To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been made holy in Christ Jesus, saints by the selection of God, with all those who in every place give honour to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

So that in him you have wealth in all things, in word and in knowledge of every sort;

God is true, through whom you have been given a part with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

As it says in the holy Writings, I will put an end to the wisdom of the wise, and will put on one side the designs of those who have knowledge.

So that no flesh might have glory before God.

For I had made the decision to have knowledge of nothing among you but only of Jesus Christ on the cross.

But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing:

Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross:

But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him.

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.

For the natural man is not able to take in the things of the Spirit of God: for they seem foolish to him, and he is not able to have knowledge of them, because such knowledge comes only through the Spirit.

For who has knowledge of the mind of the Lord, so as to be his teacher? But we have the mind of Christ.

And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.

Now the planter and the waterer are working for the same end: but they will have their separate rewards in the measure of their work.

In the measure of the grace given to me, I, as a wise master-builder, have put the base in position, and another goes on building on it. But let every man take care what he puts on it.

If any man's work comes through the test, he will have a reward.

Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise.

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.

My brothers, it is because of you that I have taken Apollos and myself as examples of these things, so that in us you might see that it is not wise to go farther than what is in the holy Writings, so that no one of you may be lifted up against his brother.

For who made you better than your brother? or what have you that has not been given to you? but if it has been given to you, what cause have you for pride, as if it had not been given to you?

For even now you are full, even now you have wealth, you have been made kings without us: truly, I would be glad if you were kings, so that we might be kings with you.

We are made to seem foolish for Christ, but you are wise in Christ; we are feeble, but you are strong; you have glory, but we have shame.

Even to this hour we are without food, drink, and clothing, we are given blows and have no certain resting-place;

For even if you had ten thousand teachers in Christ, you have not more than one father: for in Christ Jesus I have given birth to you through the good news.

For this cause I have sent Timothy to you, who is my dear and true child in the Lord; he will make clear to you my ways in Christ, even as I am teaching everywhere in every church.

For I myself, being present in spirit though not in body, have come to a decision about him who has done this thing;

In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you have come together with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

That this man is to be handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may have forgiveness in the day of the Lord Jesus.

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:

If then there are questions to be judged in connection with the things of this life, why do you put them in the hands of those who have no position in the church?

More than this, it is not to your credit to have causes at law with one another at all. Why not put up with wrong? why not undergo loss?

Have you not knowledge that evil-doers will have no part in the kingdom of God? Have no false ideas about this: no one who goes after the desires of the flesh, or gives worship to images, or is untrue when married, or is less than a man, or makes a wrong use of men,

Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you; but you have been washed, you have been made holy, you have been given righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Now, as to the things in your letter to me: It is good for a man to have nothing to do with a woman.

But because of the desires of the flesh, let every man have his wife, and every woman her husband.

But if they have not self-control let them get married; for married life is better than the burning of desire.

If you were a servant when you became a Christian, let it not be a grief to you; but if you have a chance to become free, make use of it.

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 get married it is not a sin; and if an unmarried woman gets married it is not a sin. But those who do so will have trouble in the flesh. But I will not be hard on you.

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;

But it will be better for her to keep as she is, in my opinion: and it seems to me that I have the Spirit of God.

Now about things offered to images: we all seem to ourselves to have knowledge. Knowledge gives pride, but love gives true strength.

If anyone seems to himself to have knowledge, so far he has not the right sort of knowledge about anything;

For though there are those who have the name of gods, in heaven or on earth, as there are a number of gods and a number of lords,

There is for us only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we are for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we have our being through him.

Still, all men have not that knowledge: but some, being used till now to the image, are conscious that they are taking food which has been offered to the image; and because they are not strong in the faith, their minds are troubled.

For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, taking food as a guest in the house of an image, will it not give him, if he is feeble, the idea that he may take food offered to images?

Am I not free? am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are you not my work in the Lord?

Have we no right to take food and drink?

Have we no right to take about with us a Christian wife, like the rest of the Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

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

If we have been planting the things of the Spirit for you, does it seem a great thing for you to give us a part in your things of this world?

If others have a part in this right over you, have we not even more? But we did not make use of our right, so that we might put nothing in the way 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?

But I have not made use of any of these things: and I am not writing this in the hope that it may be so for me: for it would be better for me to undergo death, than for any man to make this pride of mine of no effect.

For if I am a preacher of the good news, I have no cause for pride in this; because I am forced to do so, for a curse is on me if I do not.

But if I do it gladly, I have a reward; and if not, I am under orders to do it.

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

To the feeble, I was as one who is feeble, so that they might have salvation: I have been all things to all men, so that some at least might have salvation.

And I do all things for the cause of the good news, so that I may have a part in it.

But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.

Now these things were done as an example; and were put down in writing for our teaching, on whom the last days have come.

You have been put to no test but such as is common to man: and God is true, who will not let any test come on you which you are not able to undergo; but he will make with the test a way out of it, so that you may be able to go through it.

What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.

For if a woman is not veiled, let her hair be cut off; but if it is a shame to a woman to have her hair cut off, let her be veiled.

For it is not right for a man to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

For this reason it is right for the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.

For divisions are necessary among you, in order that those who have God's approval may be clearly seen among you.

What? have you not houses to take your meals in? or have you no respect for the church of God, putting the poor to shame? What am I to say to you? am I to give you praise? certainly not.

And the eye may not say to the hand, I have no need of you: or again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

And to those parts of the body which seem to have less honour we give all the more honour; and to those parts of the body which are a cause of shame to us we give the greater respect;

But those parts of the body which are beautiful have no need of such care: and so the body has been joined together by God in such a way as to give more honour to those parts which had need of it;

So that there might be no division in the body; but all the parts might have the same care for one another.

Are all Apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? have all the power of working wonders?

Are all able to take away disease? have all the power of tongues? are all able to give their sense?

If I make use of the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am like sounding brass, or a loud-tongued bell.

And if I have a prophet's power, and have knowledge of all secret things; and if I have all faith, by which mountains may be moved from their place, but have not love, I am nothing.

And if I give all my goods to the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it is of no profit to me.

Though the prophet's word may come to an end, tongues come to nothing, and knowledge have no more value, love has no end.

When I was a child, I made use of a child's language, I had a child's feelings and a child's thoughts: now that I am a man, I have put away the things of a child.

But now we still have faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Go after love; still desiring to have the things which the Spirit gives, but most of all that you may have the prophet's power.

Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet's word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church.

So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air.

But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue.

For this reason tongues are for a sign, not to those who have faith, but to those who have not: but the prophet's word is for those who have faith, and not for the rest who have not.

And if they have a desire for knowledge about anything, let them put questions to their husbands privately: for talking in the church puts shame on a woman.

If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord.

By which you have salvation; that is to say, the form in which it was given to you, if it is fixed in your minds, and if your faith in it is not without effect.

If then it is I who am the preacher, or they, this is our word, and to this you have given your faith.

And, in addition, the dead in Christ have gone to destruction.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy.

Then comes the end, when he will give up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have put an end to all rule and to all authority and power.

And when all things have been put under him, then will the Son himself be under him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all.

Be awake to righteousness and keep yourselves from sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I say this to put you to shame.

And in the same way as we have taken on us the image of the man from the earth, so we will take on us the image of the one from heaven.

Now I say this, my brothers, that it is not possible for flesh and blood to have a part in the kingdom of God; and death may not have a part in life.

And when I come, I will send the men of your selection with letters to take the money you have got together to Jerusalem.

But I will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for that is my purpose;