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1 Corinthians 7 · a question people ask

"because of the distress that is on us" (7:26). What is the distress?

In the text

The verse says, "Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, it’s good for a man to remain as he is." (7:26). The letter doesn't say what the distress is. It goes on, "Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you." (7:28), "But I say this, brothers: the time is short." (7:29), and "For the mode of this world passes away." (7:31). It says no more about any of these than these verses do, and these notes don't name the distress or give these verses a reading of their own.

The verses

“Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, it’s good for a man to remain as he is.”
1 Corinthians 7:26 · World English Bible
“But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you. But I say this, brothers: the time is short. From now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none;”
1 Corinthians 7:28-29 · World English Bible
“and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away.”
1 Corinthians 7:31 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Corinthians 7

1 Corinthians 7: As God has called each

"But I desire to have you to be free from cares." (7:32): Strong's derives the word behind free from cares from the same noun as the verb behind concerned in 7:32 and 7:33. And the call to stay comes twice, at 7:20 and 7:24, the second time ending "with God" (7:24).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions