1 Corinthians 11–16

Chapter 11

Christian Order

^1aBe imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

²Now ^aI praise you because you ^bremember me in everything and ^chold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.

³But I want you to understand that ¹Christ is the ^ahead of every man, and ^bthe man is the head of a woman, and God is the ^chead of Christ.

⁴Every man who has something on his head while praying or ^aprophesying disgraces his head.

⁵But every ^awoman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman ¹whose head is ^bshaved.

⁶For if a woman does not cover ¹her head, let her also ²have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.

⁷For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the ^aimage and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

⁸For ^aman ¹does not originate from woman, but woman from man;

⁹for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but ^awoman for the man’s sake.

¹⁰Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹However, in the Lord, neither is woman ¹independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

¹²For as the woman ¹originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and ^aall things ²originate ^bfrom God.

^13aJudge ¹for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

¹⁴Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

¹⁶But if one is inclined to be contentious, ^awe have no ¹other practice, nor have ^bthe churches of God.

¹⁷But in giving this instruction, ^aI do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.

¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together ¹as a church, I hear that ^2adivisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

¹⁹For there ^amust also be factions among you, ^bso that those who are approved may become ¹evident among you.

²⁰Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,

²¹for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and ^aanother is drunk.

²²What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the ^achurch of God and ^bshame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall ^cI praise you? In this I will not praise you.

The Lord’s Supper

²³For ^aI received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that ^bthe Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;

²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁵In the same way He took ^athe cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the ^bnew covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death ^auntil He comes.

²⁷Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be ^aguilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

²⁸But a man must ^aexamine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.

³⁰For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number ^1asleep.

³¹But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

³²But when we are judged, we are ^adisciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with ^bthe world.

³³So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

³⁴If anyone is ^ahungry, let him eat ^bat home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will ^carrange ^dwhen I come.

Chapter 12

The Use of Spiritual Gifts

¹Now concerning ^aspiritual gifts, brethren, ^bI do not want you to be unaware.

^2aYou know that when you were pagans, you were ^bled astray to the ^cmute idols, however you were led.

³Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking ^1aby the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is ^2baccursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is ^cLord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are ^avarieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

⁶There are varieties of effects, but the same ^aGod who works all things in all persons.

⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit ^afor the common good.

⁸For to one is given the word of ^awisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of ^bknowledge according to the same Spirit;

⁹to another ^afaith ¹by the same Spirit, and to another ^bgifts of ²healing by the one Spirit,

¹⁰and to another the ¹effecting of ^2amiracles, and to another ^bprophecy, and to another the ^3cdistinguishing of spirits, to another various ^dkinds of tongues, and to another the ^einterpretation of tongues.

¹¹But one and the same Spirit works all these things, ^adistributing to each one individually just as He wills.

¹²For even ^aas the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, ^bso also is Christ.

¹³For ^1aby one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether ^bJews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to ^cdrink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For ^athe body is not one member, but many.

¹⁵If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason ¹any the less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason ¹any the less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

¹⁸But now God has ^aplaced the members, each one of them, in the body, ^bjust as He desired.

¹⁹If they were all one member, where would the body be?

²⁰But now ^athere are many members, but one body.

²¹And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

²²On the contrary, ¹it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

²³and those members of the body which we ¹deem less honorable, ²on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable,

²⁴whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked,

²⁵so that there may be no ¹division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

²⁶And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is ¹honored, all the members rejoice with it.

²⁷Now you are ^aChrist’s body, and ^bindividually members of it.

²⁸And God has ^1aappointed in ^bthe church, first ^capostles, second ^dprophets, third ^eteachers, then ^2fmiracles, then ^ggifts of healings, helps, ^hadministrations, various ⁱkinds of tongues.

²⁹All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of ¹miracles, are they?

³⁰All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not ^ainterpret, do they?

³¹But ^aearnestly desire the greater gifts.

And I show you a still more excellent way.

Chapter 13

The Excellence of Love

¹If I speak with the ^atongues of men and of ^bangels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^cclanging cymbal.

²If I have the gift of ^aprophecy, and know all ^bmysteries and all ^cknowledge; and if I have ^dall faith, so as to ^eremove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

³And if I ^agive all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I ^bsurrender my body ¹to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴Love ^ais patient, love is kind and ^bis not jealous; love does not brag and is not ^carrogant,

⁵does not act unbecomingly; it ^adoes not seek its own, is not provoked, ^bdoes not take into account a wrong suffered,

^6adoes not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^brejoices with the truth;

^71abears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^1aprophecy, they will be done away; if there are ^btongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

⁹For we ^aknow in part and we prophesy in part;

¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

¹¹When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ¹became a man, I did away with childish things.

¹²For now we ^asee in a mirror ¹dimly, but then ^bface to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also ^chave been fully known.

¹³But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the ¹greatest of these is ^alove.

Chapter 14

Prophecy a Superior Gift

^1aPursue love, yet ^bdesire earnestly ^cspiritual gifts, but especially that you may ^dprophesy.

²For one who ^aspeaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one ¹understands, but ²in his spirit he speaks ^bmysteries.

³But one who prophesies speaks to men for ^aedification and ^bexhortation and consolation.

⁴One who ^aspeaks in a tongue ^bedifies himself; but one who ^cprophesies edifies the church.

⁵Now I wish that you all ^aspoke in tongues, but ^beven more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive ^cedifying.

⁶But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of ^arevelation or of ^bknowledge or of ^cprophecy or of ^dteaching?

⁷Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

⁸For if ^athe ¹bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

⁹So also you, unless you utter by…