The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷ In the ·things [instructions; commands] I tell you now I do not praise you, because ·when you come together you [your meetings as a congregation] do more harm than good. ¹⁸ First, I hear that when you meet together as a church ·you are divided [there are divisions among you], and I believe some of this. ¹⁹ (It is necessary to have ·differences [factions] among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval [^Ccontroversy is necesssary because error must be opposed].) ²⁰ When you ·come together [meet as a congregation], you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper [^Cthe worship meal Jesus told his followers to celebrate to remember his death; Luke 22:14–20]. ²¹ This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others [^Cthe wealthy church members were arriving early to avoid sharing with the poorer members; such social distinctions were common throughout the Greco-Roman world]. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others ·have too much to drink [get drunk]. ²² Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you ·despise [have contempt for; have no regard for] God’s church and so ·embarrass [humiliate] those who ·are poor [have nothing]? What should I tell you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for doing this [^Cthe Corinthians were turning a time meant for unity into one of discrimination].

²⁷ So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in ·a way that is not worthy of it [or an inappropriate manner] will be ·guilty of sinning against [or held responsible for; liable for; ^Lguilty of] the body and the blood of the Lord. ²⁸ ·Look into your own hearts [^LLet a person examine himself] before you eat the bread and drink the cup, ²⁹ because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without ·recognizing [discerning; careful regard for] the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. ³⁰ That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and ·some [a number] of you have ·died [^Lfallen asleep; ^Ca euphemism for death]. ³¹ But if we ·judged ourselves in the right way [evaluated/examined ourselves], ·God would not judge us [^Lwe would not be judged/punished]. ³² But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we will not be ·destroyed [condemned] along with the world.

³³ So my brothers and sisters, when you ·come together [gather as a congregation] to eat, wait for each other.