10
And after the seven days, the waters came over all the earth.
Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great deep came bursting through, and the windows of heaven were open;
Genesis 7:12
And rain came down on the earth for forty days and forty nights.
Genesis 7:17
And for forty days the waters were over all the earth; and the waters were increased so that the ark was lifted up high over the earth.
Genesis 7:21
And destruction came on every living thing moving on the earth, birds and cattle and beasts and everything which went on the earth, and every man.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The wife hath not power of her own body,.... To refrain the use of it from her husband; or to prostitute it to another man:

but the husband; he has the sole power over it, and may require when he pleases the use of it:

and likewise also the husband has not power over his own body: to withhold due benevolence, or the conjugal debt from his wife; or abuse it by self-pollution, fornication, adultery, sodomy, or any acts of uncleanness: but the wife; she only has a power over it, a right to it, and may claim the use of it: this power over each other's bodies is not such, as that they may, by consent, either the husband allow the wife, or the wife the husband, to lie with another.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The wife hath not power ... - By the marriage covenant that power, in this respect, is transferred to the husband,

And likewise, also, the husband - The equal rights of husband and wife, in the Scriptures, are everywhere maintained. They are to regard themselves as united in most intimate union, and in most tender ties.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 7:4. The wife hath not power, c.] Her person belongs to her husband her husband's person belongs to her: neither of them has any authority to refuse what the other has a matrimonial right to demand. The woman that would act so is either a knave or a fool. It would be trifling to attribute her conduct to any other cause than weakness or folly. She does not love her husband; or she loves some one else better than her husband; or she makes pretensions to a fancied sanctity unsupported by Scripture or common sense.


 
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