1 Corinthians 11

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

1Copy the way I live, just as I copy Christ.

2Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

2I am glad you remember me. You keep the teachings I handed on to you.

3But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

3Here is what I want you to know. Christ is the head of every man. The man is the head of the woman. God is the head of Christ.

4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

4A man who prays, or tells what God says, should not cover his head. If he covers it, he brings shame on his head.

5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

5A woman who prays, or tells what God says, should cover her head. If she does not, she brings shame on her head. It is like having her hair shaved off.

6For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

6If a woman will not cover her head, she may as well cut her hair off. But cutting or shaving her hair is a shameful thing. So she should cover her head.

7For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

7A man should not cover his head. He is the image of God and shows God's glory. The woman shows the glory of the man.

8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

8The first man did not come from woman. The first woman came from the man.

9Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

9The man was not made for the woman. The woman was made for the man.

10For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

10For this reason a woman should have a sign of authority on her head. This is because of the angels.

NoteThe King James Version says the woman should have "power" on her head. The word means a sign of authority, which here is the head covering.

11Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

11Still, in the Lord, the woman needs the man. And the man needs the woman.

12For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

12The first woman came from the man. And every man since then is born from a woman. But everything comes from God.

13Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

13Decide this for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

14Even nature teaches you something. Long hair on a man is a shame to him.

15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

15But long hair on a woman looks good on her. Her hair was given to her as a covering.

16But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

16Someone may want to argue about this. We have no other way of doing it. God's churches have no other way either.

17Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

17Now I have something else to say, and I cannot praise you. Your meetings are doing more harm than good.

18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

18First, I hear that when you meet as a church, you split into groups. I think some of that is true.

19For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

19There have to be differences among you. That way it becomes clear who is truly right with God.

NoteThe King James Version uses the word "heresies." Here it means groups that split apart from each other, not false teaching.

20When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.

20So when you all come together, what you eat is not really the Lord's Supper.

21For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

21Each of you eats your own food first, without waiting. One person is left hungry. Another one drinks too much.

22What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

22Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on God's church? Do you shame the people who have nothing? What can I say to you? Should I praise you for this? No, I will not.

23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

23I am passing on to you what the Lord gave me. On the night Jesus was handed over to his enemies, he took bread.

24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

24He thanked God, then broke the bread. He said, "Take this and eat it. This is my body, broken for you. Do this to remember me."

25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

25After the meal he took the cup the same way. He said, "This cup is God's new agreement, made with my blood. Every time you drink it, do this to remember me."

26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

26Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are telling about the Lord's death. You do this until he comes back.

27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

27So think about how you eat this bread and drink this cup. If you do it in a careless, wrong way, you sin against the Lord's body and blood.

28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

28Each person should look closely at himself first. Then he should eat the bread and drink the cup.

29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

29Someone may eat and drink without seeing what the Lord's body means. Then his eating and drinking bring God's judgment on him.

NoteThe King James Version says "damnation" here. The word means being judged or corrected by God, not being sent away forever.

30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

30That is why many of you are weak and sick. And a number of you have died.

31For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

31If we looked honestly at ourselves, we would not be judged.

32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

32When the Lord does judge us, he is training us. He does it so we are not condemned along with the world.

33Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

33So, my brothers and sisters, when you meet to eat, wait for each other.

34And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

34If anyone is very hungry, let him eat at home first. Then your meeting will not bring judgment on you. I will settle the other matters when I come.