1 Corinthians 7:30

1Co 7:30. Οἱ χαίροντες, they who rejoice) he does not say, they who laugh. [Rom 12:15. The train of thought is here (in the words, “they that rejoice”) of nuptial feasts; as in the preceding words (they that weep) of the death of a wife, etc.—V. g.] He speaks soberly as is suitable in the vale of tears.—ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες, as though they possessed not) To possess, after, to buy, makes an epitasis [an emphatic addition to the previous words. Append.]: as after use, abuse comes, in the next verse, from which it is evident, that the figure Ploce [the same word twice, once simply, next expressing an attribute. Append.] occurs in the three preceding clauses; for as the Apostle Paul exhorts the teacher to teach, and every one employed in doing good to be active in doing it, Rom 12:7; so they, that rejoice, rejoice in the world, which same is the very thing that he forbids.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By weeping, the Hebrews understand all adversity, and be joy, all prosperity.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

they that weep . . . wept not--(Compare Co2 6:10).

they that buy . . . possessed not--(Compare Isa 24:1-2). Christ specifies as the condemning sin of the men of Sodom not merely their open profligacy, but that "they bought, they sold," &c., as men whose all was in this world (Luk 17:28). "Possessed" in the Greek implies a holding fast of a possession; this the Christian will not do, for his "enduring substance" is elsewhere (Heb 10:34).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 30. They that weep, c.] There will shortly be such a complete system of distress and confusion that private sorrows and private joys will be absorbed in the weightier and more oppressive public evils: yet, let every man still continue in his calling, let him buy, and sell, and traffic, as usual though in a short time, either by the coming persecution or the levelling hand of death, he that had earthly property will be brought into the same circumstances with him who had none.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30. they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not] “Look round this beautiful world of God’s: ocean dimpled into myriad smiles; the sky a trembling, quivering mass of blue, thrilling hearts with ecstasy; every tint, every form, replete with beauty. God says, ‘be glad.’ Do not force young, happy hearts to an unnatural solemnity, as if to be happy were a crime. Let us hear their loud, merry, ringing laugh, even if sterner hearts can be glad no longer; to see innocent mirth and joy does the heart good. But now observe, everlasting considerations are to come in, not to sadden joy, but to calm it.… We are to be calm. cheerful, self-possessed; to sit loose to all these sources of enjoyment, masters of ourselves.” Robertson.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they that weep, as though they wept not,.... They that weep for troubles and crosses, things adverse and afflicting in a marriage state, for the loss of wives or children, should express their sorrow in such a manner and degree, as if they wept not; not that the apostle here introduces and establishes a stoical apathy, and would have persons show no manner of concern for these things; but he directs to a moderate use of sorrow, to such a degree as not to hinder and divert from the exercises of piety and religion:

and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; such who are blessed with great prosperity, and with whom everything goes well; they have married wives, and have children, and thrive in the world; let them rejoice on the account of these things, in such a still, silent way, as if they rejoiced not, their hearts not being set upon their outward felicity, nor elated with it; but rejoicing rather that their names were written in heaven, that they had an interest in Christ and his grace, and a right and title to the glories of another world, and at the same time be thankful to God for what they enjoy in this:

and they that buy as though they possessed not; meaning, not any sort of buyers, everyone is a buyer in some sense; but such as purchase estates, buy houses and lands, and become proprietors of large tracts. These the apostle would not have hold their substance for themselves, but hold it as if they did not hold it, parting with it for the use of others; and as persons that are only stewards, and not properly owners, and in a little time must quit it all, and be accountable for their use and disposition of it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;

Ver. 30. And they that weep] viz. In the loss of wife or children: let them moderate their grief, as Abraham did in the loss of Sarah, Gen 23:2; "He came to weep for her;" where the Hebrew hath one little letter extraordinary, {Hebrew Text Note} to note, that Abraham wept but a little for her; and this, not because she was old and overly worn (as the Rabbins give the reason), but because he had hope of a happy resurrection, 1Th 4:14, and because she was his still, though dead; therefore he so often in that chapter calleth her "my dead," 1Co 7:4; 1Co 7:11; 1Co 7:13; 1Co 7:15.

And they that rejoice] In the marrying of wives, or birth of children. The marriage day is called the day of "the rejoicing of a man’s heart," Son 3:11: and when should men be merry rather than at the recovering of the lost rib? But he was to blame that said, he had married a wife, and therefore he could not come. And he was a wiser man that said, Uxori nubere nolo meae, ( Martial.)

As if they possessed not] Mind earthly things we must, as if we minded them not: as a man may hear a tale, and have his mind elsewhere; or as a man that baits at an inn, his mind is somewhere else. A right believer (saith Mr Ward) goes through the world as a man whose mind is in a deep study; or as one that hath special haste of some weighty business. Rebus non me trado, sed commodo, saith Seneca. Be not wholly dulled or drowned in the world; look at it out of the eyes’ end only, lest, as the serpent Scytale, it bewitch us with its beautiful colours, and sting us to death.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they that weep - They who are afflicted.

As though they wept not - Restraining and moderating their grief by the hope of the life to come. “The general idea in all these expressions is, that in whatever situation Christians are, they should be dead to the world, and not improperly affected by passing events.” It is impossible for human nature not to feel when persecuted, maligned, slandered, or when near earthly friends are taken away. But religion will calm the troubled spirit; pour oil on the agitated waves; light up a smile in the midst of tears; cause the beams of a calm and lovely morning to rise on the anxious heart; silence the commotions of the agitated soul, and produce joy even in the midst of sorrow. Religion will keep us from immoderate grief, and sustain the soul even when in distress nature forces us to shed the tear of mourning. Christ sweat great drops of blood, and Christians often weep; but the heart may be calm, peaceful, elevated, confident in God in the darkest night and the severest tempest of calamity.

And they that rejoice - They that are happy; they that are prospered; that have beloved families around them; that are blessed with success, with honor, with esteem, with health. They that have occasion of rejoicing and gratitude.

As though they rejoiced not - Not rejoicing with excessive or immoderate joy. Not with riot or unholy mirth. Not satisfied with these things; though they may rejoice in them. Not forgetting that they must soon be left; but keeping the mind in a calm, serious, settled, thoughtful state, in view of the fact that all these things must soon come to an end. O how would this thought silence the voice of unseemly mirth; How would it produce calmness, serenity, heavenly joy, where is now often unhallowed riot; and true peace, where now there is only forced and boisterous revelry!

As though they possessed not - It is right to buy and to obtain property. But it should be held with the conviction that it; is by an uncertain tenure, and must soon be left. People may give a deed that shall secure from their fellow man; but no man can give a title that shall not be taken away by death. Our lands and houses, our stocks and bonds and mortgages, our goods and chattels, shall soon pass into other hands. Other people will plow our fields, reap our harvests, work in our shops, stand at our counters, sit down at our firesides, eat on our tables, lie upon our beds. Others will occupy our places in society, have our offices, sit in our seats in the sanctuary. Others will take possession of our gold, and appropriate it to their own use; and we shall have no more interest in it, and no more control over it, than our neighbor has now, and no power to eject the man that has taken possession of our houses and our lands. Secure therefore as our titles are safe as are our investments, yet how soon shall we lose all interest in them by death; and how ought this consideration to induce us to live above the world, and to secure a treasure in that world where no thief approaches, and no moth corrupts.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And they who weep. In this passage the apostle teaches us, in the midst of our greatest afflictions not to suffer ourselves to be overwhelmed with grief, but to recollect that the time of this life is short, and that temporary pains will be recompensed with the never-fading joys of eternity. (Estius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And they that weep, as though they wept not; this consideration also should weigh with those who have a more afflicted portion in this life, and are mourners for the loss of their near relations; they have but lost what they could not long have kept, and for the time they kept them must have enjoyed them, probably, with a great deal of sorrow and bitterness.

And they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and so for any of those who rejoiced in any worldly enjoyments, the shortness of the time they are like to have them to rejoice in, should admonish them to govern and moderate their joy, for it is like to be but like the crackling of thorns under a pot.

And that they buy as though they possessed not; and those that have liberal possessions of good things in this life, they should look upon them as none of theirs, and use them as not like to be their possessions long.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30. Weep—Weeping must be done. The sorrow has its actual existence; and, when looked at by itself, has its reality. But when surveyed in comparison with the eternity within a step’s distance, it becomes—nothing. Weep, then, as weep you may; but weep as realizing that your weeping has its nothingness.

Rejoice—For joy is becoming in our finite sphere. Even on these low grounds of earthly existence there is a round of pleasantnesses that may prompt the smile and the gratitude. But forget not that there is a higher, an eternal joy, that dwarfs this earthly rejoicing to nothing.

Buy— Trade, labour, literature, politics, all have their place as duties and engagements of an earthly life; but there is a life whose interests are so stupendous as to shrivel them all to insignificance.

Men boast of worldly greatness. Statesmen, warriors, and princes, figure proudly in human history. And these will and must exist—accomplish their programme—and amaze and fill the minds of men. But it is only by forgetfulness of eternity that they are great. One thought of the infinite truth empties them, like a pricked balloon, of all their swell.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They that weep, etc. Earthly sorrow and joy and wealth are things which are merely transient and unreal when compared with the awful, eternal, permanent realities which we shall all soon have to face.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they that weep, as if they wept not - "Though sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." They that rejoice, as if they rejoiced not - Tempering their joy with godly fear. They that buy, as if they possessed not - Knowing themselves to be only stewards, not proprietors.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not ;

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

30. καὶ οἱ χαίροντες ὡς μὴ χαίροντες. ‘Look round this beautiful world of God’s: ocean dimpled into myriad smiles; the sky a trembling, quivering mass of blue, thrilling hearts with ecstasy; every tint, every form, replete with beauty. God says, “be glad.” Do not force young, happy hearts to an unnatural solemnity, as if to be happy were a crime. Let us hear their loud, merry, ringing laugh, even if sterner hearts can be glad no longer; to see innocent mirth and joy does the heart good. But now observe, everlasting considerations are to come in, not to sadden joy, but to calm it.… We are to be calm, cheerful, self-possessed; to sit loose to all these sources of enjoyment, masters of ourselves.’ Robertson.

κατέχοντες. This word is used in two different senses in the N. T. Here, and in 2Co 6:10, the intensitive sense of κατά in composition is required (see note on next verse). In 2Th 2:6-7, the sense of holding back must be given. In Rom 1:18, it is doubtful which sense is to be preferred. μή throughout the whole of this passage denotes that the proposition is hypothetical.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες] as not possessing (their gains). So in the line of Lucretius (iii. 984), “Vitaque mancupio nulli datur, omnibus usu.”

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

30. ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες. ‘As not entering upon full ownership,’ or ‘keeping fast hold upon’ (11:2, 15:2; 2Co 6:10; 1Th 5:21, where see Milligan, p. 155). Earthly goods are a trust, not a possession.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_7:29-31

But this I say, brethren, the time (is) short; it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing (it): for the fashion of this world passeth away.

This is another reason why you should not marry. You will soon have to leave your wives. It is nothing relating to your permanent and eternal interests which I urged you to forego, but only something which pertains to the fleeting relations of this changing world.

But this I say, i.e. This I would have you bear in mind, as giving force to my advice. The time, i.e. the appointed time (καιρός, not χρόνος) is short (συνεσταλμένος). The verb properly means to roll or wind up, Act_5:6, then to contract or shorten. The time is shortened. Comp. Mat_24:22. Mar_13:20, where the idea is the same, though the word used is different. This interpretation is on the whole preferable to another almost equally common. The time is calamitous; for this use of the word, however, no certain authority can be given. The words rendered, it remaineth, properly belong to the preceding clause. The meaning is not, It remaimeth that, but The time henceforth (τὸ λοιπόν) is short. That is, the allotted time is brief. That does not depend on This I say, as though the sense were I say that; but on what immediately precedes. The time is shortened in order that, etc. It is the design of God in allowing us but a brief period in this world, or in this state, that we should set lightly by all earthly things; that those who have wives should be as though they had them not, and those that weep, as though they wept not; those who rejoices as though they rejoiced not; those who buy, as though they possessed not; those using the world, as though they used it not. We should set our affections on things above, and not on the things on the earth. Col_3:2. The clause rendered they that use this world as not abusing it, is properly so translated, as καταχράομαι means to use overmuch. The only reason for preferring the other translation is the analogy of the other passages. Either version is consistent with the usage of the word. For the fashion of this world passeth away, i.e. is in the act of passing away. The fashion (σχῆμα) the external form, the essence as it appears, the present state of things. The figure is derived from the scenes of a theatre, in the actual process of change. The fact that the present condition of the world is not to last long, and that our participation in its joys and sorrows is to be so shortlived, is the reason which the apostle urges why we should not be wedded to earthly things.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.