7:34,35
So a married man has divided interests, and rightly so. And the same applies to women. A married woman is rightly concerned about how to please her husband. So Paul’s teaching on singleness is not a matter of restricting people, but of sparing them extra concerns. It is looking at singleness in a very different way.
7:36-38
Paul now turns to men who are “engaged”. Should they see things through and get married, or should they call the whole thing off? There is an alternative translation (such as NASB) that see this as referring to a father and his virgin daughter. The engaged man is the better approach (and the one taken by the majority of translations, see Schriener for details), but it actually does not make that much difference to the principle. Part of the reason for going ahead with the marriage is that the man’s “passions are too strong” (which strongly favours the engaged man translation, though this part can also be translated differently) , but also whether he would be acting honourably or not. Marriage is not just about romance and lust! There were societal commitments as well. Paul says that the man is free to make up his own mind. Paul does say that calling off the engagement is an excellent option, if the man can do so with a clear conscience.
7:39,40
The chapter concludes with Paul speaking to women, and, in particular, to widows. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if he dies then she is free to do what she wishes. She can remarry, but the man must “belong to the Lord”, he must be a believer. A Christian choosing to marry a non-Christian is going down a very dangerous road. Consistent with all that Paul has said, he does say that he thinks she would be happier if she remained single.
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