1 Corinthians 11 - Expanded Bible (EXB)

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; ^Lhaving down the head; ^Cmost scholars think the passage concerns head coverings; others long or short hair (see v. 14)] brings shame to his head [^Cmeaning 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 [^CGod’s glory should be unveiled (revealed), while human glory should be veiled]. ⁸ [^LFor] 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 [^Cthe 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 [^LDoes not…?] ·nature [or custom; culture] itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man [^CGreco-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 [^LIf 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 [^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].

²³ [^LFor] 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 [^Lin my blood]. When you drink this, do it to remember me [Matt. 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19, 20].” ²⁶ [^LFor] 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; ^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. 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. 1 Corinthians 11:24 it is Some Greek copies read “it is broken.”