1 ቆሮንቶስ 11

¹Take me as your model, just as I take Christ as mine.

Covering the head in worship

²I praise you, because you keep me in mind in everything, and you hold firmly to the traditions in the form I passed them on to you. ³But there is something I want you to understand: Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman, and God is the head of Christ.^{ab 4}Any man who prays or prophesies with something covering his head brings shame on his head.^{c 5}But a woman who prays or prophesies with nothing over her head shames her head; it is no different from having her head shaved.^{d 6}If a woman does not wear a covering, let her have her hair cropped too. But if having her hair cropped or shaved off is shameful for a woman, then she should wear a covering. ⁷A man should not have his head covered, because he is God’s image and glory. Woman, for her part, is man’s glory. ⁸Man was not made from woman; woman was made from man. ⁹Nor was man created for the sake of woman; woman was created for the sake of man. ¹⁰For this reason, and because of the angels, a woman should have authority over her head.^{ef 11}Yet in the Lord there is no woman without man, and no man without woman. ¹²Just as woman was made from man, so man is born through woman, and all things have their source in God. ¹³Use your own judgment. When a woman prays to God, is it fitting for her head to be uncovered? ¹⁴Is it not nature itself that teaches you this: for a man, long hair is a dishonor, ¹⁵but for a woman, long hair is her glory?^g Long hair was given to her to serve as a covering.^{h 16}If anyone wants to dispute it, we recognize no such custom, and neither do the churches of God.ⁱ

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷But as I give you this next instruction, I do not praise you, because when you come together, it makes things worse, not better. ¹⁸To begin with, I am told that when you gather as a church you are split into groups, and I believe some of it. ¹⁹For factions among you are bound to come, so that those who stand the test may be seen for what they are.^{j 20}So when you gather in one place, what you eat is not really the Lord’s Supper. ²¹Each of you, as you eat, goes ahead with your own meal; one is left hungry, and another is drunk.^{k 22}Surely you have homes of your own for eating and drinking? Or do you look down on God’s church and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Should I praise you? In this matter, no, I do not praise you.

The bread and the cup

²³What I handed on to you, I myself received from the Lord: on the night he was handed over, the Lord Jesus took bread, ²⁴gave thanks and broke it, saying, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.”^{lm 25}He did the same with the cup once supper was over, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do this to remember me.” ²⁶For each time you eat this bread and drink the cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death, until he comes.

²⁷So whoever eats the bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in an unworthy way will be answerable for the Lord’s body and blood. ²⁸Each of you should first examine yourself, and then eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹Anyone who eats and drinks brings judgment on themselves by that eating and drinking, if they do not discern the body.^{no 30}This is the reason so many among you are weak and ill, and a good number have died. ³¹If we examined ourselves with discernment, we would not be coming under judgment. ³²But when the Lord judges us, he is correcting us, to keep us from being condemned along with the world.

³³So, my brothers and sisters, when you meet for the meal, wait for each other.^{p 34}If someone is hungry, let them eat at home, so that your coming together does not lead to judgment.

The remaining matters I will set right when I come.