1 Corinthians 10–16

Warning Against Idolatry

10For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,¹ that our fathers were all under ^bthe cloud, and all ^cpassed through the sea, ²and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³and ^dall ate the same ^espiritual food, ⁴and ^fall drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. ⁵Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for ^gthey were overthrown² in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as ^hthey did. ⁷ⁱDo not be idolaters ^jas some of them were; as it is written, ^k“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ^8lWe must not indulge in sexual immorality ^mas some of them did, and ⁿtwenty-three thousand fell in a single day. ⁹We must not put Christ³ to the test, ^oas some of them did and ^pwere destroyed by serpents, ¹⁰nor grumble, ^qas some of them did and ^rwere destroyed by ^sthe Destroyer. ¹¹Now these things happened to them as an example, but ^tthey were written down for our instruction, ^uon whom the end of the ages has come. ¹²Therefore ^vlet anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. ^wGod is faithful, and ^xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

¹⁴Therefore, my beloved, ^yflee from idolatry. ¹⁵I speak ^zas to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ^16aThe cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? ^bThe bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one bread, we who are many are ^cone body, for we all partake of the one bread. ¹⁸Consider ^dthe people of Israel:^{4 e}are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? ¹⁹What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that ^fan idol is anything? ²⁰No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice ^gthey offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. ^21hYou cannot drink the cup of the Lord and ⁱthe cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and ^jthe table of demons. ^22kShall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? ^lAre we stronger than he?

Do All to the Glory of God

^23m“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. ²⁴ⁿLet no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. ^25oEat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁶For ^p“the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” ²⁷If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, ^qeat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. ²⁸But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— ²⁹I do not mean ^ryour conscience, but his. For ^swhy should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that ^tfor which I give thanks?

³¹So, whether you eat or drink, or ^uwhatever you do, do all to the glory of God. ^32vGive no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to ^wthe church of God, ³³just as ^xI try to please everyone in everything I do, ^ynot seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

11^zBe imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Head Coverings

²Now I commend you ^abecause you remember me in everything and ^bmaintain the traditions ^ceven as I delivered them to you. ³But I want you to understand that ^dthe head of every man is Christ, ^ethe head of a wife¹ is her husband,² and ^fthe head of Christ is God. ⁴Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, ⁵but every wife³ who prays or ^gprophesies ^hwith her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same ⁱas if her head were shaven. ⁶For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ⁷For a man ought not to cover his head, since ^jhe is the image and glory of God, but ^kwoman is the glory of man. ⁸For ^lman was not made from woman, but woman from man. ⁹Neither was man created for woman, but ^mwoman for man. ¹⁰That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.^{4 11}Nevertheless, ⁿin the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; ¹²for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And ^oall things are from God. ¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ^16pIf anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do ^qthe churches of God.

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, ^rI hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,^{5 19}for ^sthere must be factions among you in order ^tthat those who are genuine among you may be recognized. ²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. ²¹For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, ^uanother gets drunk. ²²What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise ^vthe church of God and ^whumiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

²³For ^xI received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that ^ythe Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for⁶ you. Do this in remembrance of me.”^{7 25}In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new 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 ^zuntil he comes.

^27aWhoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord ^bin an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning ^cthe body and blood of the Lord. ^28dLet a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some ^ehave died.^{8 31f}But if we judged⁹ ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged by the Lord, ^gwe are disciplined¹⁰ so that we may not be ^hcondemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers,¹¹ when you come together to eat, wait for¹² one another— ³⁴ⁱif anyone is hungry, ^jlet him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things ^kI will give directions ^lwhen I come.

Spiritual Gifts

12Now ^mconcerning¹ spiritual gifts,² brothers,³ I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that ⁿwhen you were pagans ^oyou were led astray to ^pmute idols, however you were led. ³Therefore I want you to understand that ^qno one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is ^raccursed!” and ^sno one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now ^tthere are varieties of gifts, but ^uthe same Spirit; ⁵and ^vthere are varieties of service, but ^uthe same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is ^uthe same God who empowers them all in everyone. ^7wTo each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of ^xwisdom, and to another the utterance of ^yknowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another ^zfaith by the same Spirit, to another ^agifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another ^bthe working of miracles, to another ^cprophecy, to another ^dthe ability to distinguish between spirits, to another ^evarious kinds of tongues, to another ^fthe interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, ^gwho apportions to each one individually ^has he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹²For just as ⁱthe body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, ^jso it is with Christ. ¹³For ^kin one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—^lJews or Greeks, slaves⁴ or free—and ^mall were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸But as it is, ⁿGod arranged the members in the body, each one of them, ^oas he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts,⁵ yet one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. ²⁶If one…