²⁹ And I say this, brothers: The time is limited,^(A) so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰ those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice^(B) as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ³¹ and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.^(C)

³² I want you to be without concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please^(D) the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord,^(E) so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵ Now I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but because of what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.