A common misinterpretation is viewing this as a blanket prohibition against divorce for all believers regardless of circumstances, such as abuse or abandonment, ignoring the conditional 'if he be pleased to dwell with her' and the liberty given in verse 15 if the unbeliever departs; others mistakenly apply it only to women or use it to justify entering mixed marriages, contrary to the chapter's caution against being bound to unbelievers unequally yoked, or extend it to demand endurance in toxic relationships without biblical provisions for protection and justice.
I Corinthians 7:13
King James Version (1769)
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
This verse instructs a believing wife not to divorce her unbelieving husband if he is willing to continue living with her, emphasizing the sanctity of marriage even in mixed-faith unions. In the broader context of 1 Corinthians 7, Paul advises believers to remain in their marriages for the sake of peace, potential sanctification of the unbelieving spouse through the believer, and the holiness of their children, promoting stability and evangelism within the family rather than hasty separation.