Bible (American Standard)/1 Corinthians

The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
==Chapter 1==
 Paul, called [to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ through
the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 
 unto the
church of God which is at Corinth, [even] them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [to be] saints, with all that
call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place,
their [Lord] and ours: 
 Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 I thank my God always
concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in
Christ Jesus; 
 that in everything ye were enriched in him,
in all utterance and all knowledge; 
 even as the testimony
of Christ was confirmed in you: 
 so that ye come behind in
no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ;
 who shall also confirm you unto the end, [that ye be]
unreproveable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 God is
faithful, through whom ye were called into the fellowship of his
Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 Now I beseech you, brethren,
through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the
same thing and [that] there be no divisions among you; but
[that] ye be perfected together in the same mind and in the same
judgment. 
 For it hath been signified unto me concerning
you, my brethren, by them [that are of the household] of Chloe,
that there are contentions among you. 
 Now this I mean,
that each one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos: and
I of Cephas; and I of Christ. 
 Is Christ divided? was Paul
crucified for you? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul?
 I thank God that I baptized none of you, save Crispus and
Gaius; 
 lest any man should say that ye were baptized into
my name. 
 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas:
besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. 
 For
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in
wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.
 For the word of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God.
 For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought.
 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the
disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of
the world? 
 For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world
through its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure
through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that
believe. 
 Seeing that Jews ask for signs, and Greeks seek
after wisdom: 
 but we preach Christ crucified, unto Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto Gentiles foolishness; 
 but unto
them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God, and the wisdom of God. 
 Because the foolishness of
God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than
men. 
 For behold your calling, brethren, that not many
wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are
called]: 
 but God chose the foolish things of the world,
that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the
weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things
that are strong; 
 and the base things of the world, and
the things that are despised, did God choose, [yea] and the
things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things
that are: 
 that no flesh should glory before God. 
 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom
from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
 that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let
him glory in the Lord.
==Chapter 2==
 And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the
testimony of God. 
 For I determined not to know anything
among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 
 And I was
with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 
 And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 
 that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God. 
 We speak wisdom, however, among them
that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the
rulers of this world, who are coming to nought: 
 but we
speak God's wisdom in a mystery, [even] the [wisdom] that hath
been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our
glory: 
 which none of the rulers of this world hath known:
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory: 
 but as it is written,
Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not,
And [which] entered not into the heart of man,
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.
 But unto us God revealed [them] through the Spirit:
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God. 
 For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save
the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of
God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. 
 But we
received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is
from God; that we might know the things that were freely given
to us of God. 
 Which things also we speak, not in words
which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth;
combining spiritual things with spiritual [words]. 
 Now
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them,
because they are spiritually judged. 
 But he that is
spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no
man. 
 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he
should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
==Chapter 3==
 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ. 
 I
fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able [to
bear it]: nay, not even now are ye able; 
 for ye are yet
carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are
ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men? 
 For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos;
are ye not men? 
 What then is Apollos? and what is Paul?
Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to
him. 
 I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the
increase. 
 So then neither is he that planteth anything,
neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but
each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
 For we are God's fellow-workers: ye are God's husbandry,
God's building. 
 According to the grace of God which was
given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and
another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he
buildeth thereon. 
 For other foundation can no man lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 
 But if
any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones,
wood, hay, stubble; 
 each man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed
in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what
sort it is. 
 If any man's work shall abide which he built
thereon, he shall receive a reward. 
 If any man's work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as through fire. 
 Know ye not that ye are a
temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
 If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. 
 Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise
among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may
become wise. 
 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their
craftiness: 
 and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of
the wise that they are vain. 
 Wherefore let no one glory
in men. For all things are yours; 
 whether Paul, or
Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come; all are yours; 
 and ye are
Christ's; and Christ is God's.
==Chapter 4==
 Let a man so account of us, as of ministers of Christ,
and stewards of the mysteries of God. 
 Here, moreover, it
is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 
 But
with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you,
or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 
 For
I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified:
but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 
 Wherefore judge
nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both
bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest
the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his
praise from God. 
 Now these things, brethren, I have in a
figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in
us ye might learn not [to go] beyond the things which are
written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the
other. 
 For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou
that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why
dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? 
 Already
are ye filled, already ye are become rich, ye have come to reign
without us: yea and I would that ye did reign, that we also
might reign with you. 
 For, I think, God hath set forth us
the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are
made a spectacle unto the world, both to angels and men. 
 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we
are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory, but we have
dishonor. 
 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and
thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain
dwelling-place; 
 and we toil, working with our own hands:
being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 
 being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the
world, the offscouring of all things, even until now. 
 I
write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my
beloved children. 
 For though ye have ten thousand tutors
in Christ, yet [have ye] not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I
begat you through the gospel. 
 I beseech you therefore, be
ye imitators of me. 
 For this cause have I sent unto you
Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who
shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ,
even as I teach everywhere in every church. 
 Now some are
puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 
 But I will
come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and I will know, not the
word of them that are puffed up, but the power. 
 For the
kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 
 What will
ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of
gentleness?
==Chapter 5==
 It is actually reported that there is fornication among
you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles,
that one [of you] hath his father's wife. 
 And ye are
puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he that had done this
deed might be taken away from among you. 
 For I verily,
being absent in body but present in spirit, have already as
though I were present judged him that hath so wrought this
thing, 
 in the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 
 to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the
flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus. 
 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 
 Purge out the old
leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened.
For our passover also hath been sacrificed, [even] Christ: 
 wherefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 
 I wrote unto you
in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; 
 not at
all [meaning] with the fornicators of this world, or with the
covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye
needs go out of the world: 
 but as it is, I wrote unto you
not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a
fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat.
 For what have I to do with judging them that are without?
Do not ye judge them that are within? 
 But them that are
without God judgeth. Put away the wicked man from among
yourselves.
==Chapter 6==
 Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor,
go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?
 Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and
if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the
smallest matters? 
 Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
how much more, things that pertain to this life? 
 If then
ye have to judge things pertaining to this life, do ye set them
to judge who are of no account in the church? 
 I say [this]
to move you to shame. What, cannot there be [found] among you
one wise man who shall be able to decide between his brethren,
 but brother goeth to law with brother, and that before
unbelievers? 
 Nay, already it is altogether a defect in
you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take
wrong? why not rather be defrauded? 
 Nay, but ye yourselves
do wrong, and defraud, and that [your] brethren. 
 Or know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of
God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men,
 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 
 And
such were some of you: but ye were washed, but ye were
sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and in the Spirit of our God. 
 All things are
lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are
lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.
 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God
shall bring to nought both it and them. But the body is not for
fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body: 
 and God both raised the Lord, and will raise up as through his
power. 
 Know ye not that your bodies are members of
Christ? shall I then take away the members of Christ, and make
them members of a harlot? God forbid. 
 Or know ye not that
he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith
he, shall become one flesh. 
 But he that is joined unto
the Lord is one spirit. 
 Flee fornication. Every sin that
a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth
fornication sinneth against his own body. 
 Or know ye not
that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you,
which ye have from God? and ye are not your own; 
 for ye
were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body.
==Chapter 7==
 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good
for a man not to touch a woman. 
 But, because of
fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman
have her own husband. 
 Let the husband render unto the wife
her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 
 The
wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and
likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but
the wife. 
 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by
consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer,
and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of
your incontinency. 
 But this I say by way of concession,
not of commandment. 
 Yet I would that all men were even as
I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after
this manner, and another after that. 
 But I say to the
unmarried and to widows, It is good for them if they abide even
as I. 
 But if they have not continency, let them marry: for
it is better to marry than to burn. 
 But unto the married
I give charge, [yea] not I, but the Lord, That the wife depart
not from her husband 
 (but should she depart, let her
remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and
that the husband leave not his wife. 
 But to the rest say
I, not the Lord: If any brother hath an unbelieving wife, and
she is content to dwell with him, let him not leave her. 
 And the woman that hath an unbelieving husband, and he is
content to dwell with her, let her not leave her husband. 
 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in the wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified in the brother: else were your
children unclean; but now are they holy. 
 Yet if the
unbelieving departeth, let him depart: the brother or the sister
is not under bondage in such [cases]: but God hath called us in
peace. 
 For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt
save thy husband? Or how knowest thou, O husband, whether thou
shalt save thy wife? 
 Only, as the Lord hath distributed
to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk. And so
ordain I in all the churches. 
 Was any man called being
circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any been
called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. 
 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the
keeping of the commandments of God. 
 Let each man abide in
that calling wherein he was called. 
 Wast thou called
being a bondservant? Care not for it: nay, even if thou canst
become free, use [it] rather. 
 For he that was called in
the Lord being a bondservant, is the Lord's freedman: likewise
he that was called being free, is Christ's bondservant. 
 Ye were bought with a price; become not bondservants of men.
 Brethren, let each man, wherein he was called, therein
abide with God. 
 Now concerning virgins I have no
commandment of the Lord: but I give my judgment, as one that
hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy. 
 I
think therefore that this is good by reason of the distress that
is upon us, [namely,] that it is good for a man to be as he is.
 Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art
thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. 
 But shouldest
thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she
hath not sinned. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh:
and I would spare you. 
 But this I say, brethren, the time
is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be
as though they had none; 
 and those that weep, as though
they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced
not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; 
 and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for
the fashion of this world passeth away. 
 But I would have
you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for
the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord: 
 but
he that is married is careful for the things of the world, how
he may please his wife, 
 and is divided. [So] also the
woman that is unmarried and the virgin is careful for the things
of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit:
but she that is married is careful for the things of the world,
how she may please her husband. 
 And this I say for your
own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that
which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without
distraction. 
 But if any man thinketh that he behaveth
himself unseemly toward his virgin [daughter], if she be past
the flower of her age, and if need so requireth, let him do what
he will; he sinneth not; let them marry. 
 But he that
standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath
power as touching in his own heart, to keep his own virgin
[daughter], shall do well. 
 So then both he that giveth
his own virgin [daughter] in marriage doeth well; and he that
giveth her not in marriage shall do better. 
 A wife is
bound for so long time as her husband liveth; but if the husband
be dead, she is free to be married to whom she will; only in the
Lord. 
 But she is happier if she abide as she is, after my
judgment: and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
==Chapter 8==
 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that
we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth.
 If any man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth
not yet as he ought to know; 
 but if any man loveth God,
the same is known by him. 
 Concerning therefore the eating
of things sacrificed to idols, we know that no idol is
[anything] in the world, and that there is no God but one. 
 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or
on earth; as there are gods many, and lords many; 
 yet to
us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all
things, and we through him. 
 Howbeit there is not in all
men that knowledge: but some, being used until now to the idol,
eat as [of] a thing sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience
being weak is defiled. 
 But food will not commend us to
God: neither, if we eat not, are we the worse; nor, if we eat,
are we the better. 
 But take heed lest by any means this
liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to the weak. 
 For
if a man see thee who hast knowledge sitting at meat in an
idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be
emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols? 
 For through
thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose
sake Christ died. 
 And thus, sinning against the brethren,
and wounding their conscience when it is weak, ye sin against
Christ. 
 Wherefore, if meat causeth my brother to stumble,
I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my brother to
stumble.
==Chapter 9==
 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen
Jesus our Lord? Are not ye my work in the Lord? 
 If to
others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for the
seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. 
 My defence to
them that examine me is this. 
 Have we no right to eat and
to drink? 
 Have we no right to lead about a wife that is a
believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brethren of
the Lord, and Cephas? 
 Or I only and Barnabas, have we not
a right to forbear working? 
 What soldier ever serveth at
his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not the
fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the
milk of the flock? 
 Do I speak these things after the
manner of men? or saith not the law also the same? 
 For it
is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
when he treadeth out the corn. Is it for the oxen that God
careth, 
 or saith he it assuredly for our sake? Yea, for
our sake it was written: because he that ploweth ought to plow
in hope, and he that thresheth, [to thresh] in hope of
partaking. 
 If we sowed unto you spiritual things, is it a
great matter if we shall reap your carnal things? 
 If
others partake of [this] right over you, do not we yet more?
Nevertheless, we did not use this right; but we bear all things,
that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. 
 Know ye not that they that minister about sacred things eat [of]
the things of the temple, [and] they that wait upon the altar
have their portion with the altar? 
 Even so, did the Lord
ordain that they that proclaim the gospel should live of the
gospel. 
 But I have used none of these things: and I write
not these things that it may be so done in my case; for [it
were] good for me rather to die, than that any man should make
my glorifying void. 
 For if I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is
unto me, if I preach not the gospel. 
 For if I do this of
mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I
have a stewardship entrusted to me. 
 What then is my
reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel
without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the
gospel. 
 For though I was free from all [men,] I brought
myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. 
 And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to
them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself
under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
 to them that are without law, as without law, not being
without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain
them that are without law. 
 To the weak I became weak,
that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men,
that I may by all means save some. 
 And I do all things
for the gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof.
 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? Even so, run; that ye may attain. 
 And
every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in
all things. Now they [do it] to receive a corruptible crown; but
we an incorruptible. 
 I therefore so run, as not
uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: 
 but I
buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means,
after that I have preached to others, I myself should be
rejected.
==Chapter 10==
 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our
fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea; 
 and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in
the sea; 
 and did all eat the same spiritual food; 
 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a
spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.
 Howbeit with most of them God was not well pleased: for
they were overthrown in the wilderness. 
 Now these things
were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil
things, as they also lusted. 
 Neither be ye idolaters, as
were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat
and drink, and rose up to play. 
 Neither let us commit
fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day
three and twenty thousand. 
 Neither let us make trial of
the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the
serpents. 
 Neither murmur ye, as some of them murmured,
and perished by the destroyer. 
 Now these things happened
unto them by way of example; and they were written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. 
 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he
fall. 
 There hath no temptation taken you but such as man
can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation
make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.
 Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 
 I
speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. 
 The cup of
blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the
body of Christ? 
 seeing that we, who are many, are one
bread, one body: for we are all partake of the one bread.
 Behold Israel after the flesh: have not they that eat
the sacrifices communion with the altar? 
 What say I
then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an
idol is anything? 
 But [I say], that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God:
and I would not that ye should have communion with demons.
 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
demons: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the
table of demons. 
 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
are we stronger than he? 
 All things are lawful; but not
all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all
things edify. 
 Let no man seek his own, but [each] his
neighbor's [good]. 
 Whatsoever is sold in the shambles,
eat, asking no question for conscience' sake, 
 for the
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. 
 If one of
them that believe not biddeth you [to a feast], and ye are
disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no
question for conscience' sake. 
 But if any man say unto
you, This hath been offered in sacrifice, eat not, for his sake
that showed it, and for conscience sake: 
 conscience, I
say, not thine own, but the other's; for why is my liberty
judged by another conscience? 
 If I partake with
thankfulness, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give
thanks? 
 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 
 Give no
occasions of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the
church of God: 
 even as I also please all men in all
things, not seeking mine own profit, but the [profit] of the
many, that they may be saved.
==Chapter 11==
 Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
 Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and
hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is
Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of
Christ is God. 
 Every man praying or prophesying, having
his head covered, dishonoreth his head. 
 But every woman
praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her
head; for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.
 For if a woman is not veiled, let her also be shorn: but
if it is a shame to a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be
veiled. 
 For a man indeed ought not to have his head
veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the
woman is the glory of the man. 
 For the man is not of the
woman; but the woman of the man: 
 for neither was the man
created for the woman; but the woman for the man: 
 for
this cause ought the woman to have [a sign of] authority on her
head, because of the angels. 
 Nevertheless, neither is
the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the
Lord. 
 For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also
by the woman; but all things are of God. 
 Judge ye in
yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man
have long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 
 But if a woman
have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her
for a covering. 
 But if any man seemeth to be
contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of
God. 
 But in giving you this charge, I praise you not,
that ye come together not for the better but for the worse.
 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I
hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it.
 For there must be also factions among you, that they
that are approved may be made manifest among you. 
 When
therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to
eat the Lord's supper: 
 for in your eating each one
taketh before [other] his own supper; and one is hungry, and
another is drunken. 
 What, have ye not houses to eat and
to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and put them to
shame that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise
you? In this I praise you not. 
 For I received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus
in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 
 and
when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my
body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. 
 In
like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the
new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink [it], in
remembrance of me. 
 For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come.
 Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup
of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body
and the blood of the Lord. 
 But let a man prove himself,
and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 
 For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment
unto himself, if he discern not the body. 
 For this cause
many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. 
 But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged. 
 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we
may not be condemned with the world. 
 Wherefore, my
brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait one for another.
 If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your
coming together be not unto judgment. And the rest will I set in
order whensoever I come.
==Chapter 12==
 Now concerning spiritual [gifts], brethren, I would
not have you ignorant. 
 Ye know that when ye were Gentiles
[ye were] led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might
led. 
 Wherefore I make known unto you, that no man
speaking in the Spirit of God saith, Jesus is anathema; and no
man can say, Jesus is Lord, but in the Holy Spirit. 
 Now
there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 
 And
there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord.
 And there are diversities of workings, but the same God,
who worketh all things in all. 
 But to each one is given
the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. 
 For to
one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom; and to
another the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit:
 to another faith, in the same Spirit; and to another
gifts of healings, in the one Spirit; 
 and to another
workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another
discernings of spirits; to another [divers] kinds of tongues;
and to another the interpretation of tongues: 
 but all
these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one
severally even as he will. 
 For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many,
are one body; so also is Christ. 
 For in one Spirit were
we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether
bond or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit. 
 For the body is not one member, but many. 
 If the foot
shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; it
is not therefore not of the body. 
 And if the ear shall
say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; it is not
therefore not of the body. 
 If the whole body were an
eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where
were the smelling? 
 But now hath God set the members each
one of them in the body, even as it pleased him. 
 And if
they were all one member, where were the body? 
 But now
they are many members, but one body. 
 And the eye cannot
say to the hand, I have no need of thee: or again the head to
the feet, I have no need of you. 
 Nay, much rather, those
members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary:
 and those [parts] of the body, which we think to be less
honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our
uncomely [parts] have more abundant comeliness; 
 whereas
our comely [parts] have no need: but God tempered the body
together, giving more abundant honor to that [part] which
lacked; 
 that there should be no schism in the body; but
[that] the members should have the same care one for another.
 And whether one member suffereth, all the members suffer
with it; or [one] member is honored, all the members rejoice
with it. 
 Now ye are the body of Christ, and severally
members thereof. 
 And God hath set some in the church,
first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, [divers]
kinds of tongues. 
 Are all apostles? are all prophets?
are all teachers? are all [workers of] miracles? 
 have
all gifts of healings? do all speak with tongues? do all
interpret? 
 But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And
moreover a most excellent way show I unto you.
==Chapter 13==
 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but
have not love, I am become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
 And if I have [the gift of] prophecy, and know all
mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to
remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 
 And if
I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and if I give my body
to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. 
 Love suffereth long, [and] is kind; love envieth not; love
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 
 doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh
not account of evil; 
 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness,
but rejoiceth with the truth; 
 beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
 Love never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies,
they shall be done away; whether [there be] tongues, they shall
cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall be done away.
 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 
 but
when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall
be done away. 
 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I
felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a
man, I have put away childish things. 
 For now we see in
a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but
then shall I know fully even as also I was fully known. 
 But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest
of these is love.
==Chapter 14==
 Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual
[gifts], but rather that ye may prophesy. 
 For he that
speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no
man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men edification,
and exhortation, and consolation. 
 He that speaketh in a
tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the
church. 
 Now I would have you all speak with tongues, but
rather that ye should prophesy: and greater is he that
prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he
interpret, that the church may receive edifying. 
 But now,
brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I
profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation,
or of knowledge, or of prophesying, or of teaching? 
 Even
things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if
they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known
what is piped or harped? 
 For if the trumpet give an
uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war? 
 So
also ye, unless ye utter by the tongue speech easy to
understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye will be
speaking into the air. 
 There are, it may be, so many
kinds of voices in the world, and no [kind] is without
signification. 
 If then I know not the meaning of the
voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that
speaketh will be a barbarian unto me. 
 So also ye, since
ye are zealous of spiritual [gifts], seek that ye may abound
unto the edifying of the church. 
 Wherefore let him that
speaketh in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 
 For if
I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is
unfruitful. 
 What is it then? I will pray with the
spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing
with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
 Else if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that
filleth the place of the unlearned say the Amen at thy giving of
thanks, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest? 
 For thou
verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. 
 I thank God, I speak with tongues more than you all: 
 howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my
understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten
thousand words in a tongue. 
 Brethren, be not children in
mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men. 
 In
the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips
of strangers will I speak unto this people; and not even thus
will they hear me, saith the Lord. 
 Wherefore tongues are
for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving:
but prophesying [is for a sign], not to the unbelieving, but to
them that believe. 
 If therefore the whole church be
assembled together and all speak with tongues, and there come in
men unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad?
 But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving
or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all;
 the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he
will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God
is among you indeed. 
 What is it then, brethren? When ye
come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a
revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all
things be done unto edifying. 
 If any man speaketh in a
tongue, [let it be] by two, or at the most three, and [that] in
turn; and let one interpret: 
 but if there be no
interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him
speak to himself, and to God. 
 And let the prophets speak
[by] two or three, and let the others discern. 
 But if a
revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first keep
silence. 
 For ye all can prophesy one by one, that all
may learn, and all may be exhorted; 
 and the spirits of
the prophets are subject to the prophets; 
 for God is not
[a God] of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of
the saints, 
 let the women keep silence in the churches:
for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in
subjection, as also saith the law. 
 And if they would
learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it
is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. 
 What?
was it from you that the word of God went forth? or came it unto
you alone? 
 If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet,
or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write
unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord. 
 But
if any man is ignorant, let him be ignorant. 
 Wherefore,
my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and forbid not to
speak with tongues. 
 But let all things be done decently
and in order.
==Chapter 15==
 Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye
stand, 
 by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the
word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.
 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I
received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures; 
 and that he was buried; and that he hath been
raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 
 and
that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 
 then he
appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the
greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep;
 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles;
 and last of all, as to the [child] untimely born, he
appeared to me also. 
 For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the church of God. 
 But by the grace of God I am what I
am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain;
but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me. 
 Whether then [it be] I
or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. 
 Now if Christ
is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some
among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 
 But
if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ
been raised: 
 and if Christ hath not been raised, then is
our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. 
 Yea, we are
found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that
he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the
dead are not raised. 
 For if the dead are not raised,
neither hath Christ been raised: 
 and if Christ hath not
been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
 Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have
perished. 
 If we have only hoped in Christ in this life,
we are of all men most pitiable. 
 But now hath Christ
been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are
asleep. 
 For since by man [came] death, by man [came]
also the resurrection of the dead. 
 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 
 But each
in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are
Christ's, at his coming. 
 Then [cometh] the end, when he
shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he
shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies
under his feet. 
 The last enemy that shall be abolished
is death. 
 For, He put all things in subjection under his
feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is
evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him.
 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then
shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject
all things unto him, that God may be all in all. 
 Else
what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead
are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?
 Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 
 I
protest by that glorifying in you, brethren, which I have in
Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 
 If after the manner
of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me?
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow
we die. 
 Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt
good morals. 
 Awake to soberness righteously, and sin
not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak [this] to move
you to shame. 
 But some one will say, How are the dead
raised? and with what manner of body do they come? 
 Thou
foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened
except it die: 
 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest
not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of
wheat, or of some other kind; 
 but God giveth it a body
even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one
[flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh
of birds, and another of fishes. 
 There are also
celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial is another.
 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth
from another star in glory. 
 So also is the resurrection
of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: 
 it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in
glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 
 it
is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there
is a natural body, there is also a spiritual [body]. 
 So
also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The
last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit. 
 Howbeit that is
not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then
that which is spiritual. 
 The first man is of the earth,
earthy: the second man is of heaven. 
 As is the earthy,
such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. 
 And as we have borne
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly. 
 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption. 
 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We
all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
 in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed. 
 For this corruptible must put
on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
 But when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. 
 O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting? 
 The sting of death is sin;
and the power of sin is the law: 
 but thanks be to God,
who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know
that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
==Chapter 16==
 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I
gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye. 
 Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in
store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I
come. 
 And when I arrive, whomsoever ye shall approve,
them will I send with letters to carry your bounty unto
Jerusalem: 
 and if it be meet for me to go also, they
shall go with me. 
 But I will come unto you, when I shall
have passed through Macedonia; for I pass through Macedonia;
 but with you it may be that I shall abide, or even
winter, that ye may set me forward on my journey whithersoever I
go. 
 For I do not wish to see you now by the way; for I
hope to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. 
 But I
will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost; 
 for a great door
and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
 Now if Timothy come, see that he be with you without
fear; for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do: 
 let no man therefore despise him. But set him forward on his
journey in peace, that he may come unto me: for I expect him
with the brethren. 
 But as touching Apollos the brother,
I besought him much to come unto you with the brethren: and it
was not all [his] will to come now; but he will come when he
shall have opportunity. 
 Watch ye, stand fast in the
faith, quit you like men, be strong. 
 Let all that ye do
be done in love. 
 Now I beseech you, brethren (ye know
the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia,
and that they have set themselves to minister unto the saints),
 that ye also be in subjection unto such, and to every
one that helpeth in the work and laboreth. 
 And I rejoice
at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that
which was lacking on your part they supplied. 
 For they
refreshed my spirit and yours: acknowledge ye therefore them
that are such. 
 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila
and Prisca salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is
in their house. 
 All the brethren salute you. Salute one
another with a holy kiss. 
 The salutation of me Paul with
mine own hand. 
 If any man loveth not the Lord, let him
be anathema. Maranatha. 
 The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ be with you. 
 My love be with you all in Christ
Jesus. Amen.