1 Corinthians 11–16

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 member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, ^pall rejoice together.

²⁷Now ^qyou are the body of Christ and individually ^rmembers of it. ²⁸And ^sGod has appointed in the church first ^tapostles, second ^uprophets, third teachers, then ^vmiracles, then ^wgifts of healing, ^xhelping, ^yadministrating, and ^vvarious kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But ^zearnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

The Way of Love

13If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have ^aprophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, ^bso as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ^3cIf I give away all I have, and ^dif I deliver up my body to be burned,¹ but have not love, I gain nothing.

^4eLove is patient and ^fkind; love ^gdoes not envy or boast; it ^his not arrogant ⁵or rude. It ⁱdoes not insist on its own way; it ^jis not irritable or resentful;^{2 6}it ^kdoes not rejoice at wrongdoing, but ^lrejoices with the truth. ^7mLove bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, ^eendures all things.

⁸Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For ⁿwe know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but ^owhen the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹²For ^pnow we see in a mirror dimly, but ^qthen face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as ^rI have been fully known.

¹³So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Prophecy and Tongues

14^sPursue love, and ^tearnestly desire the ^uspiritual gifts, especially that you may ^vprophesy. ²For ^wone who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but ^xeven more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶Now, brothers,¹ if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some ^yrevelation or knowledge or prophecy or ^zteaching? ⁷If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸And ^aif the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be ^bspeaking into the air. ¹⁰There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, ¹¹but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ^ca foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹²So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray…