ISV - I Corinthians

Chapter 1

1:1  The Letter of Paul Called First CorinthiansPaul Greets the Church in CorinthFromThe Gk. lacks From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ JesusOther mss. read Jesus Christ by the will of God, and from our brother Sosthenes,

1:2  to the church of God in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy,Or to be saints together with all those everywhere who continually call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their LordLit. theirs and ours.

1:3  May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be yours!

1:4  You Are RichI always thank myOther mss. lack my God for you because of the grace of God given you in Christ Jesus.

1:5  For in him you have become rich in every way—in speech and knowledge of every kind.

1:6  In this way, our testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you.

1:7  Therefore, you don't lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.

1:8  He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1:9  Faithful is the God by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

1:10  Divisions in the ChurchBrothers, I urge all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in agreementLit. to say the same thing and not to have divisions among you, so that you may be perfectly united in your understanding and opinions.

1:11  My brothers, some members of Chloe's family have made it clear to me that there are quarrels among you.

1:12  This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,”I.e. Peter or “I belong to Christ.”

1:13  Has Christ been divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? You weren't baptized in Paul's name, were you?

1:14  I thank GodOther mss. read I thank my God; still other mss. read I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Chrispus and Gaius,

1:15  lest anyone can say that you were baptized in my name.

1:16  (Yes, I also baptized the family of Stephanus. Beyond that, I'm not sure whether I baptized anyone else.)

1:17  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1:18  Christ Is God's Power and WisdomFor the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.

1:19  For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.”Isa 29:14

1:20  Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn't he?

1:21  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know God, God decided through the nonsense of our preaching to save those who believe.

1:22  Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,

1:23  but we preach Christ crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to Gentiles,

1:24  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom.

1:25  For God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom,Lit. than men and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.Lit. than men

1:26  Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards,Lit. according to the flesh not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

1:27  But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed.

1:28  And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something,

1:29  so that no human beingLit. no flesh may boast in God's presence.

1:30  It is because of him that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

1:31  Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”Jer 9:24

Chapter 2

2:1  Preaching in the Power of GodWhen I came to you, brothers, I didn't come and tell you about God's secretOther mss. read testimony with rhetorical language or wisdom.

2:2  For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

2:3  It was in weakness, fear, and great trembling that I came to you.

2:4  My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever words of wisdom, but by a display of the Spirit's power,

2:5  so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God's power.

2:6  God's Spirit Reveals EverythingHowever, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message ofThe Gk. lacks a message of wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene.

2:7  Instead, we speak about God's secret wisdom that has been hidden, which God destined for our glory before the world began.The Gk. lacks began

2:8  None of the rulers of this world understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.

2:9  But as it is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined the things that God has preparedfor those who love him.”Isa 64:4

2:10  ButOther mss. read For God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.

2:11  Is there anyone who can understand his own thoughts except by his own inner spirit? In the same way, no one can know the thoughts of God except God's Spirit.

2:12  Now, we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we can understand the things that were freely given to us by God.

2:13  We don't speak about these things in words taught us by human wisdom, but in wordsLit. in things taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual things to spiritual people.Or in spiritual words

2:14  A person who isn't spiritual doesn't accept the things of God's Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can't understand them because they are spiritually evaluated.

2:15  The spiritual person evaluates everything but is subject to no one else's evaluation.

2:16  For “Who has known the mind of the Lordso that he can advise him?”Isa 40:13However, we have the mind of Christ.

Chapter 3

3:1  Spiritual ImmaturityBrothers, I couldn't talk to you as spiritual people but as worldly people, as mere infants in Christ.

3:2  I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you weren't ready for it. Why, you're still not ready for it!

3:3  That's because you are still worldly. As long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, you are worldly and living by human standards, aren't you?

3:4  For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” you are merely human, aren't you?

3:5  What is Apollos anyhow? Or what is Paul? Mere servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.

3:6  I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God kept everything growing.

3:7  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is significant, but God, who keeps everything growing, is the one who matters.

3:8  The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work.

3:9  For we are God's co-workers. You are God's farmland and God's building.

3:10  Christ Is Our FoundationAs an expert builder using the grace that God gave me, I laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it.

3:11  After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that is Jesus Christ.

3:12  Whether a person builds on this foundation with gold, silver, expensive stones, wood, hay, or straw,

3:13  the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the dayI.e. the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's work.

3:14  If what a person has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.Or receive wages

3:15  If his work is burned up, he will suffer loss. However, he himself will be saved, but it will be like going through fire.

3:16  You know that you are God's sanctuary and that God's Spirit lives in you, don't you?

3:17  If anyone destroys God's sanctuary, God will destroy him, for God's sanctuary is holy. And you are that sanctuary!

3:18  True WisdomLet no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in the ways ofThe Gk. lacks the ways of this world, he must become a fool to become really wise.

3:19  For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God's sight. For it is written, “He catches the wise with their own trickery,”Job 5:13

3:20  and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.”Ps 94:11

3:21  So let no one boast about men. For everything belongs to you,

3:22  whether Paul, Apollos, Cephas, I.e. Peter the world, life, death, the present, or the future—everything belongs to you,

3:23  but you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Chapter 4

4:1  Faithful Servants of ChristA person should think of us as servants of Christ and managers entrusted with God's secrets.

4:2  Now it is required of managers that each one should prove to be trustworthy.Or should be found faithful

4:3  It is a very small thing to me that I should be examined by you or by any human court. In fact, I don't even examine myself.

4:4  For my conscience is clear,Lit. I don't know of anything against myself but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me.

4:5  Therefore, stop judging before the proper time, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.

4:6  Fools for Christ's SakeBrothers, I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will stop boasting about one person at the expense of another.

4:7  For who makes you superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?

4:8  You already have all you want! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you!

4:9  For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to death. We have become a spectacle for the world, for angels, and for people to stare at.

4:10  We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

4:11  To this very hour we are hungry, thirsty, dressed in rags, brutally treated, and homeless.

4:12  We wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure.

4:13  When slandered, we answer with kind words. Up to this moment we have become the filth of the world, the scum of the universe!

4:14  Fatherly AdviceI'm not writing this to make you feel ashamed, but to warn you as my dear children.

4:15  You may have 10,000 guardians in Christ, but not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

4:16  So I urge you to become imitators of me.

4:17  That's why I sent Timothy to you. He is my dear and dependable child in the Lord and will help you remember my way of life in Christ Jesus as I teach it everywhere in every church.

4:18  Some of you have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

4:19  But I will come to you soon if it's the Lord's will. Then I'll discover not only what these arrogant people are saying but also what power they have,

4:20  for the kingdom of God isn't just talk but power.

4:21  Which do you prefer? Should I come to you with a stick, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

Chapter 5

5:1  Disciplining for Sexual ImmoralityIt is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, and of a kind that is not found even among the Gentiles. A man is actually living with his father's wife!

5:2  And you are being arrogant instead of being filled with grief and seeing to it that the man who did this is removed from among you.

5:3  Even though I am away from you physically, I am with you in spirit. I have already passed judgment on the man who did this, as though I were present with you.

5:4  When you are gathered together in the name of our Lord Jesus and my spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus are present,

5:5  hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh,Or sinful nature so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.Other mss. read Lord Jesus; still other mss. read our Lord Jesus Christ

5:6  Your boasting is not good. You know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough, don't you?

5:7  Get rid of the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you are to be free from yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

5:8  So let us keep celebrating the festival, not with the old yeast or with the yeast of vice and wickedness, but with the bread of purity and truth that has no yeast.

5:9  I wrote to you in my letter to stop associating with people who are sexually immoral—

5:10  not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or greedy people, robbers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

5:11  But now I am writing to you to stop associating with any so-called brother if he is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, a slanderer, a drunk, or a robber. With such a person you must even stop eating.

5:12  After all, is it my business to judge outsiders? You are to judge those who are inside, aren't you?

5:13  God will judge outsiders. “Put that wicked man away from you.”Deut 17:7 (LXX)

Chapter 6

6:1  Morality in Legal MattersWhen one of you has a complaint against another, does he dare to take it before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

6:2  You know that the saints will rule the world, don't you? And if the world is going to be ruled by you, can't you handle insignificant cases?

6:3  You know that we will rule angels, not to mention things in this life, don't you?

6:4  So if you have cases dealing with this life, why do you appoint as judges people who have no standing in the church?

6:5  I say this to make you feel ashamed. Has it come to this, that there is not one person among you who is wise enough to settle disagreements between brothers?Lit. between his brother

6:6  Instead, one brother goes to court against another brother, and before unbelievers at that!

6:7  The very fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves is already a defeat for you. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

6:8  Instead, you yourselves practice doing wrong and cheating others, and brothers at that!

6:9  You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don't you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

6:10  thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

6:11  That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and inOr by the Spirit of our God.

6:12  Morality in Sexual MattersEverything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not allow anything to control me.

6:13  Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will put an end to both of them. The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

6:14  God raised the Lord, and by his power he will also raise us.

6:15  You know that your bodies are parts of Christ, don't you? Should I take the parts of Christ and make them parts of a prostitute? Certainly not!

6:16  You know that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her, don't you? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”Gen 2:24

6:17  But the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

6:18  Keep on running away from sexual immorality. Any other sin that a person commits is outside his body, but the person who sins sexually sins against his own body.

6:19  You know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God, don't you? You do not belong to yourselves,

6:20  because you were bought for a price. Therefore, glorify God with your bodies.

Chapter 7

7:1  Concerning MarriageNow concerning the things you wrote about: It's good for a man not to touch a woman.I.e. not to get married

7:2  But because sexual immorality is so rampant,Lit. because of instances of sexual immorality every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.

7:3  A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband.

7:4  A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

7:5  Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time in order to devote yourselves to prayer.Other mss. read to fasting and prayer Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

7:6  But I say this as a concession, not as a command.

7:7  I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, one this and another that.

7:8  I say to those who are unmarried, especially to widows: It is good for them to remain like me.

7:9  However, if they cannot control themselves, they should get married, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.The Gk. lacks with passion

7:10  To married people I give this command (not really I, but the Lord): A wife must not leave her husband.

7:11  But if she does leave him, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. Likewise, a husband must not abandonOr divorce his wife.

7:12  I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to live with him, he must not abandonOr divorce her.

7:13  And if a woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he is willing to live with her, she must not abandonOr divorce him.

7:14  For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified because of her husband.Other mss. read brother Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

7:15  But if the unbelieving partnerLit. the unbeliever leaves, let him go. In such cases the brother or sister is not bound; God has called youOther mss. read us to live in peace.

7:16  Wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?

7:17  Live according to God's CallNevertheless, everyone should live the life that the Lord gave him and to which God called him. This is my rule in all the churches.

7:18  Was anyone circumcised when he was called? He should not try to change that. Was anyone uncircumcised when he was called? He should not get circumcised.

7:19  Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying God's commandments is everything.The Gk. lacks is everything

7:20  Everyone should stay in the calling in which he was called.

7:21  Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that bother you. Of course, if you have a chance to become free, take advantage of the opportunity.

7:22  For the slave who has been called in the Lord is the Lord's free person. In the same way, the free person who has been called is Christ's slave.

7:23  You were bought for a price. Stop becoming slaves of people.

7:24  Brothers, everyone should stay in the calling he was in when called by God.

7:25  Concerning VirginsNow concerning virgins, although I do not have any command from the Lord, I will give you my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.

7:26  In view of the present crisis, I think it is prudent for a man to stay as he is.

7:27  Have you been bound to a wife? Stop trying to get free. Have you been freed from a wife? Stop looking for a wife.

7:28  But if you do get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will experience distress in the flesh, and I want to spare you that.

7:29  This is what I mean, brothers: The time has been shortened. From now on, those who have wives should live as though they had none,

7:30  and those who mourn as though they did not mourn, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they did not own a thing,

7:31  and those who use the things in the world as though they were not dependent on them. For the world in its present form is passing away.

7:32  I want you to be free from concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, that is, about how he can please the Lord.

7:33  But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, that is, about how he can please his wife,

7:34  and so his attention is divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, that is, about how she can please her husband.

7:35  I'm saying this for your benefit, not to put a noose around your necks, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

7:36  If a man thinks he is not behaving properly toward his virgin,I.e., virgin fiancée, but possibly virgin daughter and if his passion is too strong and he feels he ought to, let him do what he wants; he isn't sinning. Let them get married.

7:37  However, if a man stands firm in his resolve and feels no necessity but has made up his mind to keep her a virgin, he will be acting appropriately.

7:38  So then the man who marries the virgin acts appropriately, but the man who refrains from marriage does even better.

7:39  A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord.

7:40  However, in my opinion she will be happierOr more blessed if she stays as she is. And I think that I, too, have God's Spirit.

Chapter 8

8:1  Concerning Food Offered to IdolsNow concerning food offered to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

8:2  If anyone thinks he knows something, he has not yet learned it as he ought to know it.

8:3  But if anyone loves God, he is known by him.I.e. Other mss. lack by him

8:4  Now concerning eating food offered to idols: We know that no idol is real in the world and that there is only one God.

8:5  For even if there are “gods” in heaven and on earth (as indeed there are many so-called “gods” and “lords”),

8:6  yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything came into being and for whom we live. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything came into being and through whom we live.

8:7  But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are so accustomed to idols that they still think they are eating food offered to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it becomes contaminated.

8:8  However, food will not bring us closer to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

8:9  But you must see to it that this right of yours does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

8:10  For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, he will be encouraged to eat what has been offered to idols, won't he?

8:11  In that case, the weak brother for whom Christ died is destroyed by your knowledge.

8:12  When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak consciences, you are sinning against Christ.

8:13  Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meat again, in order to keep my brother from falling.

Chapter 9

9:1  The Rights of an ApostleI am free, am I not? I am an apostle, am I not? I have seen Jesus our Lord, haven't I? You are my work in the Lord, aren't you?

9:2  If I am not an apostle to other people, surely I am one to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord!

9:3  This is my defense to those who would examine me:

9:4  We have the right to eat and drink, don't we?

9:5  We have the right to take a believing wife with us like the other apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Cephas,I.e. Peter don't we?

9:6  Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?

9:7  Who would ever go to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its grapes? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink any of its milk?

9:8  I am not saying this on human authority, am I? The law says the same thing, doesn't it?

9:9  For in the law of Moses it is written, “You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”Deut 25:4 God is not only concerned about oxen, is he?

9:10  Isn't he really speaking on our behalf? Yes, this was written on our behalf, because the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

9:11  If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?

9:12  If others enjoy this right over you, don't we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

9:13  You know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple and that those who serve at the altar get their share of its offerings, don't you?

9:14  In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who proclaim the gospel should make their living from the gospel.

9:15  But I have not used any of these rights, and I'm not writing this so that they may be applied in my case. I would rather die than let anyone deprive me of my reason forThe Gk. lacks reason for boasting.

9:16  For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been laid on me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn't preach the gospel!

9:17  For if I do this voluntarily, I get a reward, but if I am unwilling to do it, I am still entrusted with an obligation.

9:18  What, then, is my reward? It'sThe Gk. lacks It's to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so never resort to using my rights in the gospel.

9:19  Although I am free from all people, I made myself a slave to all of them to win more of them.

9:20  To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became like a man under the law, in order to win those under the law (although I myself am not under the law).

9:21  To those who do not have the law I became like a man who does not have the law, in order to win those who do not have the law (although I am not free from God's law, but am under the law of Christ).

9:22  To the weak I became weak in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some of them.

9:23  I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings.

9:24  You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don't you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious.

9:25  Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that dies, but we to win one that never dies.

9:26  That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I box, not like someone punching the air.

9:27  No, I keep on beating my body and making it my slave so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.

Chapter 10

10:1  Warnings About IdolatryFor I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea,

10:2  and they all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

10:3  and they all ate the same spiritual food,

10:4  and they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they continually drank from the spiritual Rock that went with them, and that Rock was Christ.

10:5  But God wasn't pleased with most of them, and so they were struck down in the wilderness.

10:6  Now these things became examples for us so that we won't set our hearts on evil as they did.

10:7  Let us stop being idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play.”Exod 32:6

10:8  Let us stop sinning sexually, as some of them were doing, and on a single day 23,000 fell dead.

10:9  Let us stop putting the LordOther mss. read Christ to the test, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by snakes.

10:10  You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by the destroying angel.

10:11  These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the climax of the ages has been realized.

10:12  Therefore, the person who thinks he is standing securely should watch out that he does not fall.

10:13  No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.

10:14  And so, my dear friends, keep on running away from idolatry.

10:15  I am talking to sensible people. Decide for yourselves what I am saying.

10:16  The cup of blessing that we bless is a sign of our sharing in the blood of Christ, isn't it? The bread that we break is a sign of our sharing in the body of Christ, isn't it?

10:17  Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, because all of us partake of the one loaf.

10:18  Look at the Israelites from a human point of view.Lit. Israel according to the flesh Those who eat the sacrifices share in what is on the altar, don't they?

10:19  Am I suggesting that an offering made to idols means anything, or that an idol itself means anything?

10:20  Hardly! What they offer, they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become partners with demons.

10:21  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot eat at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons.

10:22  Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than he is, are we?

10:23  All to the Glory of GodEverything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.

10:24  No one should seek his own welfare, but rather his neighbor's.

10:25  Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without raising any question about it on the ground of conscience,

10:26  for “the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”Ps 24:1

10:27  If an unbeliever invites you to his house and you wish to go, eat whatever is set before you, raising no question on the ground of conscience.

10:28  However, if someone says to you, “This was offered in sacrifice,” don't eat it, both out of consideration for the one who told you and because of conscience.

10:29  I mean, of course, his conscience, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by someone else's conscience?

10:30  If I eat with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of what I am thankful for?

10:31  Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God.

10:32  Stop beingOr Don't be stumbling blocks to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God,

10:33  just as I myself try to please everybody in every way, not looking for my own advantage but for that of many people, so that they might be saved.

Chapter 11

11:1  Be Imitators of MeBe imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

11:2  I praise you for remembering me in everything and for carefully following the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.

11:3  Advice about Uncovering the Head in WorshipNow I want you to realize that Christ is the head of every man, and man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

11:4  Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head,

11:5  and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, which is the same as having her head shaved.

11:6  So if a woman does not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. If it is a disgrace for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her own head.

11:7  A man should not cover his own head, because he exists as God's image and glory. But the woman is man's glory.

11:8  For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;

11:9  and man was not created for woman, but woman for man.

11:10  This is why a woman should have authority over her own head: because of the angels.

11:11  In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man of woman.

11:12  For as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But everything comes from God.

11:13  Decide for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?Or It is proper . . . uncovered, isn't it?

11:14  Nature itself teaches you neither that it is disgraceful for a man to have longThe Gk. lacks long hair

11:15  nor that hair is a woman's glory, for hair is given as a substitute for coverings.

11:16  But if anyone wants to argue about this, we do not have any custom like this, nor do any of God's churches.

11:17  Concerning the Lord's Supper Now I am not praising you in giving you the following instructions. When you gather, it is not for the better but for the worse.

11:18  For in the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.

11:19  Of course, there must be factions among you to show which of you are genuine!

11:20  When you gather in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper.

11:21  For as you eat, each of you rushes to eat his own supper, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk.

11:22  You have homes in which to eat and drink, don't you? Or do you despise God's church and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!

11:23  For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you—how the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a loaf of bread,

11:24  gave thanks for it, and broke it in pieces, saying, “This is my body that isOther mss. read that is broken; still other mss. read that is given for you. Keep doing this in memory of me.”

11:25  He did the same with the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink from it, keep doing this in memory of me.”

11:26  For as often as you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

11:27  Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the cup in an unworthy manner will be held responsible for the Lord's body and blood.

11:28  A person must examine himself and then eat the bread and drink from the cup.

11:29  For the one who eats and drinksOther mss. read drinks in an unworthy manner without recognizing the bodyOther mss. read the Lord's body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

11:30  That's why so many of you are weak and sick and a considerable number are dying.Lit. are falling asleep

11:31  But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged.

11:32  Now, while we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined lest we be condemned along with the world.

11:33  Therefore, my brothers, when you gather to eat, wait for each other.

11:34  If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather it may not bring judgment on you. And when I come I will give instructions concerning the other matters.

Chapter 12

12:1  Concerning Spiritual GiftsNow concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I don't want you to be ignorant.

12:2  You know that when you were Gentiles, you were enticed and led away to idols that couldn't even speak.

12:3  Therefore, I want you to know that no one who is speaking by God's Spirit can say, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

12:4  Now there are varieties of gifts, but the Spirit is the same;

12:5  and there are varieties of ministries, but the Lord is the same;

12:6  and there are varieties of results, but God is the same, and it is he who produces all the results in everyone.

12:7  To each person has been given the ability to display the Spirit for the common good.

12:8  To one has been given a message of wisdom by the Spirit; to another the ability to speak with knowledge according to the same Spirit;

12:9  to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit;

12:10  to another miraculous results; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues.

12:11  But one and the same Spirit produces all these results and gives what he wants to each person.

12:12  The Unity and Diversity of Spiritual GiftsFor just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, form one body, so it is with Christ.

12:13  For byOr in one Spirit all of us—Jews and Greeks, slaves and free—were baptized into one body and were all privileged to drink from one Spirit.

12:14  For the body does not consist of only one part, but of many.

12:15  If the foot says, “Since I'm not a hand, I'm not part of the body,” that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it?

12:16  And if the ear says, “Since I'm not an eye, I'm not part of the body,” that does not make it any less a part of the body, does it?

12:17  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole bodyThe Gk. lacks body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

12:18  But at this very time God has arranged the parts, every one of them, in the body just as he wanted to.

12:19  Now if they were all one part, where would the body be?

12:20  So there are many parts, but one body.

12:21  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you,” or the head to the feet, “I don't need you.”

12:22  On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are in fact indispensable,

12:23  and the parts of the body that we think are less honorable are treated with special honor, and we make our less attractive parts more attractive.

12:24  However, our attractive parts don't need this. But God has put the body together and has given special honor to the parts that lack it,

12:25  so that there might be no disharmony in the body, but that its parts should have the same concern for each other.

12:26  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is praised, every part rejoices with it.

12:27  Now you are Christ's body and individual parts of it.

12:28  God has appointed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who help others, administrators, and various kinds of tongues.

12:29  Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they?

12:30  Not all have the gift of healing, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all interpret, do they?

12:31  Keep on desiringOr You are desiring the better gifts. And now I will show you the best way of all.

Chapter 13

13:1  The Supremacy of LoveIf I speak in the tongues of humans and angels but have no love, I have become a reverberating gong or a clashing cymbal.

13:2  If I have the gift of prophecy and can understand all secrets and every form of knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains but have no love, I am nothing.

13:3  Even if I give away all that I have and surrender my body so that I may boastOther mss. read my body to be burned but have no love, I get nothing out of it.

13:4  Love is always patient, Love is always kind, Love is never envious Or vaunted up with pride. Nor is she conceited,

13:5  And never is she rude, Never does she think of self Or ever get annoyed. She never is resentful,

13:6  Is never glad with sin, But always glad to side with truth, Whene'er the truth should win.Lit. but rejoices in the truth

13:7  She bears up under everything, Believes the best in all, There is no limit to her hope, And never will she fall.

13:8  Love never fails. Now if there are prophecies, they will be done away with. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

13:9  For what we know is incomplete and what we prophesy is incomplete.

13:10  But when what is completeOr perfect comes, then what is incomplete will be done away with.

13:11  When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways.

13:12  Now we see only a blurred reflection in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now what I know is incomplete, but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13:13  Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Chapter 14

14:1  Prophecy and TonguesKeep on pursuing love, and keep on desiring spiritual gifts, especially the ability to prophesy.

14:2  For the person who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands him, because he is speaking secrets in the Spirit.Or with his spirit

14:3  But the person who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding, encouragement, and comfort.

14:4  The person who speaks in a tongue builds himself up, but the person who prophesies builds the church up.

14:5  Now I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but especially that you could prophesy. The person who prophesies is more important than the person who speaks in a tongue, unless he interprets it so that the church may be built up.

14:6  Indeed, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what good will I be to you unless I speak to you in some revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching?

14:7  In the same way, lifeless instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. But if there's no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played?

14:8  For example, if a bugle doesn't sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

14:9  In the same way, unless you speak an intelligible message with your tongue, how will anyone know what is being said? You'll be talking into the air!

14:10  There are, I suppose, many different languagesOr sounds in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.

14:11  If I don't know the meaning of the language,Or sound I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.

14:12  In the same way, since you're so desirous of spiritual gifts, you must keep on desiring them for the upbuilding of the church.

14:13  Therefore, the person who speaks in a tongue should pray for the ability to interpret it.

14:14  For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is not productive.

14:15  What does this mean? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit, but I will also sing psalms with my mind.

14:16  Otherwise, if you say a blessing with your spirit, how can an otherwise uneducated personLit. the person who occupies the place of the uneducated say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you're saying?

14:17  It's good for you to give thanks, but it does not build up the other person.

14:18  I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

14:19  But in church I would rather speak five words with my mind to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue.

14:20  Brothers, stop beingOr do not be children in your thinking. In evil be infants, but in thinking be adults.

14:21  In the law it is written, “Through people of strange tonguesand through the mouths of foreigners I will speak to this people,but even then they will not listen to me,”Isa 28:11-12declares the Lord.

14:22  Tongues, then, are meant to be a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is meant, not for unbelievers, but for believers.

14:23  Now if the whole church gathers in the same place and everyone is speaking in tongues, when uneducated people or unbelievers come in, they will say that you are out of your mind, won't they?

14:24  But if everyone is prophesying, when an unbeliever or an uneducated person comes in he will be convicted by all and examined by all.

14:25  The secrets in his heart will become known, and so he will bow down to the ground and worship God, declaring, “God is truly among you!”

14:26  Maintain Order in the ChurchWhat, then, does this mean,The Gk. lacks does this mean brothers? When you gather, everyone has a psalm, teaching, revelation, tongue, or interpretation. Everything must be done for upbuilding.

14:27  If anyone speaks in a tongue, only two or three at the most should do so, one at a time, and somebody must interpret.

14:28  If an interpreter is not present, he should remain silent in the church and speak to himself and God.

14:29  Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.

14:30  If a revelation is made to another person who is seated, the first person should be silent.

14:31  For everyone can prophesy in turn, so that everyone can be instructed and everyone can be encouraged.

14:32  The spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets,

14:33  for GodLit. he is not a God of disorder but of peace.As 14:33-34 Or peace, as in all the churches of the saints. in all the churches of the saints,

14:34  the 14:33-34 Or peace, as in all the churches of the saints. women must keep silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak out, but must place themselves in submission, as the law also says.

14:35  If they want to learn anything, they should ask their own husbands at home, for it is inappropriate for a woman to speak out in church.Other mss. place vv. 34 and 35 after v. 40.

14:36  Did God's word originate with you? Are you the only people it has reached?

14:37  If anyone thinks he is a prophet or a spiritual person, he must acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.

14:38  But if anyone ignores this, he should be ignored.Other mss. read If he is ignorant of this, he should remain ignorant

14:39  Therefore, my brothers, desire the ability to prophesy, and do not prevent others from speaking in tongues.

14:40  But everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.

Chapter 15

15:1  The Resurrection of ChristNow I'm making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand,

15:2  and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless.

15:3  For I passed on to you the most important points ofOr to you as matters of great importance what I received: Christ died for our sins in keeping with the Scriptures,

15:4  he was buried, he was raised on the third day in keeping with the Scriptures—and is still alive!—

15:5  and he was seen by Cephas,I.e. Peter and then by the twelve.

15:6  After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.Lit. have fallen asleep

15:7  Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles,

15:8  and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late.

15:9  For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God's church.

15:10  But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God's grace that was with me.

15:11  So, whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

15:12  The Resurrection of the DeadNow if we preach that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you keep claiming there is no resurrection of the dead?

15:13  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised,

15:14  and if Christ has not been raised, then our message means nothing and yourOther mss. read our faith means nothing.

15:15  In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God because we testified on God's behalf that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if in fact it is true that the dead are not raised.

15:16  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised,

15:17  and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins.

15:18  Yes, even those who have diedLit. have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

15:19  If we have set our hopes on Christ in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.

15:20  But at this moment Christ stands risen from the dead, the first one offered in the harvestLit. the first fruits of those who have died.Lit. have fallen asleep

15:21  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.

15:22  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive.

15:23  However, this will happen to each person in the proper order: first Christ,Lit. Christ the first fruits then those who belong to Christ when he comes.

15:24  Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power.

15:25  For he must rule until GodLit. he puts all his enemies under his feet.

15:26  The last enemy to be done away with is death,

15:27  for “GodLit. he has put everything under his feet.”Ps 8:6 Now when he says, “Everything has been put under him,” this clearly excludes the one who put everything under him.

15:28  But when everything has been put under him, then the Son himself will also become subject to the one who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

15:29  Otherwise, what will those people do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they being baptized for them?

15:30  And why in fact are we being endangered every hour?

15:31  I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers,Other mss. lack brothers as it is that I am proud of you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

15:32  If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”Isa 22:13

15:33  Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”Menander, Thais (218)

15:34  Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—are without a true knowledge of God.

15:35  The Resurrection BodyBut someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?”

15:36  You fool! The seed you plant does not come to life unless it dies,

15:37  and what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else.

15:38  But God gives the plantThe Gk. lacks the plant the form he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own form.

15:39  Not all flesh is the same.Lit. the same flesh Humans have one kind of flesh,The Gk. lacks of flesh animals in general have another,Lit. another kind of flesh birds have another,Lit. another kind of flesh and fish have still another.

15:40  There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of those in heaven is of one kind, and that of those on earth is of another.

15:41  One kind of splendor belongs to the sun, anotherLit. another kind of splendor to the moon, and still anotherLit. another kind of splendor to the stars. In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.

15:42  This is how it will be at the resurrection of the dead. What is planted is decaying, what is raised cannot decay.

15:43  The bodyLit. It is planted in dishonor but raised in splendor. It is planted in weakness but raised in power.

15:44  It is planted a physical body but raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.The Gk. lacks body

15:45  This, indeed, is what is written: “The first man, Adam, became a living being.”Gen 2:7 The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

15:46  The spiritual does not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual.

15:47  The first man came from the dust of the earth; the second man came from heaven.

15:48  Those who are made of the dust are like the man from the dust, those who are heavenly are like the man who is from heaven.

15:49  Just as we have borne the likeness of the man who was made from dust, we willOther mss. read we should also bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

15:50  Brothers, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what decays cannot inherit what does not decay.

15:51  Let me tell you a secret. Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed—

15:52  in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpetLit. it will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed.

15:53  For what is decaying must put on what cannot decay, and what is dying must put on what cannot die.

15:54  Now, when what is decaying puts on what cannot decay, and what is dying puts on what cannot die, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory!”Isa 25:8

15:55  “Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting?”Hos 13:14

15:56  Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

15:57  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

15:58  Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that your work isn't wasted in the Lord.

Chapter 16

16:1  Concerning the Collection for the SaintsNow concerning the collection for the saints, you should follow the directions I gave to the churches in Galatia.

16:2  On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside and save some of your money in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I come.

16:3  When I arrive, I will send with letters the men you approve to take your gift to Jerusalem.

16:4  If it is worthwhile for me to go, too, they can go with me.

16:5  Plans for TravelI will visit you when I go through Macedonia—for I intend to go through Macedonia—

16:6  and will probably stay with you or even spend the winter. Then you can send me on my way, wherever I decide to go.

16:7  I do not want to see you now just in passing, because I hope to spend some time with you if the Lord permits.

16:8  However, I will be staying on in Ephesus until Pentecost,

16:9  because a door has opened wide for me to do effective work, although many people are opposing me.

16:10  If Timothy comes, see to it that he does not have anything to be afraid of while he is with you, for he is doing the Lord's work as I am.

16:11  Therefore, no one should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me, because I am expecting him along with the brothers.

16:12  Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the otherThe Gk. lacks other brothers, but he was not inclined to go just now. However, he will come when the time is right.

16:13  Final InstructionsRemain alert. Keep standing firm in your faith. Keep on being courageous and strong.

16:14  Everything you do should be done in love.

16:15  Now I urge you, brothers—for you know that the members of the family of Stephanas were the first convertsLit the first fruits in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to serving the saints—

16:16  to submit yourselves to people like these and to anyone else who shares their labor and hard work.

16:17  I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came here, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.

16:18  They refreshed my spirit—and yours, too. Therefore, appreciate men like that.

16:19  Final GreetingsThe churches in Asia greet you. Aquila and PriscaI.e. Priscilla and the church in their house greet you warmly in the Lord.

16:20  All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.People customarily greeted their friends with a kiss.,

16:21  I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand.

16:22  If anyone doesn't love the Lord, let him be condemned! May our Lord come!Lit. Marana tha

16:23  May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you!

16:24  My love is with all of you in Christ Jesus.Other mss. read Jesus. Amen