1 Corinthians 16:22

Contextual Overview

¹⁹The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. ¹⁹ The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. ¹⁹All the churches in the province of Asia said to tell y'all hello. Aquila and Priscilla, and all the others who meet in their homes for church, also send their greetings. ¹⁹ The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. ¹⁹The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. ¹⁹ The churches of Asia send their love to you. So do Aquila and Prisca, with the church which is in their house. ¹⁹ The assemblies of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla, with the assembly in their house, salute you much in [the] Lord. ¹⁹ The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, along with the church that meets in their home. ¹⁹ The assemblies of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you much in the Lord, together with the assembly that is in their house. ¹⁹ The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla, with the church that is in their house, salute you much in the Lord.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

love: Song of Solomon 1:3, Song of Solomon 1:4, Song of Solomon 1:7, Song of Solomon 3:1-3, Song of Solomon 5:16, Isaiah 5:1, Matthew 10:37, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:45, John 8:42, John 14:15, John 14:21, John 14:23, John 15:24, John 16:14, John 21:15-17, 2 Corinthians 5:14, 2 Corinthians 5:15, 2 Corinthians 8:8, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Galatians 5:6, Ephesians 6:24, Hebrews 6:10, 1 Peter 1:8, 1 Peter 2:7, 1 John 4:19, 1 John 5:1

Anathema: That is, "Let him be accursed; our Lord cometh," i.e., to execute the judgment denounced. Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Acts 23:14, Romans 9:3, Galatians 1:8, Galatians 1:9,*Gr: 1 Corinthians 12:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Jude 1:14, Jude 1:15

Reciprocal: Leviticus 27:28 - no devoted Numbers 5:23 - write these Numbers 21:2 - I will Deuteronomy 13:17 - cursed Deuteronomy 21:23 - he that is hanged is accursed of God Deuteronomy 27:26 - Cursed Joshua 6:17 - accursed Joshua 23:11 - love Judges 5:23 - Curse ye Judges 17:2 - cursedst 1 Samuel 14:24 - Cursed Psalms 37:22 - cursed Psalms 129:5 - be confounded Proverbs 8:36 - all Isaiah 34:5 - the people Isaiah 56:6 - to love Jeremiah 29:22 - shall be Lamentations 3:65 - thy Matthew 25:42 - General Matthew 26:74 - began Mark 11:21 - General John 5:23 - all men John 16:27 - because Acts 23:12 - under a curse 1 Corinthians 13:2 - and have 2 Corinthians 10:1 - I Paul 2 Thessalonians 2:10 - they received Philemon 1:19 - I Paul James 2:14 - though 2 John 1:10 - come Revelation 3:15 - thou

Gill's Notes on the Bible

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,.... The Vulgate Latin, and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, read "our Lord". The apostle here does not so much mean profane and unregenerate sinners, who are destitute of love to Christ, from ignorance of him; nor such who, from the same principle, might persecute him in his members, for such are to be even prayed for, and wished well unto; and oftentimes such are called by grace, and become true and sincere lovers of Christ; and the apostle himself was an instance of it: some think the Jews are intended, who were the mortal enemies of Christ; hated his name and person, his Gospel and interest, and maliciously persecuted the same; they called Jesus accursed, and therefore deserved an anathema to be pronounced on them; it was prophesied of them, that their name should be left for a curse; and it was threatened to them, in case of non-repentance, upon the coming of John the Baptist, in the spirit of Elijah, that the Lord would come and smite their land with a curse; which had its accomplishment in the destruction of Jerusalem; see Isaiah 65:15; others think the Gnostics are intended, one of whose tenets was, that it was lawful not to confess Christ in a time of persecution, in order to save themselves; and such might be truly said not to love our Lord Jesus, and on whom such an anathema as after mentioned might rightly be denounced: though it should seem rather, that some persons in this church, or that infested it, are referred to as the false teachers, and those who sided with them, who made factions and divisions in the church of Christ; allowed themselves in the commission of fornication and incest, and such like impurities; had no regard to the peace of the consciences of weak brethren, but laid stumblingblocks in their way; behaved in a very irreverent manner at the Lord's table, and gave in to very pernicious errors and heresies, particularly denying the resurrection of the dead; and by their many bad principles and practices plainly showed that they did not in deed and in truth love our Lord Jesus: wherefore of every such an one the apostle says,

let him be anathema. The word anathema, answers to the Hebrew

חרם, and is rendered by it here in the Syriac version; and signifies anything separated and devoted to holy uses; and so it is used by the Septuagint, in Leviticus 27:28, and in the New Testament, Luke 21:5, and which, if alienated to any other purposes, entailed a curse on persons; hence it is often translated "accursed", as Romans 9:3

1 Corinthians 12:3, and here it signifies, that such persons that love not the Lord Jesus, should be rejected by the saints, and separated from their communion; and so the Arabic version renders it, "let him be separated"; that is, from the church; let him be cast out of it, and cut off from it; as, so living and dying without love to Christ, he will be accursed by him at the last day, and will have that awful sentence denounced on him, "go ye cursed". The apostle adds another word, about which there is some difficulty,

maranatha; some make this to be the same with "anathema"; the one being the Syriac, the other the Greek word, as "Abba, Father"; and think that "maranatha" is put for מחרמתא, "maharamatha"; others think that it is the same with מחרונאתא, "maharonatha", which signifies "from wrath to come"; and being joined with the other word, intends an anathematizing or devoting persons to wrath to come: others take it to be the last, and worse sort of excommunication among the Jews; and observe, that the first sort was called נדוי, "Niddui", which was a separation from company and conversation, to which reference may be had in Luke 6:22; the second sort was called

חרם Cherem, to which "anathema" answers, and was a separation, attended with curses and imprecations; and a third sort was called

שמתא, "Shammatha", and is thought to answer to "maranatha", giving the etymology of it, as if it was, שם אתא, "the name", i.e. "God cometh", as "maranatha" read as two words, signify "our Lord cometh": but this is not the etymology the Jews give of "Shammatha" g; they ask,

"what is "Shammatha?" says Rab, שם מיתה, "there is death"; and Samuel says, שממה יהיה, "desolations shall be";''

but of the other etymology there is no mention made among them; nor is ever the word "maranatha" used by them for excommunication; the sense of which certainly is, "our Lord cometh"; and the Ethiopic version, joining it with the former word, renders the whole thus, "let him be anathema in the coming of our Lord", which seems to be pretty much the sense of the apostle: it is best to consider this word, or rather these two words, "maran atha", "our Lord cometh", as added by the apostle, to put persons in mind of the coming of Christ; either at the destruction of Jerusalem, to take vengeance on the Jews, who did not love, but hated him, and maliciously persecuted him, and his; or of the second coming of Christ to judgment, when all the wicked of the earth shall be accursed by him, and all such that love him not will be bid to depart from him.

g T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 17. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ - This is a most solemn and affecting close of the whole epistle. It was designed to direct them to the great and essential matter of religion, the love of the Lord Jesus; and was intended, doubtless, to turn away their minds from the subjects which had agitated them, the disputes and dissensions which had rent the church into factions, to the great inquiry whether they truly loved the Saviour. It is implied that there was danger, in their disputes and strifes about minor matters, of neglecting the love of the Lord Jesus, or of substituting attachment to a party in the place of that love to the Saviour which alone could be connected with eternal life.

Let him be anathema - On the meaning of the word anathema, see the note at 1 Corinthians 12:3. The word properly means accursed, or devoted to destruction; and the idea here is, that he who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him, would be, and ought to be, devoted to destruction, or accursed of God. It expresses what ought to be done; it expresses a truth in regard to God’s dealings, not the desire of the apostle. No matter what any man’s endowments might be; no matter what might be his wealth, his standing, or his talent; no matter if he were regarded as a ruler in the church, or at the head of a party; yet if he had not true love to the Lord Jesus, he could not be saved. This sentiment is in accordance with the declaration of the Scripture everywhere. See particularly, John 3:31; Micah 6:16, and the note on the latter place.

Maran-atha - These are Syriac words, Moran Etho - “the Lord comes;” that is, will come. The reason why this expression is added may be:

(1) To give the greater solemnity to the declaration of the apostle; that is, to give it an emphatic form.

(2) To intimate that, though there were no earthly power to punish a lack of love to the Saviour; though the state could not, and ought not to punish it; and though the church could not exclude all who did not love the Lord Jesus from its bosom, yet they could not escape. For, the Lord would himself come to take vengeance on his enemies; and no one could escape. Though, therefore, those who did not love the Lord Jesus could not be punished by people, yet they could not escape divine condemnation. The Lord would come to execute vengeance himself, and they could not escape. It is probable (see Lightfoot in loco) that the Jews were accustomed to use such a form in their greater excommunication, and that they meant by it, that the person who was thus devoted to destruction, and excommunicated, must be destroyed; for the Lord would come to take vengeance on all his enemies. “It certainly was not now, for the first time, used as a new kind of cursing by the apostle; but was the application of a current mode of speech to the purpose he had in contemplation. Perhaps, therefore, by inspecting the manners of the East, we may illustrate the import of this singular passage. The nearest approach to it that I have been able to discover is in the following extract from Mr. Bruce; and though, perhaps, this does not come up to the full power of the apostle’s meaning, yet, probably, it gives the idea which was commonly attached to the phrase among the public. Mr. Bruce had been forced by a pretended saint, in Egypt, to take him on board his vessel, as if to carry him to a certain place - whereas, Mr. Bruce meant no such thing; but, having set him on shore at some little distance from whence he came, ‘we slacked our vessel down the stream a few yards, filling our sails, and stretching away.

On seeing this, our saint fell into a desperate passion, cursing, blaspheming, and stamping with his feet; at every word crying “Shar Ullah!” that is, “May God send and do justice!” This appears to be the strongest execration this passionate Arab could use, that is, To punish you adequately is out of my power: I remit you to the vengeance of God.’ Is not this the import of anathema maranatha?” - Taylor in Calmet. This solemn declaration, or denunciation, the apostle wrote with his own hand, as the summary of all that he had said, in order that it might be attentively regarded. There is not a more solemn declaration in the Bible; there is not a more fearful denunciation; there is no one that will be more certainly executed. No matter what we may have - be it wealth, or beauty, or vigor, or accomplishment, or adorning, or the praise and flattery of the world; no matter if we are elevated high in office and in rank; no matter if we are honored by the present age, or gain a reputation to be transmitted to future times; yet if we have not love to the Saviour, we cannot be saved.

We must be devoted to the curse; and the Lord Jesus will soon return to execute the tremendous sentence on a guilty world. How important then to ask whether we have that love? Whether we are attached to the Lord Jesus in such a manner as to secure his approbation? Whether we so love him as to be prepared to hail his coming with joy, and to be received into his everlasting kingdom - In the close of the notes on this Epistle, I may ask anyone who shall read these pages whether he has this love? And I may press it upon the attention of each one, though I may never see their faces in the flesh, as the great inquiry which is to determine their everlasting destiny. The solemn declaration stands here, that if they do not love the Lord Jesus, they will be, and they ought to be, devoted to destruction. The Lord Jesus will soon return to make investigation, and to judge the world. There will be no escape; and no tongue can express the awful horrors of an eternal curse pronounced by the lips of the Son of God!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 22. If any man love not the Lord Jesus — This is directed immediately against the Jews. From 1 Corinthians 12:3, we find that the Jews, who pretended to be under the Spirit and teaching of God, called Jesus αναθεμα, or accursed; i.e. a person who should be devoted to destruction: see the note there. In this place the apostle retorts the whole upon themselves, and says: If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let HIM be αναθεμα, accursed, and devoted to destruction. This is not said in the way of a wish or imprecation, but as a prediction of what would certainly come upon them if they did not repent, and of what did come on them because they did not repent; but continued to hate and execrate the Lord Jesus; and of what still lies upon them, because they continue to hate and execrate the Redeemer of the world.

It is generally allowed that the apostle refers here to some of the modes of excommunication among the Jews, of which there were three, viz.:-

1. Niddui נדוי, which signifies a simple separation or exclusion of a man from the synagogue, and from his wife and family, for THIRTY days.

2. Cherem חרם which was inflicted on him who had borne the niddui, and who had not, in the thirty days, made proper compensation, in order to be reconciled to the synagogue. This was inflicted with dire execrations, which he was informed must all come upon him if he did not repent; but the cherem always supposed place for repentance.

3. Shammatha שמתא: this was the direst of all, and cut off all hope of reconciliation and repentance; after which the man was neither reconcilable to the synagogue, nor acknowledged as belonging even to the Jewish nation. See these different forms in Buxtorf's Rabbinical and Talmudical Lexicon, under their respective words.

In the Lexicon just now quoted, Buxtorf gives a form of the cherem, which he says he copied from an ancient Hebrew MS. Of this awful piece I shall lay a translation before the reader.

"By the sentence of the Lord of lords, let P. the son of P. be anathematized in both houses of judgment; the superior and inferior. Let him be anathematized among the highest saints; let him be anathematized among the seraphim and ophanim; and finally, let him be anathematized by all the congregations of the great and the small! Let great and continued plagues rest upon him; with great and horrible diseases! Let his house be the habitation of dragons! and let his constellation be darkened in the clouds! Let him be for indignation, and wrath, and burning! Let his carcass be thrown to the wild beasts and serpents! Let his enemies and his adversaries triumph over him! Let his silver and gold be given to others! And let all his children be exposed at the doors of their enemies! And let posterity be astonished at his day! Let him be accursed by the mouth of Addiriron and Achtariel; by the mouth of Sandalphon and Hadraniel; by the mouth of Ansisiel and Patchiel; by the mouth of Seraphiel and Sagansael; by the mouth of Michael and Gabriel; by the mouth of Raphael and Mesharetiel! Let him be anathematized by the mouth of Zaafzavif, and by the mouth of Hafhavif, who is the great God; and by the mouth of the seventy names of the supreme King; and lastly, by the mouth of Tsortak the great chancellor.

"Let him he swallowed up like Korah and his companions! Let his soul depart with fear and terror! Let the chiding of the Lord slay him! Let him be confounded as Achitophel was in his counsel! Let the leprosy of Gehazi be his leprosy! and let there be no resurrection of his ruins! In the sepulchres of the children of Israel let him not be buried! Let his wife be given to another, and let others bow themselves upon her in his death! In this anathema, let P. the son of P. be; and let this be his inheritance! But upon me and upon all Israel may God extend his peace and blessing, Amen." To this is added the 18th, 19th, and 20th verses of Deuteronomy 29:0, Deuteronomy 29:18-20 which the reader may read at his leisure. There are many things in this cherem which require a comment, but this is not the place.

Anathema, maran-atha. — "Let him be accursed; our Lord cometh." I cannot see the reason why these words were left untranslated. The former is Greek, and has been already explained; the latter is Syriac [Syriac] maran-atha, our Lord is coming: i.e. to execute the judgment denounced. Does not the apostle refer to the last verse in the Bible? Lest I come and smite the land ( cherem) with a curse? And does he not intimate that the Lord was coming to smite the Jewish land with that curse? Which took place a very few years after, and continues on that gainsaying and rebellious people to the present day. What the apostle has said was prophetic, and indicative of what was about to happen to that people. God was then coming to inflict punishment upon them: he came, and they were broken and dispersed.