1 Does anyone among you who has something against someone else not dreada to seek justiceb from the unjust rather than by those who are dedicated for sacred purposes?c 2 Don’t you realize that those dedicated for sacred purposes will administer justiced for the whole world? And if the whole world is given justicee by you, aren’t you appropriate for administering justice for tiny cases? 3 Don’t you realize that we will assess messengers,f not to mention things of daily life? 4 Therefore, if in fact, you have cases about daily life, do you appoint those people who have nothing to do with the Called Community?g 5 I say this to guard you from shame.h Is it really the way of things that no one among you is wise enough to be able to discern between their Family members? 6 Moreover, is a Family member assessedi together withj a Family member, and does this happen before unfaithful people? 7 In fact, you’ve already lost everything because you seek legal proceedings against each other. Wouldn’t it be better to be treated unjustly? Wouldn’t it be better to be deprived of something?k 8 In contrast, you are treating people unjustly and deprivingl them! And you’re doing this to Family members! 9 Don’t you understand that the unjust will not inherit God’s Reign? Don’t be fooled! Neither those who sexually exploit people, who idolize material things, are maritally unfaithful, are self-indulgent,m are men who rape other males,n 10 are thieves, are greedy, are habitually drunk, are verbally abusive, nor who are predatory,o will inherit God’s Reign. 11 Some of you used to be these things; however, you washed off, you were dedicated for sacred purposes, and you were made just—as representatives ofp the Lord Jesus Christ and the Life-breath of our God.
12 “Everything is allowed for me.”
But not everything is beneficial.
“Everything is allowed for me.”
But I will not be masteredq by anything.
13 “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food."
But God will render both obsolete.
The body is not for sexual exploitationr but for the Lord,
And the Lord is for the body.
14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by God’ss power. 15 Haven’t you understood that your bodies are parts of Christ? Therefore, should I take parts of Christ and turn them into parts of a sex worker? Absolutely not! 16 Or don’t you understand that whoever has been joined together with a sex worker is one Bodyt with her? You see, it’ll be just like it says: “The two become one familyu.”v 17 But whoever has been joined together with the Lord is one Life-breath with him. 18 Escape sexual exploitation!
“Every way a person deviates is outside the body.”
But the one who engages in sexual exploitation deviates against their own Body.w
19 Or don’t you understand that yourx Body is a temple of the Sacred Life-breath among you,y which you have from God, and youz don’t own yourselves?aa 20 You see, you were bought at a price. Therefore, show God to be praiseworthybb with your bodies.
FOOTNOTES:
a Or ‘not avoid because of fear’ or ‘dare’ or ‘be bold’
b Or ‘seek an assessment’ or ‘submit to arbitration’
c Traditionally, ‘holy ones’ or ‘saints.’ This translation defines the word as a designation for sacred purposes and leaves the definition in place of the single word that can be easily misunderstood.
d Literally, ‘judge’ or ‘make a decision about’ or ‘discern’ or ‘assess’
e Literally, ‘judged’ or ‘made a decision about’ or ‘discerned’ or ‘assessed’
f The word angelos means ‘messenger,’ possibly used for spirit beings, but also used for human agents of God (or other people) and sometimes even for natural phenomena. It conveys the meaning of someone authorized to speak—or act—on behalf of another. If the reader wants to read these messengers (acting on God’s behalf) as celestial beings, great. If as humans, great. The word angelos, even for spirit-beings, is a job title, not a ‘species’ classification. The work of Michael S. Heiser is a great source of information on this topic.
g Traditionally, ‘church’ or ‘assembly,’ and literally ‘the group called out’ the word ekklesia is about a community of people called from within a larger society to respond to the needs of that society, such as a neighborhood association.
h This sentence is a difficult one to translate with certainty. The word entrope, can mean polar opposite definitions: shame or reverence. The preposition pros in this sentence can also mean opposites: ‘for the purpose of’/’with the result that’ or ‘against.’ Very literal translations then would be “I say this against shame for you” or “I say this for reverence for you.” On the other hand, if we flip the definitions, it could mean “I say this to result in shame for you” or “I say this to guard against reverence for you.” Ultimately, while there is a sense of pointing out fault, the purpose of doing so is restoration to praiseworthiness by living in alignment with Christ.
i Traditionally, ‘sue’ or ‘judge.’ This word is the same as others meaning, ‘judge’ or ‘discern’ or ‘assess’ that carries a sense of deciding what it right.
j The words “of something” are added for clarity.
k Or ‘cheated’
l Or ‘cheating’
m The word malakos here has often been badly mistranslated with terms like ‘passive homosexual partners’ or ‘effeminate’ or ‘male prostitutes.’ The word literally means ‘soft.’ While classical Greek occasionally used it to refer to a man exhibiting feminine traits, the context of the Bible uses it literally or if figuratively, it is about rich people who live in luxury. The Bible itself clearly uses it that way in Matthew 11:8 and Luke 7:25. The linguistic, cultural, historical, and textual context all point away from the inappropriate translation of this word about sexual or gender connotations and toward an indictment of the rich who live exorbitant and wasteful lives.
n Or ‘men who sexually abuse boys.’ There is much to be said about this translation of arsenokoites. The first thing to say is that translating it as ‘practicing homosexuals’ or ‘homosexuals’ is inappropriate. Additionally, the translation of ‘perverts’ according to A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Also referred to as BDAG, this is the most widely respected and used Greek-English lexicon for biblical translation.) is “lexically unacceptable” (BDAG, 135). Along with supporting information and clarification, the definition listed in BDAG is ‘pederasty.’ Pederasty is defined as sexual activity between an adult man and a youth. The translation of ‘homosexuals’ was not introduced into English Bibles until the RSV in 1946. Prior to 1946, the standard translation in the KJV was ‘them that defile themselves with mankind.’ The meaning of the word is specifically referring to men who take the position of the ‘top’ in sexual contact with males as an act of domination. Typically, that other male was a youth or boy, often an apprentice. This word is describing rape. Whether violently forceful or by abuse of power and authority to pressure someone with less status and power, this word was never used to describe consensual sex between adults, let alone romantic relationships between adults. There are many resources readily available for further study about this information and the history of this rare word both in the ancient world and its more recent translations.
o This is another word for greedy that emphasizes the insatiability of grasping at what others have. Ravenous, rapacious, and voracious could be other translations of it.
p Literally, ‘in the name of’
q Or ‘ruled by’ or ‘controlled by’
r Traditionally, ‘sexual immorality.’ In literature outside of Jewish and Christian writings, it was used exclusively for commercial sex trade. Porneia shares a root with perneimi, which means ‘to sell.’ Porne is the word for a female sex worker, which in the cultural context would always have been someone exploited and failed by the patriarchal society. Jewish and Christian writers seem to expand the meaning to refer to approaches to sex that objectify and exploit people in a variety of ways.
s The word “God” replaces “his” for clarity.
t Though this passage is clearly primarily talking about each individual’s physical body, it also resonates with the concept of the Called Community being the Body of Christ. There are significant parallels here as with Ephesians (which includes a robust discussion of the Body of Christ), including a man not hating his own body but caring for it, and that’s how he should treat a woman (Ephesians 4:10-16, 25; 5:28-31).
u Literally, the word translated as ‘family’ here is ‘flesh’ but as a metaphor for family, as in ‘they’re my flesh and blood.’ The Greek word sarx is often used in this way to mean ‘family’ but can also refer to the physical body, or natural impulses, or self-preservation instincts.
v Citation of Genesis 2:24
w Though this passage is clearly primarily talking about each individual’s physical body, it also resonates with the concept of the Called Community being the Body of Christ. There are significant parallels here as with Ephesians (which includes a robust discussion of the Body of Christ), including a man not hating his own body but caring for it, and that’s how he should treat a woman (Ephesians 4:10-16, 25; 5:28-31).
x The word for ‘your’ here is plural. It’s not unheard of in Greek to address a crowd and refer to a singular body part, implying the one belonging to each person. However, it’s worth noting that both ‘your’ and ‘bodies’ are plural in verse 15 but singular in all the other instances in verses 12-20.
y The plural necessitates that it translated as ‘among you’ rather than ‘in you.’ It’s referring to the Life-breath being present among the community, which is fitting since it refers to the whole community, not individuals, as the temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:9-17.
z plural
aa Or ‘each other.’ Whether because their own bodies or each other’s bodies (or, in fact, all of them) belong to God, they are not to exploit each other’s bodies.
bb The word translated here as ‘show to be praiseworthy’ is traditionally translated as ‘glorify.’