[This letter is from] Paul, who was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and [from] our brother Sosthenes;

From Paul, who has been called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, And from Sosthenes, our Brother.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who will give you strength to the end, to be free from all sin in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.

I give praise to God that not one of you had baptism from me, but Crispus and Gaius;

so as to keep anyone from saying that you were baptized in my name.

And I gave baptism to the house of Stephanas; but I am not certain that any others had baptism from me.

My mission from Christ was not to baptize, but to tell the Good News; not, however, in the language of philosophy, lest the cross of the Christ should be robbed of its meaning.

[This is] because the foolishness of God [is not foolishness at all and] is wiser than men [far beyond human comprehension], and the weakness of God is stronger than men [far beyond the limits of human effort].

Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth.

to prevent any mortal man from boasting in the presence of God.

But, of him, are, ye, in Christ Jesus, who hath been made wisdom unto us, from God, - both righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

And I did not use persuasive words of [human] wisdom in my message and preaching, but they were [accompanied by] a demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power [from God]. [Note: This "demonstration" could have included the evidence of miraculous spiritual gifts which Paul utilized while there in Corinth. See 14:18].

rather, we are setting forth a wisdom that came from God, once a covered secret but now uncovered, which God marked off as His plan for bringing us to glory.

But we have not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God, so that we may have knowledge of the things which are freely given to us by God.

Which things also we speak, not in things learned from mankind, in words of wisdom, but in things learned from Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.

But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.

In virtue of my commission from God, I laid the foundation of the house like an expert master-builder. It remains for another to build on this foundation. Whoever he is, let him be careful how he builds.

But if anyone's work is burned up [i.e., does not survive the judgment], he will experience loss [i.e., of his converts], but he himself will [still] be saved, like a person escaping from the fire [i.e., of a burning building, which consumes his efforts].

For this reason let there be no judging before the time, till the Lord comes, who will make clear the secret things of the dark, and the designs of the heart; and then will every man have his praise from God.

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another.

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

Already, ye have become full, already, ye are become rich, - apart from us, ye are become kings! And I would indeed ye had become kings, that, we also, with you, might have together become kings!

to this very day we suffer both hunger, thirst, and penury: we are buffeted from place to place, as vagabonds:

We wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure.

For though you have ten thousand teachers in the Christian life, you certainly could not have many fathers. For it was I myself who became your father through your union with Christ Jesus, which resulted from my telling you the good news.

I will come to you before long, if the Lord wills, and then I will find out from these puffed up creatures not what their talk but what their power amounts to.

we have it from all quarters, that incest is practis'd among you, and such as is not among the Gentiles, that of a man's having his father's wife.

And in place of feeling sorrow, you are pleased with yourselves, so that he who has done this thing has not been sent away from among you.

For my part, though I have been absent from you in person, I have been present with you in spirit, and so as really present, by the authority of our Lord Jesus, I have already passed judgment upon the man who has done this --

to turn such a person over to Satan for his body to be destroyed [Note: This probably refers to his removal from their fellowship. See verse 2], in order for his spirit to be saved in the day of the Lord [i.e., the judgment day]. [Note: This implies that his removal from their fellowship will have produced a genuine repentance before that time].

You must clean out the old yeast, that you may be a fresh lump, as you are to be free from the old yeast. For our Passover Lamb, Christ, has already been sacrificed.

Therefore let us keep our festival not with old yeast nor with the yeast of what is evil and mischievous, but with bread free from yeast--the bread of transparent sincerity and of truth.

But I had not in mind the sinners who are outside the church, or those who have a desire for and take the property of others, or those who give worship to images; for it is not possible to keep away from such people without going out of the world completely:

As for those who are outside, God is their judge. So put away the evil man from among you.

So if you have lawsuits dealing with matters of this life, are you appointing those as judges [to hear disputes] who are of no account in the church?

So far from doing this, you yourselves do wrong and take your brothers' property.

And some of you have practiced such things, but you were washed [i.e., from your sins. See Acts 22:16]; you were dedicated [i.e., set apart for God's service]; you were made right with God in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit of our God.

And God who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead will do the same for us by his power.

Do you not know that your bodies are parts of Christ's body? Am I then to take away from Christ parts of his body, and make them parts of a prostitute's? Never!

Keep away from the desires of the flesh. Every sin which a man does is outside of the body; but he who goes after the desires of the flesh does evil to his body.

Or know ye not that, your body, is, a shrine of the Holy Spirit that is within you, which ye have from God? And ye are not your own; -

I now deal with the subjects mentioned in your letter. It is well for a man to abstain altogether from marriage.

Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control.

But I say this from concession not from commandment.

Besides, I desire all men to be, even as myself, - but, each one, hath his, personal, gift from God, one, after this manner, and, another, after that.

But to the married I give orders, though not I but the Lord, that the wife may not go away from her husband

(Or if she goes away from him, let her keep unmarried, or be united to her husband again); and that the husband may not go away from his wife.

But to the rest I say, and not the Lord; If a brother has a wife who is not a Christian, and it is her desire to go on living with him, let him not go away from her.

And if a woman has a husband who is not a Christian, and it is his desire to go on living with her, let her not go away from her husband.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified [that is, he receives the blessings granted] through his [Christian] wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be [ceremonially] unclean, but as it is they are holy.

Yet if the unbelieving mate separates [from his spouse], let him go. The brother or sister is not obligated [to continue the marriage] under such circumstances. For God has called you [believers] to live in peace.

Was anyone at the time of his calling [from God already] circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called while uncircumcised? He is not to be circumcised.

have you been redeemed from slavery? then, don't turn slaves.

Now about virgins I have no orders from the Lord: but I give my opinion as one to whom the Lord has given mercy to be true to him.

If you are married to a wife, make no attempt to get free from her: if you are free from a wife, do not take a wife.

But if you do get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will experience trouble in this life, and I want to spare you from that.

But I say this, my brothers, the time is short; and from now it will be wise for those who have wives to be as if they had them not;

and they that possess this world, as those that can't make an ill use of it. for the scene of this world is continually shifting. I would have you free from anxiety.

But it is my desire for you to be free from cares. The unmarried man gives his mind to the things of the Lord, how he may give pleasure to the Lord:

and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or the virgin is concerned about the matters of the Lord, how to be holy and set apart both in body and in spirit; but a married woman is concerned about worldly things, how she may please her husband.

I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction.

But [another] man, who has a conviction in his heart [about the matter], and does not feel it is necessary [to get married], but has control over his will [i.e., his sexual passion], and has made up his mind to keep [from marrying] his own virgin [fiancee] --- that man is doing the right thing [also].

So the man who marries her does what is right, and the man who refrains from doing so does even better.

(So-called gods there may be, in heaven or on earth ??as indeed there are plenty of them, both gods and 'lords' ??6 but for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all comes, and for whom we exist; one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all exists, and by whom we exist.)

yet for us there is one God, the Father.
All things are from Him,
and we exist for Him.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ.
All things are through Him,
and we exist through Him.

But all believers do not recognize these facts. Some, from force of habit in relation to the idol, even now eat idol sacrifices as such, and their consciences, being but weak, are polluted.

It is true that a particular kind of food will not bring us into God's presence; we are neither inferior to others if we abstain from it, nor superior to them if we eat it.

But pay attention [to this], so that somehow this liberty of yours [i.e., to eat whatever you want to] does not become an occasion over which weak people could fall [away from God].

So then, if food can make my brother fall, I will never, no, never, eat meat again, in order to keep my brother from falling.

Am I not free [unrestrained and exempt from any obligation]? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our [risen] Lord [in person]? Are you not [the result and proof of] my work in the Lord?

If I am not an apostle to other people, surely I am one to you, for you are the evidence of my apostolic authority from the Lord.

Or I only and Barnabas, have we no right to take a rest from work?

Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?

Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing?

For it says in the law of Moses, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. Is it for the oxen that God is giving orders?

If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?

If others share this right with you, have we not a stronger claim? Yet, we have never used this right; no, we keep on bearing everything, to keep from hindering the progress of the good news of Christ.

Do you not see that the servants of the holy things get their living from the Temple, and the servants of the altar have their part in the food which is offered on the altar?

Even so did the Lord give orders that the preachers of the good news might get their living from the good news.

But I have used none of these things. Neither wrote I these things that it should be so done unto me. For it were better for me to die than any man should take this rejoicing from me.

For if I preached because [I personally decided] I wanted to, I could claim a reward. But if I did not preach from a personal decision to do so, then it would be because I was entrusted with the task [by God].

whence then is my reward? why, from my preaching the gospel of Christ gratis, without making use of the privilege which the gospel gives me.

For though I was free from all men, I made myself a servant to all, so that more might have salvation.

To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God's Law, but I'm subject to the Messiah's law.

Every man that proveth masteries abstaineth from all things. And they do it to obtain a corruptible crown: but we to obtain an uncorruptible crown.

But I work out and get my body in shape [i.e., spiritually], so that after preaching to other people, I myself do not become disqualified [i.e., for winning the prize from God. See verse 24].

And they all had baptism from Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

And the same holy drink: for they all took of the water from the holy rock which came after them: and the rock was Christ.

now these things were examples to deter us from longing after things that are pernicious, as they did.

So, the person who thinks he is standing firm [in the faith] should pay attention [to his life], so that he does not fall [away from God].

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry, -

Because [there is] one bread, [we] who [are] many are one body, for [we] all share from the one bread.

Look at the Israelis from a human point of view. Those who eat the sacrifices share in what is on the altar, don't they?

But if someone says to you, "This is from a sacrifice," do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience --

that is, for the sake of the other person's conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom [to eat what I want] be judged [as wrong] by another person's conscience? [Note: The questions in this and the following verse may mean, "it is not worth eating questionable things, if doing so would bring criticism from a weak brother"].

Do not [do what could] cause Jews, Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] or the church of God to fall [away from God].

Now I am pleased to see that you keep me in memory in all things, and that you give attention to the teaching which was handed down from me to you.

A man ought not to be veil'd: he has the honour of being invested with authority from God, and may glory in his priority to the woman.