Lectionary Calendar
Monday, October 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 24 / Ordinary 29
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

1 Corinthians 10:19

Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what's the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don't want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Idolatry;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Idolatry;   Idols;   Vanity of Idols;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   The Topic Concordance - Meat;   Partaking;   Sacrifice;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Idolatry;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Exodus;   Meats;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Demons;   Food;   Idol, idolatry;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Building;   Destroy, Destruction;   Worship;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Devil;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Fellowship;   Food Offered to Idols;   People of God;   1 Corinthians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Food;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Atonement (2);   Clean, Unclean, Common;   Commandment;   Demon, Demoniacal Possession, Demoniacs;   Lord's Supper (Ii);   Lord's Supper. (I.);   Mediation Mediator;   Sacrifice;   Trade and Commerce;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - The Brazen Altar;   Demon;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Rock;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Communion;   Food;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Altar;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
So, am I saying that sacrifices to idols are the same as those Jewish sacrifices? No, because an idol is nothing, and the things offered to idols are worth nothing.
Revised Standard Version
What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
What saye I then? that the ymage is eny thinge? or that it which is offered to ymages is eny thinge?
Hebrew Names Version
What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
International Standard Version
Am I suggesting that an offering made to idols means anything, or that an idol itself means anything?1 Corinthians 8:4;">[xr]
New American Standard Bible
What do I mean then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
New Century Version
I do not mean that the food sacrificed to an idol is important. I do not mean that an idol is anything at all.
Update Bible Version
What do I say then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Webster's Bible Translation
What then do I say? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
English Standard Version
What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
World English Bible
What am I saying then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
What say I then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is any thing? or that an idol is any thing?
Weymouth's New Testament
Do I mean that a thing sacrificed to an idol is what it claims to be, or that an idol is a real thing?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
What therfor seie Y, that a thing that is offrid to idols is ony thing, or that the idol is ony thing?
English Revised Version
What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Berean Standard Bible
Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Contemporary English Version
Am I saying that either the idols or the food sacrificed to them is anything at all?
Amplified Bible
What do I mean then? That a thing offered to idols is anything [special or changed simply because it is offered], or that an idol is anything?
American Standard Version
What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Bible in Basic English
Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?
Complete Jewish Bible
So, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols has any significance in itself? or that an idol has significance in itself?
Darby Translation
What then do I say? that what is sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Etheridge Translation
What then do I say ? that an idol is any thing, or (that) the sacrifice of an idol is any thing?
Murdock Translation
What then do I say? That an idol is any thing? Or, that an idol's sacrifice is any thing? No.
King James Version (1611)
What say I then? that the idole is any thing? or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
New Living Translation
What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods?
New Life Bible
What do I mean? Am I saying that a false god or the food brought to it in worship is worth anything?
New Revised Standard
What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Geneva Bible (1587)
What say I then? that the idole is any thing? or that that which is sacrificed to idoles, is any thing?
George Lamsa Translation
What do I say then? that the idol is anything, or that the sacrifice to idols is anything? No.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
What, then, am I saying? - that, an idol-sacrifice, is anything? or that, an idol, is anything?
Douay-Rheims Bible
What then? Do I say that what is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? Or that the idol is any thing?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
What say I then? that the idol is any thyng? Or that it which is offered to idols is any thyng?
Good News Translation
Do I imply, then, that an idol or the food offered to it really amounts to anything?
Christian Standard Bible®
What am I saying then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
King James Version
What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
Lexham English Bible
Therefore, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Literal Translation
What then do I say, that an idol is anything, or that an idolatrous sacrifice is anything?
Young's Literal Translation
what then do I say? that an idol is anything? or that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything? --
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
What shal I now saye then? Shal I saye that the Idoll is enythinge? Or that it which is offred vnto the Idoll is eny thinge?
Mace New Testament (1729)
that the idol, or that what is offered in sacrifice to the idol, is a matter of consequence?
New English Translation
Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything?
New King James Version
What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?
Simplified Cowboy Version
Am I saying that food sacrificed on the altar at the main church is the same as food sacrificed to idols? No! An idol is a stick or a rock or a demon, not God.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Legacy Standard Bible
What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

Contextual Overview

15I assume I'm addressing believers now who are mature. Draw your own conclusions: When we drink the cup of blessing, aren't we taking into ourselves the blood, the very life, of Christ? And isn't it the same with the loaf of bread we break and eat? Don't we take into ourselves the body, the very life, of Christ? Because there is one loaf, our many-ness becomes one-ness—Christ doesn't become fragmented in us. Rather, we become unified in him. We don't reduce Christ to what we are; he raises us to what he is. That's basically what happened even in old Israel—those who ate the sacrifices offered on God's altar entered into God's action at the altar. 19Do you see the difference? Sacrifices offered to idols are offered to nothing, for what's the idol but a nothing? Or worse than nothing, a minus, a demon! I don't want you to become part of something that reduces you to less than yourself. And you can't have it both ways, banqueting with the Master one day and slumming with demons the next. Besides, the Master won't put up with it. He wants us—all or nothing. Do you think you can get off with anything less?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that the: 1 Corinthians 1:28, 1 Corinthians 3:7, 1 Corinthians 8:4, 1 Corinthians 13:2, Deuteronomy 32:21, Isaiah 40:17, Isaiah 41:29, 2 Corinthians 12:11

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:1 - Ye shall Deuteronomy 32:17 - not to God Joshua 24:23 - put away 1 Kings 16:13 - vanities 1 Kings 18:26 - no voice Psalms 106:28 - of the dead Psalms 115:4 - Their idols Zechariah 11:17 - idol Acts 19:26 - that they Romans 3:9 - what then Romans 10:19 - I say Romans 11:7 - What then Romans 15:8 - I say 1 Corinthians 8:1 - touching 1 Corinthians 14:15 - What Galatians 3:17 - this Galatians 4:8 - ye did Ephesians 2:12 - without Philippians 1:18 - What

Cross-References

Genesis 10:1
This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, they themselves had sons.
Genesis 10:2
The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, Tiras.
Genesis 10:7
The sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba, Dedan.
Genesis 10:8
Cush also had Nimrod. He was the first great warrior on Earth. He was a great hunter before God . There was a saying, "Like Nimrod, a great hunter before God ." His kingdom got its start with Babel; then Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the country of Shinar. From there he went up to Asshur and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and the great city Calah.
Genesis 10:15
Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha.
Genesis 10:21
Shem, the older brother of Japheth, also had sons. Shem was ancestor to all the children of Eber.
Genesis 10:24
Arphaxad had Shelah and Shelah had Eber. Eber had two sons, Peleg (so named because in his days the human race divided) and Joktan.
Genesis 18:20
God continued, "The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I'm going down to see for myself, see if what they're doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I'll know."
Genesis 20:1
Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, "She's my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her. But God came to Abimelech in a dream that night and told him, "You're as good as dead—that woman you took, she's a married woman." Now Abimelech had not yet slept with her, hadn't so much as touched her. He said, "Master, would you kill an innocent man? Didn't he tell me, ‘She's my sister'? And didn't she herself say, ‘He's my brother'? I had no idea I was doing anything wrong when I did this." God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know your intentions were pure, that's why I kept you from sinning against me; I was the one who kept you from going to bed with her. So now give the man's wife back to him. He's a prophet and will pray for you—pray for your life. If you don't give her back, know that it's certain death both for you and everyone in your family." Abimelech was up first thing in the morning. He called all his house servants together and told them the whole story. They were shocked. Then Abimelech called in Abraham and said, "What have you done to us? What have I ever done to you that you would bring on me and my kingdom this huge offense? What you've done to me ought never to have been done." Abimelech went on to Abraham, "Whatever were you thinking of when you did this thing?" Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'" Then Abimelech gave Sarah back to Abraham, and along with her sent sheep and cattle and servants, both male and female. He said, "My land is open to you; live wherever you wish." And to Sarah he said, "I've given your brother a thousand pieces of silver—that clears you of even a shadow of suspicion before the eyes of the world. You're vindicated." Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Genesis 26:1
There was a famine in the land, as bad as the famine during the time of Abraham. And Isaac went down to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

What say I then?.... Or may be objected to, or inferred from, what I say;

that an idol is anything, or that which is sacrificed to idols is anything? to which must be answered, as the Syriac version reads,

לא, "no", by no means; by running the parallel between Christians having communion with the body and blood of Christ, in the Lord's supper, through eating the bread and drinking the wine, the Israelites partaking of the altar, by eating of the sacrifices of it, and men's joining with idols and idolaters, by eating things sacrificed to idols; it follows not that an idol has anything of deity in it, and is to be set upon a level with God, when, as he had said before, an idol was nothing, and what he now said did not at all contradict that; or that things offered to idols are to be had in the same account, or to be equalled to, or be thought to have any thing in them, as the elements of the bread and wine in the Lord's supper, or the sacrifices that were offered by the Israelites on the altar, according to the divine command; he meant no such thing, but only argued from the greater to the lesser, and his sense is more fully declared in the next words.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

What say I then? - This is in the present tense; τί οὖν φημι ti oun phēmi, what do I say? What is my meaning? What follows from this? Do I mean to say that an idol is anything; that it has a real existence? Does my reasoning lead to that conclusion; and am I to be understood as affirming that an idol is of itself of any consequence? It must be recollected that the Corinthian Christians are introduced by Paul 1 Corinthians 8:4 as saying that they knew that an idol was nothing in the world. Paul did not directly contradict that; but his reasoning had led him to the necessity of calling the propriety of their attending on the feasts of idols in question; and he introduces the matter now by asking these questions, thus leading the mind to it rather than directly affirming it at once. “Am I in this reasoning to be understood as affirming that an idol is anything, or that the meat there offered differs from other meat? No; you know, says Paul, that this is not my meaning. I admit that an idol in itself is nothing; but I do not admit, therefore, that it is right for you to attend in their temples; for though the “idol” itself - the block of wood or stone - is nothing, yet the offerings are really made to devils; and I would not have you engage in such a service;” 1 Corinthians 10:20-21.

That the idol is anything? - That the block of wood or stone is a real living object of worship, to be dreaded or loved? See the note at 1 Corinthians 8:4.

Or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? - Or that the meat which is offered “differs” from that which is not offered; that the mere act of offering it changes its qualities? I do not admit or suppose this.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 19. What say I then? — A Jewish phrase for, I conclude; and this is his conclusion: that although an idol is nothing, has neither power nor influence, nor are things offered to idols any thing the worse for being thus offered; yet, as the things sacrificed by the Gentiles are sacrificed to demons and not to God, those who partake of them have fellowship with demons: those who profess Christianity cannot have fellowship both with Christ and the devil.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile