1 Corinthians 10:7
What does 1 Corinthians 10:7 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 10:7 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Corinthians 10:7 means
Paul warns, “Neither be ye idolaters,” citing the episode where “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” He alludes to a feast before a golden idol, where revelry and false worship mingled. The danger is not only bowing to a statue, but joining in a celebratory meal that honors a false god. In Corinth, this maps directly onto pagan banquets in temples and homes. Feasting can signal allegiance. What looks like harmless socializing may, in God’s eyes, be participation in idolatry. Paul presses the church to discern the spiritual meaning of their meals. Joy and celebration belong to the Lord; to attach them to idols is to rob Him of glory and endanger one’s soul.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Then do not go after false gods, as some of them did; as it is said in the holy Writings, After resting and feasting, the people got up to take their pleasure.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Neither become ye idolaters, as certain of them, as it hath been written, `The people sat down to eat and to drink, and stood up to play;'
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Neither be ye idolaters, as some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Context
From the general issue of evil desire, Paul turns to the first specific sin: idolatry tied to a festive meal. This connects tightly to the Corinthians’ context of eating in idol temples. The quotation shows how quickly feasting slid into idolatrous play. Verses 8–10 will proceed to related sins—sexual immorality, testing the Lord, and grumbling—each attracting divine judgment. Paul is building a case that participation in pagan rites is never neutral.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9
Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men,
- Exodus 32:6
And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
- Exodus 32:17
And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
- Deuteronomy 9:12
And Jehovah said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
- 1 John 5:21
My little children, guard yourselves from idols.
- Exodus 32:4
And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
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