Murdock - I Corinthians

Chapter 1

1:1  PAUL, called and sent by Jesus Messiah in the good pleasure of God; and Sosthenes, a brother;

1:2  to the church of God which is at Corinth, to the people called and sanctified, who are sanctified in Jesus Messiah; and to all them, in every place, who invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Messiah, their and our Lord:

1:3  Grace be with you, and peace; from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Messiah.

1:4  I thank my God at all times on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given to you in Jesus Messiah;

1:5  that in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all discourse, and in all knowledge;

1:6  even as the testimony of Messiah was confirmed among you:

1:7  so that ye are not inferior in any one of his gifts; but are waiting for the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Messiah:

1:8  who will confirm you unto the end, so that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Messiah.

1:9  God is faithful; by whom ye have been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Messiah, our Lord.

1:10  And I beseech you, my Brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Messiah, that to you all there may be one language; and that there may be no divisions among you: but that ye may become perfectly of one mind, and of one way of thinking.

1:11  For concerning you, my Brethren, it hath been reported to me by the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

1:12  And this I state: That one of you saith, I am of Paul; and another saith, I am of Apollos; and another saith, I am of Cephas; and another saith, I am of Messiah.

1:13  Now was Messiah divided? Or was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1:14  I thank my God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius;

1:15  lest any one should say, that I baptized in my own name.

1:16  I moreover baptized the household of Stephanas: but further, I know not that I baptized any other.

1:17  For Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach; not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Messiah should be inefficient.

1:18  For a discourse concerning the cross is, to them who perish, foolishness; but to us who live, it is the energy of God.

1:19  For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; and I will dissipate the intelligence of the sagacious.

1:20  Where is the wise? Or where is the scribe? Or where is the disputant of this world? Lo, hath not God showed, that the wisdom of this world is folly?

1:21  For in the wisdom of God, because the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to quicken them who believe.

1:22  Because the Jews ask for signs, and the Gentiles demand wisdom.

1:23  But we preach Messiah as crucified; which is a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles;

1:24  but to them who are called, both Jews and Gentiles, Messiah is the energy of God, and the wisdom of God.

1:25  Because the foolishness of God, is wiser than men; and the feebleness of God, is stronger than men.

1:26  For look also at your calling, my Brethren; that not many among you are wise, according to the flesh; and not many among you are mighty, and not many among you are of high birth.

1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish ones of the world, to shame the wise; and he hath chosen the feeble ones of the world, to shame the mighty;

1:28  and he hath chosen those of humble birth in the world, and the despised, and them who are nothing, to bring to naught them who are something:

1:29  so that no flesh might, glory before him.

1:30  And ye, moreover, are of him in Jesus Messiah; who hath become to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption :

1:31  according to that which is written: He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Chapter 2

2:1  And I, my Brethren, when I came to you, did not preach to you the mystery of God in magnificent speech, nor in wisdom.

2:2  And I did not govern myself among you, as if I knew any thing, except only Jesus Messiah; and him also as crucified.

2:3  And in much fear and much trembling, was I with you.

2:4  And my speech and my preaching were not with the persuasiveness of the discourses of wisdom; but with the demonstration of the Spirit, and with power:

2:5  that your faith might not arise from the wisdom of men, but from the power of God.

2:6  Yet we do speak wisdom, among the perfect; the wisdom not of this world, nor of the potentates of this world, who will come to naught.

2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God, in a mystery; the wisdom which was hidden, and which God predetermined before the world was, for our glory:

2:8  which no one of the potentates of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

2:9  But, as it is written: The eye hath not seen, nor hath the ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, that which God hath prepared for those who love him.

2:10  But God hath revealed it to us, by his Spirit; for the Spirit exploreth all things, even the profound things of God.

2:11  For what man is there, who knoweth that which is in a man, except it be the spirit of the man, which is in him? So also, that which is in God, no one knoweth, except the Spirit of God.

2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God; that we might know the free gifts, which are given to us by God.

2:13  Which things we also speak; not in the teaching of the words of man's wisdom, but in the teaching of the spirit; and we compare spirituals with spirituals.

2:14  For a man in his natural self, receiveth not spirituals; for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them; for they are discerned by the Spirit.

2:15  But he that is spiritual, judgeth of all things: and he is judged of by no one.

2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Messiah.

Chapter 3

3:1  And I, my Brethren, could not talk with you, as with spiritual persons, but as with the carnal, as with babes in Messiah.

3:2  I gave you milk, and did not give you solid food: for ye were not then able to receive it; and even now, ye are not able.

3:3  For ye are still in the flesh. For, as there are among you envying, and contention, and parties, are ye not carnal, and walking in the flesh?

3:4  For, while one of you saith, I am of Paul; and another saith, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

3:5  For, who is Paul, or who is Apollos, but the ministers by whom ye believed, each one as the Lord gave to him?

3:6  I planted, and Apollos watered; but God produced the growth.

3:7  Not therefore he that planted, is to be accounted of, nor he that watered, but God who produced the growth.

3:8  And he that planted, and he that watered are on a par; each receiveth his reward, according to his labor.

3:9  For we labor with God: and ye are God's husbandry, and God's edifice.

3:10  According to the grace of God which was given me, I laid the foundation like a wise architect; and another buildeth on it. But let each one see, how he buildeth on it.

3:11  For any other foundation can no man lay, different from that which is laid, which is Jesus Messiah.

3:12  And if any one buildeth on this foundation, either gold, or silver, or precious stones, or wood, or hay, or stubble;

3:13  the work of each will be exposed to view; for the day will expose it; because it is to be tested by fire; and the fire will disclose the work of each, of what sort it is.

3:14  And that builder whose work shall endure, will receive his reward.

3:15  And he, whose work shall burn up, will suffer loss; yet himself will escape; but it will be, as from the fire.

3:16  Know ye not, that ye are the temple of God? and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

3:17  Whoever shall mar the temple of God, God will mar him: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

3:18  Let no one deceive himself. Whoever among you thinketh that he is wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

3:19  For the wisdom of this world is fatuity with God: for it is written, He catcheth the wise in their own craftiness.

3:20  And again: The Lord knoweth the devices of the wise, that they are vain.

3:21  Wherefore, let no one glory in men: for all things are yours;

3:22  whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all things are yours:

3:23  and ye are Messiah's, and Messiah is God's.

Chapter 4

4:1  Let us be so accounted of by you, as the servants of Messiah, and the stewards of the mysteries of God.

4:2  Now it is required of stewards, that each be found faithful.

4:3  But to me, it is a light matter to be judged of by you, or by any man whatever; nay, I am no judge of myself.

4:4  -(For I am not conscious in myself of any thing flagrant; yet I am not by this justified; for the Lord is my judge.)

4:5  Therefore pronounce not judgments before the time, or until the Lord come, who will pour light upon the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the thoughts of men's hearts: and then will each one have due praise from God.

4:6  These things, my Brethren, I have stated concerning the person of myself and of Apollos, for your sakes; that, in us, ye might learn not to think of men, above what is written; and that no one might exalt himself in comparison with his fellow, on account of any person.

4:7  For who exploreth thee? Or what hast thou, which thou didst not receive? And if thou receivedst it, why gloriest thou, as if thou didst not receive it?

4:8  Now ye are yourselves full, and enriched; and, without us, are on thrones! And I wish ye were enthroned; that we also might reign with you.

4:9  But I suppose, that God hath placed us legates the last, as for death; since we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men.

4:10  We are fools, on account of Messiah; but ye are wise in Messiah! We are feeble; but ye are strong! Ye are lauded, we are contemned.

4:11  Unto this hour, we hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no permanent home:

4:12  and we toil, working with our own hands: they defame us, and we bless: they persecute us, and we endure it:

4:13  they revile us, and we entreat them: we are as the filth of the world, and the expiation for all men, up to this time.

4:14  I write these things, not to shame you; but I instruct you, as dear children.

4:15  For though ye have a myriad of teachers in Messiah, yet not many fathers; for in Jesus Messiah, I have begotten you by preaching.

4:16  I beseech you, therefore, that ye be like me.

4:17  For this cause have I sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, that he might bring to your recollection my ways in Messiah, agreeably to what I teach in all the churches.

4:18  Now some of you are inflated, as though I would not dare come to you.

4:19  But I will come to you speedily, if God be willing: and I will know, not the speech of them who exalt themselves, but their power:

4:20  for the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.

4:21  What will ye? Shall I come to you with the rod, or with love and a gentle spirit?

Chapter 5

5:1  In short, it is reported, there is whoredom among you; and such whoredom as is not even named among the heathen, that a son should even take the wife of his father.

5:2  And ye are inflated, and have not rather sitten down in grief, that he who hath done this deed might be separated from you.

5:3  And I, while distant from you in body but present with you in spirit, have already, as if present, judged him who perpetrateth this deed;

5:4  that ye all assemble together, in the name of our Lord Jesus Messiah, and I with you in spirit, together with the energy of our Lord Jesus Messiah;

5:5  and that ye deliver him over to Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that in spirit he may have life, in the day of our Lord Jesus Messiah.

5:6  Your glorying is not praiseworthy. Know ye not, that a little leaven leaveneth the whole mass?

5:7  Purge out from you the old leaven, that ye may be a new mass, as ye are unleavened. For our passover is the Messiah, who was slain for us.

5:8  Therefore let us celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of wickedness and bitterness, but with the leaven of purity and sanctity.

5:9  I wrote to you by letter, not to commingle with whoremongers.

5:10  But I say not, with the whoremongers who are in the world, nor speak I of the avaricious, or of the rapacious, or of the idol-worshippers, otherwise ye would be obliged to go out of the world.

5:11  But this is what I wrote to you, that ye commingle not, if any one is called a brother, and is a whoremonger, or avaricious, or an idol-worshipper, or a railer, or a drunkard, or rapacious, with him who is such, not even to eat bread.

5:12  For what business have I to judge them who are without? But those within the body, judge ye,

5:13  and those without, God judgeth; and remove ye the wickedness from among you.

Chapter 6

6:1  Dare any of you, when he hath a controversy with his brother, litigate before the iniquitous, and not before the sanctified?

6:2  Or know ye not, that the sanctified will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are ye unfit to decide trivial causes?

6:3  Know ye not, that we shall judge angels? How much more things that are of the world?

6:4  But if ye have a controversy about a worldly matter, seat ye on the bench for you those who are contemned in the church!

6:5  For shame to you I say it. So, there is not even one wise man among you, who is competent to do equity between a brother and his brother:

6:6  but a brother litigateth with his brother, and also before them that believe not!

6:7  Now therefore ye condemn yourselves, in that ye have litigation one with another. For why do ye not rather suffer wrong? why not rather be defrauded?

6:8  But ye yourselves commit wrong, and ye defraud even your brethren.

6:9  Or do ye not know, that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not mistake; neither whoremongers, nor idol-worshippers, nor adulterers, nor debauchers, nor liers with males,

6:10  nor the avaricious, nor thieves, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God.

6:11  And these things have been in some of you: but ye are washed, and are sanctified, and made righteous, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, and by the Spirit of our God.

6:12  Every thing is in my power : but every thing is not profitable to me. Every thing is in my power; but none of them shall have dominion over me.

6:13  Food is for the belly; and the belly is for food; but God will bring them both to naught. But the body is not for whoredom, but for our Lord; and our Lord for the body.

6:14  And God hath raised up our Lord; and he will raise us up, by his power.

6:15  Know ye not, that your bodies are the members of the Messiah? Shall one take a member of the Messiah, and make it the member of a harlot? Far be it.

6:16  Or know ye not, that whoever joineth himself to a harlot, is one body with her? For it is said, They twain shall be one body.

6:17  But he that joineth himself to our Lord, is with him one spirit.

6:18  Flee whoredom. For every other sin which a man committeth, is external to his body; but he that committeth whoredom, sinneth against his own body.

6:19  Or know ye not, that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who abideth in you, whom ye have received from God? And ye are not your own.

6:20  For ye are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify ye God, with your body, and with your spirit, which are God's.

Chapter 7

7:1  And concerning the things of which ye wrote to me, it is praiseworthy for a man not to approach a woman.

7:2  But, on account of whoredom, let each have his own wife and let a woman have her own husband.

7:3  And let the man render to his wife the kindness which is due; and so also the woman to her husband.

7:4  The woman is not the sovereign over her body, but her husband: so also the man is not the sovereign over his body, but the wife.

7:5  Therefore, deprive not one another, except when ye both consent, at the time ye devote yourselves to fasting and prayer; and return again to the same disposition, that Satan tempt you not because of the concupiscence of your body.

7:6  But this I say, as to weak persons, not of positive precept.

7:7  For I would that all men might be like me in purity. But every man is endowed with his gift of God; one thus, and another so.

7:8  And I say to them who have no wives, and to widows, that it is advantageous to them to remain as I am.

7:9  But if they cannot endure it, let them marry: for it is more profitable to take a wife, than to burn with concupiscence.

7:10  And on them who have wives, I enjoin,-not I, but my Lord,-that the woman separate not from her husband.

7:11  And if she separate, let her remain without a husband, or be reconciled to her husband; and let not the man put away his wife.

7:12  And to the rest, say I,- I, not my Lord,-that if there be a brother, who hath a wife that believeth not, and she is disposed to dwell with him, let him not put her away.

7:13  And that woman, who hath a husband that believeth not, and he is disposed to dwell with her let her not forsake her husband.

7:14  For the husband who believeth not, is sanctified by the wife that believeth; and the wife who believeth not, is sanctified by the husband that believeth: otherwise their children would be impure; but now are they pure.

7:15  But if the unbeliever separateth, let him separate: A brother or sister is not in bondage in such cases: it is to peace, God hath called us.

7:16  For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou wilt procure life to thy husband? Or, thou husband, knowest thou, whether thou wilt procure life to thy wife?

7:17  Every one, however, as the Lord hath distributed to him, and every one as God hath called him, so let him walk. And also thus I enjoin upon all the churches.

7:18  Is a circumcised person called, let him not revert to uncircumcision: and if one uncircumcised be called, let him not become circumcised.

7:19  For circumcision is nothing, neither is uncircumcision; but the keeping of God's commands.

7:20  Let every one continue in the vocation, in which he was called.

7:21  If thou wert called, being a servant; let it not trouble thee. But if thou canst be made free, choose it rather than to serve.

7:22  For he that is called by our Lord, being a servant, is God's freedman: likewise, he that is called, being a free man, is the Messiah's servant.

7:23  Ye are bought with a price; become not the servants of men.

7:24  Let every one, my Brethren, continue with God, in whatever state he was called.

7:25  And concerning virginity, I have no precept from God; but I give counsels as a man who hath obtained mercy from God to be a believer.

7:26  And I think this is suitable, on account of the necessity of the times; it is advantageous for a man to remain as he is.

7:27  Art thou bound to a wife? Seek not a release. Art thou free from a wife? Seek not a wife.

7:28  But if thou takest a wife, thou sinnest not. And if a maiden is given to a husband, she sinneth not. But they who are such, will have trouble in the body: but I am forbearing to you.

7:29  And this I say, my Brethren, that the time to come is short; so that they who have wives, should be as if they had none;

7:30  and they who weep, as if they wept not; and they who rejoice, as if they rejoiced not; and they who buy, as if they acquired not;

7:31  and those occupied with this world, not going beyond the just using: for the fashion of this world is passing away.

7:32  And therefore I wish you to be without solicitude. For he who hath not a wife, considereth the thing of his Lord, how he may please his Lord.

7:33  And he who hath a wife, is anxious about the world, how he may please his wife.

7:34  There is a difference also between a wife and a maiden. She who is without a husband, thinketh of things pertaining to her Lord, that she may be holy in her body and in her spirit. But she who hath a husband, thinketh of things pertaining to the world, how she may please her husband.

7:35  And this I say for your advantage; I am not laying a snare for you; but that ye may be faithful towards your Lord, in a suitable manner, while not minding worldly things.

7:36  But if any one thinketh that there is reproach, on account of his maiden daughter, because she hath passed her time, and he hath not presented her to a husband, and it be fitting that he present her; let him do what he desireth, he sinneth not; let her be married.

7:37  But he who hath firmly determined in his own mind, and nothing compelleth him, and he can act his own pleasure, and he so judgeth in his heart, that he keep his maiden daughter, he doeth commendably.

7:38  And therefore, he who presenteth his maiden daughter, doeth commendably; and he who presenteth not his maiden daughter, doeth very commendably.

7:39  A woman, while her husband liveth, is bound by the law; but if her husband sleepeth in death, she is free to marry whom she pleaseth, yet only in the Lord.

7:40  But she is happier, in my opinion, if she remain so: and I think also, that I have the Spirit of God.

Chapter 8

8:1  And concerning sacrifices to idols, we know, that in all of us there is knowledge; and knowledge inflateth, but love edifieth.

8:2  And if any one thinketh that he knoweth any thing he knoweth nothing yet, as he ought to know it.

8:3  But if any one loveth God, that man is known of him.

8:4  As to the eating of the sacrifices of idols, therefore, we know that an idol is nothing in the world; and that there is no other God, but one.

8:5  For although there are what are called gods, whether in heaven, or on earth, (as there are gods many, and lords many,)

8:6  yet to us, on our part, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord, Jesus the Messiah, by whom are all things, and we also by him.

8:7  But there is not this knowledge in every man; for there are some, who, to the present time, in their conscience, eat it as an offering to idols; and because their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

8:8  But food doth not bring us near to God; for if we eat, we do not abound; and if we eat not, we are not in want.

8:9  See to it, however, lest this your authority become a stumbling-block to the weak.

8:10  For if one should see thee in whom there is knowledge, reclining in the temple of idols, will not his conscience, seeing he is a weak person, be encouraged to eat what is sacrificed?

8:11  And by thy knowledge, he who is feeble, and on account of whom the Messiah died, will perish.

8:12  And if ye thus sin against your brethren, and wound the consciences of the feeble, ye sin against the Messiah.

8:13  Wherefore, if food is a stumbling-block to my brother, I will for ever eat no flesh, lest I should be a stumbling-block to my brother.

Chapter 9

9:1  Am I not a free man? Or, am I not a legate? Or, have I not seen Jesus Messiah our Lord? Or, have ye not been my work in my Lord?

9:2  And if I have not been a legate to others, yet I have been so to you; and ye are the seal of my legateship.

9:3  And my apology to my judgers, is this:

9:4  Have we not authority, to eat and to drink?

9:5  Or have we not authority to carry about with us a sister as a wife; just as the other legates, and the brothers of our Lord, and as Cephas?

9:6  Or I only, and Barnabas, have we no right to forbear labor?

9:7  Who, that serveth in war, doth so at his own expense? Or who, that planteth a vineyard, eateth not of its fruits? Or who, that tendeth sheep, eateth not of the milk of his flocks?

9:8  Is it as a man, I say these things? Behold, the law also saith them.

9:9  For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that thresheth. Hath God regard for oxen?

9:10  But manifest it is, for whose sake he said it. And indeed, for our sakes it was written: because the plougher ought to plough in hope, and the thresher in hope of fruit.

9:11  If we have sowed among you the things of the Spirit, is it a great matter, if we reap from you the things of the body?

9:12  And if others have this prerogative over you, doth it not belong still more to us? Yet we have not used this prerogative; but we have endured every thing, that we might in nothing impede the announcement of the Messiah.

9:13  Know ye not, that they who serve in a temple, are fed from the temple? And they who serve at the altar, participate with the altar?

9:14  Thus also hath our Lord commanded, that they who proclaim his gospel, should live by his gospel.

9:15  But I have used none of these things: and I write not, that it may be so done to me; for it would be better for me to actually die, than that any one should make void my glorying.

9:16  For while I preach, I have no ground of glorying; because necessity is laid upon me, and woe to me, if I preach not.

9:17  For if I do this voluntarily, there is a reward for me: but if involuntarily, a stewardship is intrusted to me.

9:18  What then is my reward? It is, that when I preach, I make the announcement of the Messiah without cost, and use not the prerogative given me in the gospel.

9:19  Being free from them all, I have made myself servant to every man; that I might gain many:

9:20  and with the Jews, I was as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; and with those under the law, I was as under the law, that I might gain them who are under the law;

9:21  and to those who have not the law, I was as without the law, (although I am not without law to God, but under the law of the Messiah,) that I might gain them that are without the law.

9:22  I was with the weak, as weak, that I might gain the weak: I was all things to all men, that I might vivify every one.

9:23  And this I do, that I may participate in the announcement.

9:24  Know ye not that they who run in the stadium, run all of them; yet it is one who gaineth the victory. Run ye, so as to attain.

9:25  For every one who engageth in the contest, restraineth his desires in every thing. And they run, to obtain a crown that perisheth; but we, one that perisheth not.

9:26  I therefore so run, not as for something unknown; and I so struggle, not as struggling against air;

9:27  but I subdue my body, and reduce it to servitude; lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a reprobate.

Chapter 10

10:1  And, my Brethren, I would have you know, that our fathers were all of them under the cloud, and they all passed through the sea;

10:2  and they were all baptized by 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 drank from the spiritual rock that attended them, and that rock was the Messiah.

10:5  But with a multitude of them, God was not pleased; for they fell in the wilderness.

10:6  Now these things were an example for us, that we should not hanker after evil things as they hankered.

10:7  Neither should we serve idols, as some of them served; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to sport.

10:8  Neither let us commit whoredom, as some of them committed; and there fell in one day twenty and three thousand.

10:9  Neither let us tempt the Messiah, as some of them tempted; and serpents destroyed them.

10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured; and they perished by the destroyer.

10:11  All these things which befell them, were for an example to us; and they are written for our instruction, on whom the end of the world hath come.

10:12  Wherefore, let him who thinketh he standeth, beware lest he fall.

10:13  No trial cometh on you, but what pertaineth to men: and God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tried beyond your ability, but will make an issue to your trial, that ye may be able to sustain it.

10:14  Wherefore, my Beloved, flee from idolatry.

10:15  I speak as to the wise; judge ye what I say.

10:16  The cup of thanksgiving which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of the Messiah? And the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of the Messiah?

10:17  As therefore that bread is one, so we are all one body; for we all take to ourselves from that one bread.

10:18  Behold the Israel who are in the flesh; are not they who eat the victims, participators of the altar?

10:19  What then do I say? That an idol is any thing? Or, that an idol's sacrifice is any thing? No.

10:20  But that what the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God. And I would not, that ye should be associates of demons.

10:21  Ye cannot drink the cup of our Lord, and the cup of demons; and ye cannot be partakers at the table of our Lord, and at the table of demons.

10:22  Or, would we sedulously provoke our Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

10:23  Every thing is in my power; but every thing is not profitable. Every thing is in my power; but every thing doth not edify.

10:24  Let no one seek his own things, but also the things of his fellow-man.

10:25  Whatever is sold in the flesh-market, eat ye, without an inquiry on account of conscience:

10:26  for the earth is the Lord's, in its fullness.

10:27  And if one of the Gentiles invite you, and ye are disposed to go, eat ye whatever is set before you, without an inquiry on account of conscience.

10:28  But if any one shall say to you, This pertaineth to a sacrifice; eat not, for the sake of him who told you, and for conscience's sake.

10:29  The conscience I speak of, is not your own, but his who told you. But why is my liberty judged of, by the conscience of others?

10:30  If I by grace partake, why am I reproached for that, for which I give thanks?

10:31  If therefore ye eat, or if ye drink, or if ye do any thing, do all things for the glory of God.

10:32  Be ye without offence to the Jews, and to the Gentiles, and to the church of God:

10:33  even as I also, in every thing, please every man; and do not seek what is profitable to me, but what is profitable to many; that they may live.

Chapter 11

11:1  Be ye imitators of me, as I am of the Messiah.

11:2  Moreover I commend you, my Brethren, that in all things ye are mindful of me, and that ye hold fast the precepts as I delivered them to you.

11:3  And I would have you know, that the head of every man is the Messiah, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of the Messiah is God.

11:4  Every man, who prayeth or prophesieth with his head covered, dishonoreth his head.

11:5  And every woman, who prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoreth her head; for she is on a level with her whose head is shaven.

11:6  For if a woman be not covered, let her also be shorn; but if it be shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

11:7  The man, indeed, ought not to cover his head, because he is the likeness and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

11:8  For the man was not from the woman, but the woman from the man.

11:9  Neither was the man created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the man's sake.

11:10  For this cause ought the woman to have on her head the mark of authority, because of the angels.

11:11  Nevertheless, the man is not without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in our Lord.

11:12  For as the woman was from the man, so the man is by the woman; and every thing is from God.

11:13  Judge for yourselves, among yourselves; is it becoming, that a woman pray to God with her head uncovered?

11:14  Doth not nature teach you, that in a man, if his hair groweth long, it is a reproach to him?

11:15  But for a woman, if her hair is abundant, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.

11:16  But if any one is contentious about these things, we on our part have no such custom, nor hath the church of God.

11:17  This which I now enjoin, is not as praising you; for ye have not made progress, but have deteriorated.

11:18  Because, first; when ye assemble in the church, there are, I hear, divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

11:19  For there are to be contentions among you, that the approved among you may be known.

11:20  When therefore ye come together, ye eat and drink, not as is becoming on the day of our Lord.

11:21  But, one and another proceedeth to eat his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

11:22  What! have ye no houses in which ye can eat and drink? Or, despise ye the church of God, and shame them who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I praise you not.

11:23  For I have received from our Lord, that which I imparted to you; that our Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,

11:24  and blessed, and brake it, and said: " Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for your sakes: thus do ye, in remembrance of me."

11:25  So, after they had supped, he gave also the cup, and said: " This cup is the new testament in my blood: thus do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."

11:26  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye commemorate the death of our Lord, until his advent.

11:27  He therefore, who eateth of the bread of the Lord, and drinketh of his cup, and is not worthy of it, is guilty of the blood of the Lord, and of his body.

11:28  For this reason, a man should examine himself, and then eat of this bread, and drink of this cup:

11:29  for, whoever eateth and drinketh of it, while he is unworthy, eateth and drinketh condemnation on himself, by not discerning the body of the Lord.

11:30  For this cause, many among you are diseased and sickly, and many sleep.

11:31  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

11:32  But when we are judged by our Lord, we are really chastised, that we may not be condemned with the world.

11:33  Wherefore, my Brethren, when ye assemble to eat, wait ye one for another.

11:34  And let him who is hungry, eat at home; that ye may assemble, not for condemnation. And as to other things, I will give you directions when I come.

Chapter 12

12:1  And concerning spirituals, my brethren, I would have you know,

12:2  that ye have been pagans ; and have been, without distinction, led away after idols, in which there is no speech.

12:3  I therefore inform you, that there is no man, that speaketh by the Spirit of God, who saith that Jesus is accursed: neither can a man say that Jesus is the Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

12:4  Now there are diversities of gifts; but the Spirit is one.

12:5  And there are diversities of ministrations; but the Lord is one.

12:6  And there are diversities of energies; but God, who worketh all in all men, is one.

12:7  And to each man, there is given a manifestation of the Spirit, that it may aid him.

12:8  To one, by the Spirit, there is given a word of wisdom; and to another, by the same Spirit, there is given a word of knowledge:

12:9  to another, by the same Spirit, faith: to another, by the same Spirit, gifts of healing:

12:10  and to another, miracles: and to another, prophecy: and to another, the discerning of spirits: and to another, divers kinds of tongues: and to another, the interpretation of tongues.

12:11  But all these, worketh that one Spirit; and he distributeth to every one as he pleaseth.

12:12  For as the body is one, and in it are many members; and all those members of the body, though many, are one body; so also is the Messiah.

12:13  For all of us, likewise, by one Spirit, have been baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free; and all of us have drinked in one Spirit.

12:14  For a body also, is not one member, but many.

12:15  For if the foot should say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it, on that account, not of the body?

12:16  Or if the ear should say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it, on that account, not of the body?

12:17  And if the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? Or if it were all hearing, where would be the smelling?

12:18  But now hath God placed every one of the members in the body, according to his pleasure.

12:19  And if they were all one member, where would be the body?

12:20  But now they are many members, yet but one body.

12:21  The eye cannot say to the hand, Thou art not needful to me: nor can the head say to the feet, Ye are not needful to me.

12:22  But rather, those members which are accounted feeble, are indispensable.

12:23  And those which we think dishonorable in the body, on them we heap more honor; and those that are uncomely, on them we put the more decoration.

12:24  For the honorable members in us, have no need of honor: for God hath tempered the body, and given more honor to the member which is inferior;

12:25  that there might be no disunion in the body, but that all the members, equally, might care for one another;

12:26  so that, when one member is in pain, they will all sympathize; and if one member is exalted, all the members will be exalted.

12:27  Now ye are the body of Messiah, and members in your place.

12:28  For God hath placed in his church, first, legates; after them, prophets; after them, teachers; after them, workers of miracles; after them, the gifts of healing, and helpers, and leaders, and various kinds of tongues.

12:29  Are they all legates? Are they all prophets? Are they all teachers? Are they all workers of miracles?

12:30  Have all of them the gifts of healing? Do they all speak with tongues? Or do they all interpret?

12:31  And if ye are emulous of the superior gifts, on the other hand, I show to you a better way.

Chapter 13

13:1  If I could speak in every tongue of men, and in that of angels, and there should be no love in me, I should be like brass that resoundeth, or the cymbal that maketh a noise.

13:2  And if there should be in me the gift of prophecy, and I should understand all the mysteries, and every science; and if there should be in me all faith, so that I could move mountains, and love should not be in me, I should be nothing.

13:3  And if I should feed out to the destitute all I possess; and if I should give my body to be burned; and there should be no love in me, I gain nothing.

13:4  Love is long-suffering, and is kind; love is not envious; love is not boisterous; and is not inflated;

13:5  and doth nothing that causeth shame; and seeketh not her own; is not passionate; and thinketh no evil;

13:6  rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

13:7  beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all, and endureth all.

13:8  Love will never cease. But prophesyings will end; and tongues will be silent; and knowledge will vanish.

13:9  For we know but partially; and we prophesy but partially.

13:10  But when completeness shall come, then that which is partial will vanish away.

13:11  When I was a child, I talked as a child, and I reasoned as a child, and I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I laid aside the things of childhood.

13:12  And now we see, as by a mirror, in similitude; but then face to face: now I know partially; but then shall I know, just as I am known.

13:13  For these three things are abiding, faith, and hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

Chapter 14

14:1  Follow after love; and be emulous of the gifts of the Spirit, and especially, that ye may prophesy.

14:2  For he that speaketh in a tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no one understandeth what is said; yet in the spirit, he speaketh a mystery.

14:3  But he that prophesieth, speaketh unto men, for edification, and exhortation, and consolation.

14:4  He that speaketh in a tongue, edifieth himself: and he that prophesieth, edifieth the church.

14:5  Now I would that ye all spoke with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied; for greater is he that prophesieth, than he that speaketh in a tongue, unless he interpret; and if he interpret, he edifieth the church.

14:6  And now, my brethren, if I should come among you, and speak to you in tongues, what should I profit you; unless I should speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophecy, or by doctrine?

14:7  For even inanimate things that emit sound, whether pipe or harp, if they make no distinction between one sound and another, how will it be known, what is sung or what is harped?

14:8  And if the trumpet shall give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?

14:9  So likewise if ye utter a discourse in a tongue, and there is no interpretation given, how will it be known what ye have said? Ye will have been as if ye spoke into the air.

14:10  For lo, there are many kinds of tongues in the world; and there is not one of them without meaning.

14:11  But if I do not know the import of the sound, I shall be a barbarian to him that speaketh, and the speaker will be a barbarian to me.

14:12  So also ye, since ye are emulous of the gifts of the Spirit for the edification of the church, seek ye to excel.

14:13  And let him that speaketh in a tongue, pray that he may interpret.

14:14  For if I should pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is without fruits.

14:15  What then shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, and will pray with my understanding; and I will sing with my spirit, and will sing with my understanding.

14:16  Otherwise, if thou blessest in the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of one unlearned, say Amen, on thy giving thanks; for he knoweth not what thou sayest?

14:17  Thou blessest, indeed, very well; but thy neighbor is not edified.

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

14:19  But in the church, I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others, than a myriad of words in a tongue.

14:20  My brethren, be ye not children in your thoughts; but to evil things be ye infants; and in your thoughts be men.

14:21  In the law it is written, With a foreign speech, and in another tongue, will I speak with this people; and even so also they will not hearken to me, saith the Lord.

14:22  Wherefore, tongues are established for a sign, not to the believers, but to them that believe not. But prophesyings are not for those who believe not, but for them that believe.

14:23  If therefore the whole church assemble, and they all speak with tongues, and there come in unlearned persons, or such as believe not, will they not say: These people are crazy?

14:24  But if ye should be all prophesying, and one unlearned or an unbeliever should come among you, he is explored by you all, and rebuked by you all;

14:25  and the secrets of his heart are laid open to him: and so he will fall upon his face, and will worship God, and say: Verily, God is in you.

14:26  I therefore say to you my brethren, that when ye assemble, whoever of you hath a psalm, let him speak; and whoever hath a doctrine, and whoever hath a revelation, and whoever hath a tongue, and whoever hath an interpretation. Let them all be for edification.

14:27  And if any speak in a tongue, let two speak or at most, three; and let them speak one by one; and let some one interpret.

14:28  And if there is none to interpret, let him that speaketh in a tongue, be silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.

14:29  And as to prophets, let two or three speak, and let the rest judge.

14:30  And if to another sitting by, there should be a revelation, let the first stop speaking.

14:31  For ye can all prophesy, one by one; so that every one may learn, and every one be comforted.

14:32  For the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets.

14:33  Because, God is not the author of tumult, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

14:34  Let your women be silent in the church: for it is not permitted them to speak, but to be in subjection, as also the law saith.

14:35  And if they wish to be informed on any subject, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is unbecoming for women to speak in the church.

14:36  What! was it from you that the word of God came forth? Or did it reach only to you?

14:37  And if any one among you thinketh that he is a prophet, or that he is spiritual, let him recognize the things which I write to you, as being the precepts of our Lord.

14:38  But if any one be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

14:39  Wherefore, my brethren, be emulous of prophesying: and to speak with tongues, prohibit not.

14:40  But let every thing be done with decency and regularity.

Chapter 15

15:1  And I make known to you, my brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, and which ye received, and in which ye stand,

15:2  and by which ye have life. In what terms I preached to you, ye remember; unless ye have believed in vain.

15:3  For I delivered to you from the first, as I had received it; that the Messiah died on account of our sins, as it is written:

15:4  and that he was buried and arose on the third day, as it is written:

15:5  and that he was seen by Cephas; and after him, by the twelve:

15:6  and after that, he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once; many of whom survive at the present time, and some of them sleep.

15:7  And subsequently to this, he was seen by James; and after him, by all the legates.

15:8  And last of them all, he was seen by me, as it were by an abortion.

15:9  I am the least of the legates; and am not worthy to be called a legate; because I persecuted the church of God.

15:10  But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace, that was in me, was not in vain; but I labored more than they all:-not I, but his grace that was with me.

15:11  Whether I, therefore, or whether they, so we preached; and so ye believed.

15:12  And if the Messiah is proclaimed, as rising from the dead; how is it that there are some among you, who say, There is no reviviscence of the dead?

15:13  And if there is no reviviscence of the dead, the Messiah also hath not risen.

15:14  And if the Messiah hath not risen, our preaching is vain, and your faith also vain.

15:15  And we too are found false witnesses of God; for we have testified concerning God, that he raised up the Messiah, when he did not raise him up.

15:16  For, if the dead will not arise, the Messiah also hath not risen.

15:17  And if the Messiah rose not, your faith is inane; and ye are yet in your sins:

15:18  and also, doubtless, they who have fallen asleep in the Messiah, have perished.

15:19  And if, in this life only, we have hope in the Messiah, we are the most miserable of all men.

15:20  But now the Messiah hath risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept.

15:21  And as by a man came death, so also by a man came the reviviscence of the dead.

15:22  For as it was by Adam, that all men die, so also by the Messiah they all live:

15:23  every one in his order; the Messiah was the first-fruits; afterwards, they that are the Messiah's, at his coming.

15:24  And then will be the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God the Father; when every prince, and every sovereign, and all powers shall have come to naught.

15:25  For he is to reign, until he shall put all his enemies under his feet.

15:26  And the last enemy, death, will be abolished.

15:27  For he hath subjected all under his feet. But when he said, that every thing is subjected to him, it is manifest that he is excepted, who subjected all to him.

15:28  And when all shall be subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subject to him who subjected all to him, so that God will be all in all.

15:29  Otherwise, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not? Why are they baptized for the dead?

15:30  And why also do we stand every hour in peril?

15:31  I protest, my brethren, by your exultation, which is mine in our Lord Jesus the Messiah, that I die daily.

15:32  If, as amongst men, I was cast to wild beasts at Ephesus, what did it profit me, if the dead rise not? " Let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die."

15:33  Be not deceived; " Evil stories corrupt well-disposed minds."

15:34  Let your hearts be righteously excited, and sin not: for there are some, in whom is not the love of God: it is to your shame, I say it.

15:35  But some one of you may say: How will the dead arise? and with what body will they come forth?

15:36  Foolish man! The seed which thou sowest, is not quickened, unless it die.

15:37  And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that is to be, but the naked kernel of wheat or barley, or of the other grains:

15:38  and God giveth it a body, as he pleaseth; and to each of the grains its natural body.

15:39  And every body is not alike; for the body of a man is one thing, and that of a beast is another, and that of a bird is another, and that of a fish is another.

15:40  And there are bodies celestial, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial bodies is one, and that of the terrestrial is another.

15:41  And the glory of the sun is one thing, and the glory of the moon is another, and the glory of the stars is another; and one star exceedeth another star in glory.

15:42  So also in the reviviscence of the dead. They are sown in corruption, they arise without corruption:

15:43  they are sown in dishonor, they arise in glory: they are sown in weakness, they arise in power:

15:44  it is sown an animal body, it ariseth a spiritual body. For there is a body of the animal life, and there is a body of the spirit.

15:45  So also is it written: " Adam, the first man, became a living soul;" the second Adam became a quickening spirit.

15:46  And the spiritual was not first; but the animal, and then the spiritual.

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

15:48  As he was of the dust, so also those who are of the dust; and as was he who was from heaven, so also are the heavenly.

15:49  And as we have worn the likeness of him from the dust, so shall we wear the likeness of him from heaven.

15:50  But this I say, my brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven: neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

15:51  Lo, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

15:52  suddenly, as in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, when it shall sound; and the dead will arise, without corruption; and we shall be changed.

15:53  For this which is corruptible, is to put on incorruption; and that which dieth, will put on immortality.

15:54  And when this that is corruptible, shall put on incorruption, and this that dieth, immortality; then will take place the word that is written, " Death is absorbed in victory."

15:55  Where is thy sting, O death? And where is thy victory, O grave?

15:56  Now the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

15:57  But thanks be to God, that giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus the Messiah.

15:58  Wherefore, my brethren and my beloved, be ye steadfast, and be not vacillating; but be ye at all times abundant in the work of the Lord; seeing ye know, that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Chapter 16

16:1  And as to the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of the Galatians, so do ye.

16:2  On each first day of the week, let every one of you lay aside and preserve at home, what he is able; that there may be no collections when I come.

16:3  And when I come, those whom ye shall select, I will send with a letter, to carry your bounty to Jerusalem.

16:4  And if it should be suitable that I also go, they shall go with me.

16:5  And I will come to you, when I pass from Macedonia; for I am about to pass through Macedonia.

16:6  And perhaps I shall remain with you, or winter with you; that ye may accompany me whither I go.

16:7  For I am not disposed to see you now, as I pass along; because I hope to spend some time with you, if my Lord permit me.

16:8  For I shall continue at Ephesus until Pentecost:

16:9  because a great door is opened to me, which is full of occupations; and the opposers are numerous.

16:10  And if Timothy come to you, see that he may be without fear among you; for he doeth the work of the Lord, as I do.

16:11  Therefore, let no one despise him; but conduct him on in peace, that he may come to me; for I wait for him with the brethren.

16:12  As for Apollos, my brethren, I entreated him much to go with the brethren to you; but his inclination was not to go to you now; but when he shall have opportunity, he will go to you.

16:13  Watch ye, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be valiant.

16:14  Let all your affairs be conducted with love.

16:15  I beseech you, my brethren, concerning the household of Stephanas; (for ye know, that they were the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to ministering to the saints ;)

16:16  that ye also give ear to them who are such; and to every one, that laboreth with us and aideth.

16:17  And I rejoice at the arrival of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for they have supplied that wherein ye were deficient towards me.

16:18  And they have refreshed my spirit, and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them who are such.

16:19  All the churches that are in Asia, salute you. Aquila and Priscilla, with the church in their house, salute you much in the Lord.

16:20  All the brethren salute you. Salute ye one another with a holy kiss.

16:21  The salutation in the handwriting of myself, Paul.

16:22  Whoever loveth not our Lord Jesus the Messiah, let him be accursed: our Lord cometh.

16:23  The grace of our Lord Jesus the Messiah be with you.

16:24  And my love be with you all, in the Messiah, Jesus. Amen.