Christian Order

11 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

² Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. ³ But I want you to understand that ^[a]Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of ^[b]Christ. ⁴ Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. ⁵ But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman ^[c]whose head is shaved. ⁶ For if a woman does not cover ^[d]her head, let her also ^[e]have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to ^[f]have her hair cut off or ^[g]her head shaved, let her cover ^[h]her head. ⁷ For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. ⁸ For man ^[i]does not originate from woman, but woman from man; ⁹ for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. ¹⁰ Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. ¹¹ However, in the Lord, neither is woman ^[j]independent of man, nor is man ^[k]independent of woman. ¹² For as the woman ^[l]originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things ^[m]originate from God. ¹³ Judge ^[n]for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, ¹⁵ but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ¹⁶ But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no ^[o]other practice, nor have the churches of God.

¹⁷ But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸ For, in the first place, when you come together ^[p]as a church, I hear that ^[q]divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. ¹⁹ For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become ^[r]evident among you. ²⁰ Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, ²¹ for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. ²² What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

The Lord’s Supper

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

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. ³⁰ For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number ^[s]sleep. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³ So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

Cast Your Bread on the Waters

11 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it ^[a]after many days. ² Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. ³ If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it ^[b]lies. ⁴ He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. ⁵ Just as you do not know ^[c]the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the ^[d]pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

⁶ Sow your seed in the morning and do not ^[e]be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether ^[f]morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

⁷ The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. ⁸ Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

⁹ Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the ^[g]impulses of your heart and the ^[h]desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. ¹⁰ So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away ^[i]pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.