Commentators differ on whether to accept the text “If a woman” or “A woman who.” The meaning, though, is almost the same. Paul was not referring to “a particular woman” but to any woman. He is talking about Christian women, so it is advisable to render this phrase as “if any Christian woman.”

Has a husband will be a more natural rendering in many languages than “is married to a man.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .