< 1 Corinthians 11 >
1 [Follow my example], just like I [try to] follow Christ’s example.
2 I praise you because you remember all the things [that I taught you] and because you follow the instructions that I gave you. You have done just like I told you to do.
3 [Now], I want you to know that the one who has authority over [MTY] every man is Christ, and the ones who have authority over women are men (OR, their husbands), and the one who has authority over Christ is God.
4 [So] if any man [wears a covering over] his head when he prays or speaks a message God gave him, he disgraces himself [SYN].
5 Also, if any woman does not wear a covering over her head when she prays or speaks a message that God gave her, she disgraces herself (OR, she dishonors her husband). That would be acting like [SIM] [women who are ashamed because] their heads have been shaved.
6 So, if women do not wear coverings over their heads [when they pray or speak messages that God gave them], they should let someone shave their heads [so that they will be ashamed]. But since women are ashamed if someone cuts their hair [short] or shaves off their hair, they should wear coverings over their heads [when they pray or speak messages that God gave them].
7 Men should not wear coverings over their heads [when they pray or speak messages that God gave them], because they represent what God is like [MET] and they show how great God is. But women show how great men (OR, their husbands) are.
8 [Remember that God intends that men have authority over women. We know that] because [God] did not make [the first] man, [Adam], from the [first] woman, [Eve]. Instead, he made that woman [from a bone that he took] from the man.
9 Also, [God] did not create [the first] man [to help] the woman. Instead, [he] created the woman [to help] the man.
10 For that reason, women should wear something [to cover] their heads [as a symbol of their being under their husbands’] [MTY] authority. They should also [cover their heads] so that the angels [will see that and rejoice].
11 However, remember that [even though God created the first] woman from [the first] man, all other men [have been born] from women. So men cannot be independent of women, nor can women be independent of men. But all things, [including men and women], come from God.
12
13 Consider this for yourselves: Is it proper for [RHQ] women to pray to God while they do not have coverings over their heads?
14 (Everyone senses that it is disgraceful for men to have long hair./Doesn’t everyone sense that it is disgraceful for men to have long hair?) [RHQ]
15 But it is very delightful if women have long hair, because [God] gave them long hair to be like a [beautiful] covering [for their heads].
16 But whoever wants to argue [with me about my saying that women should have a covering over their heads when they pray or speak a message from God should consider the fact that] we [apostles] do not [permit] any other custom, and the [other] congregations of God do not have any other custom.
17 Now I want to tell you [about some other things]. I do not praise you about them, because whenever you believers meet together, good [things do not happen]. Instead, bad things [happen].
18 First of all, people have told me that when you gather together as a group [to worship God], you divide into groups [that are hostile to each other]. To some extent I believe that is true.
19 It seems that you must divide into [groups that despise each other] in order that it might be clear/evident which people among you [God] approves of!
20 When you gather together, you [IRO] eat the meal [that you say is to remember the death of] the Lord [Jesus for us].
21 But [what happens when] you eat is that each person eats his own meal before [he thinks about sharing his food with anyone else]. As a result, [when the meal is over], some people are [still] hungry and others are drunk! [So it is not a meal that honors the Lord].
22 ([You act as though] you do not have your own houses in which you can eat and drink [whatever you want to]!/Do you not have your own houses in which you can eat and drink [whatever you want to]?) [RHQ] Do you not realize [RHQ] [that by acting selfishly in this way], it is God’s people whom you are despising, and it is the poor people [in your group] whom you are treating as though they were not important? What shall I say to you about that [RHQ]? Do [you expect] me to praise you [about what you do] [RHQ]? I certainly will not praise you!
23 The Lord taught me these things that I also taught you: During the night that Jesus was betrayed {[Judas] enabled [the enemies of] the Lord Jesus to seize him}, he took some bread.
24 After he thanked God for it, he broke it into pieces. [Then he gave it to his disciples] and said, “This bread [represents] [MET] (OR, is) my body, that [I am about to sacrifice] for you. Eat bread in this [way again and again] to remember my [offering myself as a sacrifice for you].”
25 Similarly, after they ate their meal, he took a cup [MTY] [of wine]. He [thanked God for it. Then he gave it to his disciples], saying, “[The wine in] [MTY] this cup [represents] [MET] (OR, is) my blood [that will flow from my body] ([to put into effect/to establish]) the new agreement [that God is making with people]. Whenever you drink wine in this way, do it to remember that [my blood flowed for you].”
26 [Remember that] until the Lord [Jesus] returns [to the earth], whenever you eat the [bread that represents his body] and drink the wine [MTY] [that represents his blood], you are telling other people that he died [for you].
27 So, those who eat that bread and drink that wine [MTY] in a way that is not proper [for those who belong to the Lord] are guilty of [acting in a way that is contrary to what] our [Lord intended when he offered] his body [as a sacrifice] and his blood [flowed when he died].
28 Before any believer eats that bread and drinks that wine [MTY], he should think carefully about [what he is doing],
29 because if anyone eats [the bread that represents Christ’s body] and drinks [the wine that represents his blood] without recognizing that all God’s [people should be united, God will] punish him [for doing that].
30 Many people in your group are weak and sick, and several have died [EUP] because of [the way they acted when they ate that bread and drank that wine].
31 If we would think carefully about what we [are doing], [God] would not judge [and punish] us [like that].
32 But when the Lord judges [and punishes] us [for acting wrongly], he disciplines us [to correct us], in order that he will not [need to] punish us when he punishes [the people who do not trust in Christ] [MTY].
33 So, my fellow believers, when you gather together to eat [food to remember the Lord’s dying for you], wait until everyone [has arrived so that you can find out who does not have enough food].
34 Those who are so hungry [that they cannot wait to eat until everyone else has arrived] should eat in their own homes [first], in order that when you gather together God will not judge [and punish them for] ([being inconsiderate of/not being concerned about]) [others]. And when I come [to Corinth] I will give you instructions about other matters [concerning the Lord’s Supper].
