What Does 1 Corinthians 7:15 Mean?
But if the one who does not trust puts space between, let him go. A brother or a sister is not enslaved in such cases, for God has called us to wholeness.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.THE KEY
The one who leaves is released to leave, and the one left behind is not called to live enslaved to what has departed.
THE MEANING
When someone who does not share your trust leaves, this verse says to let the departure stand. You are not enslaved in this circumstance; God’s call is to peace, a wholeness that does not depend on forcing another person to stay.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie is that another person’s departure makes you responsible for holding the relationship together by force.
THE ROOT
δεδούλωται
dedoulōtai
GROWS FROM
δουλ-
doul-
To make or be subject as a slave; enslavement.
“enslaved” in this verse is dedoulōtai. The verse uses the language of slavery: the one left behind is not made a slave by the other person’s departure. The word names a bond that has become bondage, making the release in “let him depart” part of the verse’s movement toward peace.
ALSO GROWS
doulos: slave, servant
δοῦλος
This noun makes the force of “bondage” concrete: it describes a person held in service.
douleuō: to serve as a slave, be enslaved
δουλεύω
This verb shows the root’s movement from a condition of slavery to living under its control.
εἰρήνη
eirēnē
GROWS FROM
εἰρην-
eirēn-
Peace, concord, wholeness.
God’s call is toward wholeness, not toward preserving a bond by coercion. The verse places that call beside release from enslavement, so peace here does not require pretending that the departure has not happened.
ALSO GROWS
eirēnopoieō: to make peace
εἰρηνοποιέω
The related verb shows peace as something brought about, not merely the absence of conflict.
eirēnopoios: peacemaker
εἰρηνοποιός
This related word keeps the focus on peace as a condition of wholeness between people.
THE PATTERN
Release from bondage makes room for peace that cannot be produced by force.
Therefore say to the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the loads of the Egyptians, and I will snatch you from their service, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments.Stand, then, in the freedom for which the Anointed One set us free, and do not be caught again in the yoke of slavery.If it is possible, as far as your reach extends, live in wholeness with all people.THE THREAD
Stand, then, in the freedom for which the Anointed One set us free, and do not be caught again in the yoke of slavery.“Bondage” in both verses comes from the Greek δουλ- (doul-) root, the language of slavery. Galatians names freedom from its yoke; 1 Corinthians says a person’s departure does not enslave the one left behind.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us