1 Be yee followers of mee, euen as I am of Christ. 2 Now brethren, I commend you, that ye remember all my things, and keepe the ordinances, as I deliuered them to you. 3 But I wil that ye know, that Christ is the head of euery man: and the man is the womans head: and God is Christs head. 4 Euery man praying or prophecying hauing any thing on his head, dishonoureth his head. 5 But euery woman that prayeth or prophecieth bare headed, dishonoureth her head: for it is euen one very thing, as though she were shauen. 6 Therefore if the woman be not couered, let her also be shorne: and if it be shame for a woman to be shorne or shauen, let her be couered. 7 For a man ought not to couer his head: for as much as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. 9 For the man was not created for the womans sake: but the woman for the mans sake. 10 Therefore ought the woman to haue power on her head, because of the Angels. 11 Neuertheles, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman: but all things are of God. 13 Iudge in your selues, Is it comely that a woman pray vnto God vncouered? 14 Doeth not nature it selfe teach you, that if a man haue long heare, it is a shame vnto him? 15 But if a woman haue long heare, it is a prayse vnto her: for her heare is giuen her for a couering. 16 But if any man lust to be contentious, we haue no such custome, neither the Churches of God. 17 Nowe in this that I declare, I prayse you not, that ye come together, not with profite, but with hurt. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the Church, I heare that there are dissentions among you: and I beleeue it to be true in some part. 19 For there must be heresies euen among you, that they which are approoued among you, might be knowen. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eate the Lords Supper. 21 For euery man when they should eate, taketh his owne supper afore, and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 Haue ye not houses to eate and to drinke in? despise ye the Church of God, and shame them that haue not? what shall I say to you? shall I prayse you in this? I prayse you not. 23 For I haue receiued of the Lord that which I also haue deliuered vnto you, to wit, That the Lord Iesus in the night when he was betrayed, tooke bread: 24 And when hee had giuen thankes, hee brake it, and sayde, Take, eate: this is my body, which is broken for you: this doe ye in remembrance of me. 25 After the same maner also he tooke the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the Newe Testament in my blood: this doe as oft as ye drinke it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye shall eate this bread, and drinke this cup, ye shewe the Lords death till hee come. 27 Wherefore, whosoeuer shall eate this bread, and drinke the cup of the Lord vnworthily, shall be guiltie of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let euery man therefore examine himselfe, and so let him eate of this bread, and drinke of this cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh vnworthily, eateth and drinketh his owne damnation, because he discerneth not the Lords body. 30 For this cause many are weake, and sicke among you, and many sleepe. 31 For if we would iudge our selues, we should not be iudged. 32 But when we are iudged, we are chastened of the Lord, because we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eate, tary one for another. 34 And if any man be hungry, let him eate at home, that ye come not together vnto condemnation. Other things will I set in order when I come.
1 Imitate me, then, just as I imitate Christ.
Covering the Head in Worship
2 I praise you because you always remember me and follow the teachings that I have handed on to you. 3 But I want you to understand that Christ is supreme over every man, the husband is supreme over his wife, and God is supreme over Christ. 4 So a man who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with his head covered disgraces Christ. 5 And any woman who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with nothing on her head disgraces her husband; there is no difference between her and a woman whose head has been shaved. 6 If the woman does not cover her head, she might as well cut her hair. And since it is a shameful thing for a woman to shave her head or cut her hair, she should cover her head. 7 A man has no need to cover his head, because he reflects the image and glory of God. But woman reflects the glory of man; 8 for man was not created from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for woman's sake, but woman was created for man's sake. 10 On account of the angels, then, a woman should have a covering over her head to show that she is under her husband's authority. 11 In our life in the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman was made from man, in the same way man is born of woman; and it is God who brings everything into existence.
13 Judge for yourselves whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God in public worship with nothing on her head. 14 Why, nature itself teaches you that long hair on a man is a disgrace, 15 but on a woman it is a thing of beauty. Her long hair has been given her to serve as a covering. 16 But if anyone wants to argue about it, all I have to say is that neither we nor the churches of God have any other custom in worship.
The Lord's Supper
(Matthew 26.26-29Mark 14.22-25Luke 22.14-20)17 In the following instructions, however, I do not praise you, because your meetings for worship actually do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I have been told that there are opposing groups in your meetings; and this I believe is partly true. ( 19 No doubt there must be divisions among you so that the ones who are in the right may be clearly seen.) 20 When you meet together as a group, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. 21 For as you eat, you each go ahead with your own meal, so that some are hungry while others get drunk. 22 Don't you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or would you rather despise the church of God and put to shame the people who are in need? What do you expect me to say to you about this? Shall I praise you? Of course I don't!
23 For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread, 24 gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me.” 25 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said, “This cup is God's new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me.”
26 This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 It follows that if one of you eats the Lord's bread or drinks from his cup in a way that dishonors him, you are guilty of sin against the Lord's body and blood. 28 So then, you should each examine yourself first, and then eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For if you do not recognize the meaning of the Lord's body when you eat the bread and drink from the cup, you bring judgment on yourself as you eat and drink. 30 That is why many of you are sick and weak, and several have died. 31 If we would examine ourselves first, we would not come under God's judgment. 32 But we are judged and punished by the Lord, so that we shall not be condemned together with the world.
33 So then, my friends, when you gather together to eat the Lord's Supper, wait for one another. 34 And if any of you are hungry, you should eat at home, so that you will not come under God's judgment as you meet together. As for the other matters, I will settle them when I come.