1 Corinthians 11:17-29

Common English Bible

The community meal

¹⁷ Now I don’t praise you as I give the following instruction because when you meet together, it does more harm than good. ¹⁸ First of all, when you meet together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. ¹⁹ It’s necessary that there are groups among you, to make it clear who is genuine. ²⁰ So when you get together in one place, it isn’t to eat the Lord’s meal. ²¹ Each of you goes ahead and eats a private meal. One person goes hungry while another is drunk. ²² Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on God’s churches and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Will I praise you? No, I don’t praise you in this.

²³ I received a tradition from the Lord, which I also handed on to you: on the night on which he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread. ²⁴ After giving thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this to remember me.” ²⁵ He did the same thing with the cup, after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do this to remember me.” ²⁶ Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you broadcast the death of the Lord until he comes.

²⁷ This is why those who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord inappropriately will be guilty of the Lord’s body and blood. ²⁸ Each individual should test himself or herself, and eat from the bread and drink from the cup in that way. ²⁹ Those who eat and drink without correctly understanding the body are eating and drinking their own judgment.