Devine Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:18

What does 1 Corinthians 6:18 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 6:18 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 Corinthians 6:18 means

Paul commands a decisive response: flee fornication. Do not negotiate with it—run. He adds that every other sin is “outside” the body, but sexual sin is “against” one’s own body. He means that sexual immorality uniquely violates the body’s God-given purpose and dignity, distorting the self in a way other sins do not. Because the body is designed for union with Christ and, in marriage, for ‘one flesh,’ misusing it wounds the person at the level of identity. The command recognizes the power of sexual temptation and the need for clear distance rather than risky proximity.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Keep away from the desires of the flesh. Every sin which a man does is outside of the body; but he who goes after the desires of the flesh does evil to his body.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

flee the whoredom; every sin--whatever a man may commit--is without the body, and he who is committing whoredom, against his own body doth sin.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Fly fornication. Every sin that a man doth is without the body: but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Flee fornication. Every sin which a man may practise is without the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.

Context

With the theological foundation in place (vv. 13–17), Paul now applies it in an urgent imperative. The rationale about sinning against the body anticipates verses 19–20, which explain why the body is so sacred: it is the Spirit’s temple, and it has been purchased by God. The flow moves from command, to reason, to ultimate motivation for holiness.

v.17But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

v.18This passage

v.19Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Hebrews 13:4

    Let marriage be had in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled: for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

  • 2 Corinthians 12:21

    lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore, and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed.

  • 1 Peter 2:11

    Beloved, I beseech you as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

  • Proverbs 5:3

    For the lips of a strange woman drop honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil:

  • Proverbs 9:16

    Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither; And as for him that is void of understanding, she saith to him,

  • 1 Thessalonians 4:5

    not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God;

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