25 Now concerning¹ the betrothed,^{2 x}I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as ^yone who by the Lord’s mercy is ^ztrustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present³ distress ^ait is good for a person to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman⁴ marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that.