Now I make request to you, my brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you will all say the same thing, and that there may be no divisions among you, so that you may be in complete agreement, in the same mind and in the same opinion.

That is, that some of you say, I am of Paul; some say, I am of Apollos; some say, I am of Cephas; and some say, I am Christ's.

So that no one may be able to say that you had baptism in my name.

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, as the Scripture says, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

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.

And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.

[Isa. 40:13 says], "For who knows [what is in] the Lord's mind? And who is capable of instructing Him? But we have the mind of Christ. [Note: The "we" may refer to the apostles, who had the gift of inspiration (See verse 12), or to all Christians who have spiritual discernment].

For when one says, I am of Paul; and another says, I am of Apollos; are you not talking like natural men?

For this world's wisdom is mere nonsense to God. For the Scripture says, "He who catches the wise with their own cunning,"

And again, it says [Psa. 94:11], "The Lord knows that the thoughts of 'wise people' are worthless."

Brothers, I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what the Scriptures say. Then you will stop boasting about one person at the expense of another.

but if the Lord pleases, I will visit you very soon; and then I shall try, not what these boasters can say, but what they can do:

when ye are assembled together with my spirit, by the power, I say,

to deliver him, I say, being such, to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

But, as things are, I say that you are not to associate with any one who, although a Brother in name, is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or grasping-no, not even to sit at table with such people.

Do you not know that we Christians are to sit in judgment on angels, to say nothing of the ordinary cases of life?

I say this to put you to shame. Is there not among you one wise man who may be able to give a decision between his brothers?

To say no more, it is a mark of moral failure among you to have lawsuits at all with one another. Why not rather suffer being wronged? Why not suffer being robbed?

Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh.

But this I say as my opinion, and not as an order of the Lord.

But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them to be even as I am.

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.

I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

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;

Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord.

But if any man thinks he is [being tempted to] behave improperly toward his virgin [fiancee], and she is past prime [marriageable] age, and feels the need [to get married] [Note: The Greek says "and so it has to be"], he should do what he wants; they should get married --- that man has not sinned.

About food that has been offered to idols, it is true, as you say, that we all have some knowledge on that matter. Knowledge gives people airs; love is what builds up character.

But if any one love God, he is known by him. I say, as to the eating of things sacrificed to idols,

Am I talking as a man? does not the law say the same?

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?

or because of us by all means doth He say it? yes, because of us it was written, because in hope ought the plower to plow, and he who is treading ought of his hope to partake in hope.

If others enjoy such rights over you, have we not a still better claim? But, you say, we have never availed ourselves of this right. No, we will stand anything rather than put any hindrance in the way of the good news of the Christ.

But for my part, I have never availed myself of any of these rights. I do not say this to bring it about in my own case. I would rather die than let any one make void this boast of mine.

Now stop being idolaters, as some of them were, for the Scripture says, "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to dance."

And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them.

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

As, to prudent men, I speak, - judge, ye, what I say: -

consider the custom of the Jews by descent, are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? what say I then?

Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?

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.

"All things are lawful," you say? But not all things are expedient; "all things are lawful"; but not all build up.

But if anyone says to you, This food has been used as an offering, do not take it, on account of him who said it, and on account of his sense of right and wrong:

Right and wrong, I say, not for you, but for the other man; for the fact that I am free is not dependent on another man's sense of right or wrong.

But if I give praise to God for the food which I take, let no man say evil of me for that reason.

Now in what I am going to say, I do not commend you, because your assemblies are not to your advantage, but to your prejudice.

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.

So it is my desire for you to be clear about this; that no one is able to say by the Spirit of God that Jesus is cursed; and no one is able to say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say,

If the foot says, Because I am not the hand, I am not a part of the body; it is no less a part of the body.

And if the ear says, Because I am not the eye, I am not a part of the body; it is a part of the body all the same.

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.

That is to say, God has set people within the church to be first of all apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, and speakers in 'tongues' of various kinds.

I wish you all had the gift of languages, but rather that you expounded: for greater is he that expounds, than he that speaks unknown languages, except he interpret what he says, that the church may be edified by it.

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.

There are, let us say, so many languages in the world, and none without its meaning.

Therefore, the man who speaks in ecstasy must pray for power to explain what he says.

Else, if thou be blessing in a spirit, he that filleth up the place of the ungifted person, how shall he say the Amen upon thy thanksgiving? since indeed, what thou art saying, he knoweth not;

But in public worship I would rather say five words with my understanding so as to instruct others also than ten thousand words in an ecstasy.

It is written in the law:

I will speak to these people
by people of other languages
and by the lips of foreigners,
and even then, they will not listen to Me,

says the Lord.

If, then, the whole assembly come together with one consent, and, all, are speaking with tongues, - and there come in persons unskilled or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are raving?

If anybody speaks in ecstasy, there must be only two, or three at most, and let one speak at a time, and someone explain what he says.

And let the prophets give their words, but not more than two or three, and let the others be judges of what they say.

the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be submissive, as the law also says.

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.

For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings;

And he was put in the place of the dead; and on the third day he came back from the dead, as it says in the Writings;

Now, if, Christ is proclaimed, that, from among the dead, he hath been raised, how say some, among you - resurrection of the dead, there is none?

For God has put everything under His feet. But when it says “everything” is put under Him, it is obvious that He who puts everything under Him is the exception.

besides, my engaging with those monsters, as I may say, at Ephesus, what advantage was it to me? if the dead don't rise, "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

Come to your senses and stop sinning, for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.

But some one will say - How, are the dead raised? and, with what kind of body, do they come?

This is also what the Scripture says: "The first man Adam became a living creature." The last Adam has become a life-giving Spirit.

And, this, I say, brethren, - that, flesh and blood, cannot inherit, God's kingdom. Neither doth, corruption, inherit, incorruption.

And when this part once capable of dying puts on the body that can never die, then what the Scripture says will come true, "Death has been swallowed up in victory.

[Hos. 13:14 says], "Death, where is your victory [over people]? Death, where is your [harmful] sting?"