1 Corinthians 11

Order in worship

You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.a ²Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.b ³But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.c

⁴Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. ⁵And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.d ⁶If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. And if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

⁷A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. ⁸For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. ⁹Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

¹⁰For this reason a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.e ¹¹In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. ¹²For just as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.

¹³Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, ¹⁵but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.

¹⁶If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.f

The Lord's supper

¹⁷In the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good. ¹⁸First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.g ¹⁹And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.h

²⁰Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. ²¹For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. ²²Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!

²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,i ²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”j ²⁵In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”k ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.l

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.m ²⁸Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.n ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

³⁰That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.o ³²But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

³³So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.