Concerning Head Coverings in Worship
11 Become imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you that you remember me in all things, and just as I handed over to you the traditions, you hold fast to them. 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies while[a] having something[b] on his head dishonors his head, 5 but every woman who prays or prophesies with uncovered head dishonors her head, for she is one and the same with the one whose head is shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover herself, let her hair be shorn off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her head[c] shorn or shaved, let her cover her head.[d] 7 For indeed a man ought not to cover his head, because he[e] is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 For indeed man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. 10 Because of this, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, on account of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is woman anything apart from man, nor is man anything apart from woman in the Lord. 12 For just as the woman is from the man, thus also the man is through the woman. But all things are from God. 13 You judge for yourselves[f]: is it fitting for a woman to pray to God with her head[g] uncovered? 14 And does not nature itself teach you that a man, if he wears long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But a woman, if she wears long hair, it is her glory, because her hair is given[h] for a covering. 16 But if anyone is disposed to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
Improper Conduct at the Lord’s Supper
17 But in giving this instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For in the first place, when you[i] come together as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For indeed it is necessary that there be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may become evident among you. 20 Therefore, when[j] you come together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 21 For when you[k] eat it, each one of you goes ahead to take his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 For do you not have houses for eating and drinking? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who do not have anything? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and after he[l] had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 Likewise also the cup, after they had eaten, 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 this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a person examine himself, and in this way let him eat from the bread and let him drink from the cup. 29 For the one who eats and drinks, if he[m] does not recognize the body, eats and drinks judgment against himself. 30 Because of this, many are weak and sick among you, and quite a few have died[n]. 31 But if we were evaluating ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But if we[o] are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined, in order that we will not be condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you[p] come together in order to eat the Lord’s supper,[q] wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And I will give directions about the remaining matters whenever I come.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 11:4 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“having”) which is understood as temporal
- 1 Corinthians 11:4 Here the direct object must be supplied from context, but the exact nature of the object is not clear from the context, so “something” is used in the English translation
- 1 Corinthians 11:6 Literally “to be”
- 1 Corinthians 11:6 Literally “herself”
- 1 Corinthians 11:7 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“is”) which is understood as causal
- 1 Corinthians 11:13 Literally “in you yourselves”
- 1 Corinthians 11:13 Here the words “with her head” have been supplied as a necessary clarification
- 1 Corinthians 11:15 Some manuscripts have “is given to her”
- 1 Corinthians 11:18 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“come together”)
- 1 Corinthians 11:20 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“come together”)
- 1 Corinthians 11:21 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal infinitive (“eat”)
- 1 Corinthians 11:24 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
- 1 Corinthians 11:29 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“recognize”) which is understood as conditional
- 1 Corinthians 11:30 Literally “have fallen asleep”
- 1 Corinthians 11:32 Here “if” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are judged”) which is understood as conditional
- 1 Corinthians 11:33 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“come together”) which is understood as temporal
- 1 Corinthians 11:33 *Here the direct object (“the Lord’s supper”) is supplied from context in the English translation