1 Corinthians 11
Expanded Bible
11 ·Follow my example [Imitate me], as I ·follow the example of [imitate] Christ.
Being Under Authority
2 I praise you because you ·remember me in everything [are always thinking of me], and you follow closely the ·teachings [traditions] just as I ·gave them [passed them on] to you. 3 But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is ·the man [or her husband], and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies ·with his head covered [or with long hair; L having down the head; C most scholars think the passage concerns head coverings; others long or short hair (see v. 14)] brings shame to his head [C meaning shame to Christ, who is the head of the man; v. 3]. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with ·her head uncovered [or no covering (of hair); v. 4] brings shame to her head. She is the same as a woman who has her head shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. But since it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head, she should cover her head. 7 But a man should not cover his head, because he is the likeness and glory of God. But woman is man’s glory [C God’s glory should be unveiled (revealed), while human glory should be veiled]. 8 [L For] Man did not come from woman, but woman came from man. 9 And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man [Gen. 2:18]. 10 So that is why a woman should have a ·symbol of authority on [or authority over] her head, because of the angels [C the significance of the angels is unclear; perhaps their presence at worship calls for reverence and propriety].
11 But in the Lord women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. 12 This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. But everything comes from God. 13 ·Decide [Judge] this for yourselves: Is it ·right [fitting; proper] for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 ·Even [L Does not…?] ·nature [or custom; culture] itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man [C Greco-Roman men normally wore their hair short]. 15 But long hair is a woman’s glory. Long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 ·Some people [L If anyone] may still want to argue about this, but I would add that neither we nor the churches of God have any other ·practice [custom].
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 [C controversy 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 [C the 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 [C the 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 [C the Corinthians were turning a time meant for unity into one of discrimination].
23 [L For] The teaching I ·gave [passed on to] you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was ·handed over to be killed [betrayed], he took bread 24 and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is[a] for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, after ·they ate [the meal; supper], Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new ·agreement [covenant; Ex. 24:8; Jer. 31:31–34] ·that is sealed with the blood of my death [L in my blood]. When you drink this, do it to remember me [Matt. 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19, 20].” 26 [L For] Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you ·are telling others about [proclaim; announce] the Lord’s death until he comes.
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; L guilty of] the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 ·Look into your own hearts [L Let 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 [L fallen asleep; C a euphemism for death]. 31 But if we ·judged ourselves in the right way [evaluated/examined ourselves], ·God would not judge us [L we 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. 34 Anyone who is too hungry should eat at home so that in meeting together you will not bring God’s judgment on yourselves. I will tell you what to do about ·the other things [additional matters] when I come.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 it is Some Greek copies read “it is broken.”
1 Corinthians 11
New King James Version
Worship and the Lord’s Supper
11 Imitate(A) me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Head Coverings
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that (B)the head of every man is Christ, (C)the head of woman is man, and (D)the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or (E)prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were (F)shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is (G)shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since (H)he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman (I)from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman (J)for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, (K)neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given [a]to her for a covering. 16 But (L)if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, (M)nor do the churches of God.
Conduct at the Lord’s Supper
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, (N)I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For (O)there must also be factions among you, (P)that those who are approved may be [b]recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and (Q)another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise (R)the church of God and (S)shame [c]those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
Institution of the Lord’s Supper(T)
23 For (U)I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: (V)that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, [d]“Take, eat; this is My body which is [e]broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death (W)till He comes.
Examine Yourself
27 Therefore whoever eats (X)this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and [f]blood of the Lord. 28 But (Y)let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks [g]in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the [h]Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many [i]sleep. 31 For (Z)if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, (AA)we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you (AB)come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 11:15 M omits to her
- 1 Corinthians 11:19 Lit. manifest, evident
- 1 Corinthians 11:22 The poor
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 NU omits Take, eat
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 NU omits broken
- 1 Corinthians 11:27 NU, M the blood
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 NU omits in an unworthy manner
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 NU omits Lord’s
- 1 Corinthians 11:30 Are dead
1 Corinthians 11
English Standard Version
11 (A)Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Head Coverings
2 Now I commend you (B)because you remember me in everything and (C)maintain the traditions (D)even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that (E)the head of every man is Christ, (F)the head of a wife[a] is her husband,[b] and (G)the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife[c] who prays or (H)prophesies (I)with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same (J)as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since (K)he is the image and glory of God, but (L)woman is the glory of man. 8 For (M)man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but (N)woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.[d] 11 Nevertheless, (O)in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And (P)all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 (Q)If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do (R)the churches of God.
The Lord's Supper
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, (S)I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part,[e] 19 for (T)there must be factions among you in order (U)that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, (V)another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise (W)the church of God and (X)humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For (Y)I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that (Z)the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for[f] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”[g] 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death (AA)until he comes.
27 (AB)Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord (AC)in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning (AD)the body and blood of the Lord. 28 (AE)Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some (AF)have died.[h] 31 (AG)But if we judged[i] ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, (AH)we are disciplined[j] so that we may not be (AI)condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers,[k] when you come together to eat, wait for[l] one another— 34 (AJ)if anyone is hungry, (AK)let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things (AL)I will give directions (AM)when I come.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 Greek gunē. This term may refer to a woman or a wife, depending on the context
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 Greek anēr. This term may refer to a man or a husband, depending on the context
- 1 Corinthians 11:5 In verses 5–13, the Greek word gunē is translated wife in verses that deal with wearing a veil, a sign of being married in first-century culture
- 1 Corinthians 11:10 Or messengers, that is, people sent to observe and report
- 1 Corinthians 11:18 Or I believe a certain report
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 Some manuscripts broken for
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 Or as my memorial; also verse 25
- 1 Corinthians 11:30 Greek have fallen asleep (as in 15:6, 20)
- 1 Corinthians 11:31 Or discerned
- 1 Corinthians 11:32 Or when we are judged we are being disciplined by the Lord
- 1 Corinthians 11:33 Or brothers and sisters
- 1 Corinthians 11:33 Or share with
1 Corinthians 11
International Standard Version
Be Imitators of Me
11 Imitate me, as I do the Messiah.[a] 2 I praise you for remembering everything I told you[b] and for holding to the traditions[c] that I passed on to you.
Advice about Head Coverings
3 Now I want you to realize that the Messiah[d] is the head of every man, and man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of the Messiah.[e] 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head, 5 and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, which is the same as having her head shaved. 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.
7 A man should not cover his head, because he exists as God’s image and glory. But the woman is man’s glory. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 and man was not created for woman, but woman for man. 10 This is why a woman should have authority over her own head: because of the angels.
11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Decide for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?[f] 14 Nature itself teaches you neither that it is disgraceful for a man to have long[g] hair 15 nor that hair is a woman’s glory, since hair is given as a substitute for coverings. 16 But if anyone wants to argue about this, we do not have any custom like this, nor do any of God’s churches.
Concerning the Lord’s Supper(A)
17 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. 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. 19 Of course, there must be factions among you to show which of you are genuine!
20 When you gather in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For as you eat, each of you rushes to eat his own supper, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk. 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!
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, 24 gave thanks for it, and broke it in pieces, saying, “This is my body that is[h] for you. Keep doing this in memory of me.” 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
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. 28 A person must examine himself and then eat the bread and drink from the cup, 29 because whoever eats and drinks[i] without recognizing the body,[j] eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That’s why so many of you are weak and sick and a considerable number are dying.[k] 31 But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. 32 Now, while we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so we won’t[l] be condemned along with the world.
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you gather to eat, wait for each other. 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.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 11:1 Or Christ
- 1 Corinthians 11:2 The Gk. lacks told you
- 1 Corinthians 11:2 I.e. Jewish traditions
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 Or Christ
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 Or Christ
- 1 Corinthians 11:13 Or It is proper . . . uncovered, isn’t it?
- 1 Corinthians 11:14 The Gk. lacks long
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 Other mss. read that is broken; still other mss. read that is given
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 Other mss. read drinks in an unworthy manner
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 Other mss. read the Lord’s body
- 1 Corinthians 11:30 Lit. are falling asleep
- 1 Corinthians 11:32 Lit. disciplined lest we
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