A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike—

Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.

How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

In the same way, the women must be dignified, not slanderers, but temperate and faithful in all things.

Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved. . . .

To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.

A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, a good manager of his children and of his own household.

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. . . .

Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.

not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.

An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil.

To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

“What did Moses command you?” He replied.

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 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. Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control. . . .

But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.

And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.

This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task.

For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.

They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God. But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. . . .

And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.

When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.

So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.

However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,

and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.