1 Corinthians 10:17

1 Corinthians 10:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
• New International Version (NIV)Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.

Context of 1 Corinthians 10:17

15I am speaking as to wise and sensible people; judge [carefully and thoughtfully consider] for yourselves what I say. 16Is the cup of blessing which we bless [at the Lord’s Supper] not a sharing in the blood of Christ? [Indeed it is.] Is the bread which we break not a sharing in the body of Christ? [Indeed it is.] Since there is one bread, we [believers] who are many are [united into] one body; for we all partake of the one bread [which represents the body of Christ]. 18Consider the people of Israel; are those who eat the sacrifices not partners of the altar [united in their worship of the same God]? [Indeed they are.] 19What 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?

1 Corinthians 10:17 word by word

ὅτι εἷς ἄρτος ἓν σῶμα οἱ πολλοί ἐσμεν· οἱ γὰρ πάντες ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἄρτου μετέχομεν.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• weεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• breadἄρτοςartos · breadG740
• bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• we areμετέχωmetechō · to shareG3348
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:17

• 1 Corinthians 12:12For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts, though many, form [only] one body, so it is with Christ.
• Romans 12:5so we, who are many, are [nevertheless just] one body in Christ, and individually [we are] parts one of another [mutually dependent on each other].
• Galatians 3:26For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 1:22And He put all things [in every realm] in subjection under Christ’s feet, and appointed Him as [supreme and authoritative] head over all things in the church,
• Ephesians 2:15by abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the hostility caused by the Law with its commandments contained in ordinances [which He satisfied]; so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thereby establishing peace.
• Ephesians 3:6[it is this:] that the Gentiles are now joint heirs [with the Jews] and members of the same body, and joint partakers [sharing] in the [same divine] promise in Christ Jesus through [their faith in] the good news [of salvation].
• Ephesians 4:12[and He did this] to fully equip and perfect the saints (God’s people) for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church];
• Ephesians 4:25Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ].
• Colossians 2:19and not holding fast to the head [of the body, Jesus Christ], from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows with the growth [that can come only] from God.
• Colossians 3:11a renewal in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [nor between nations whether] barbarian or Scythian, [nor in status whether] slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction].
• 1 Corinthians 10:3and all [of them] ate the same spiritual food;
• 1 Corinthians 11:26For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For we, being many, are one bread - The original would be better translated thus: Because there is one bread, or loaf; we, who are many, are one body. As only one loaf was used at the passover, and those who partook of it were considered to be one religious body; so we who partake of the eucharistical bread and wine, in commemoration of the sacrificial death of Christ, are one spiritual society, because we are all made partakers of that one Christ whose…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17For we - We Christians. “Being many.” Greek “The many” ( ̔ ́ hoi polloi). This idea is not, as our translation would seem to indicate, that Christians were numerous, but that “all” (for ̔ ́ is here evidently used in the sense of , “all”) were united, and constituted one society. Are one bread - One loaf; one cake. That is, we are united, or are one. There is evident allusion here to the fact that the loaf or cake was composed of many separate grains of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-22Verses 15-22 Did not the joining in the Lord's supper show a profession of faith in Christ crucified, and of adoring gratitude to him for his salvation ? Christians, by this ordinance, and the faith therein professed, were united as the grains of wheat in one loaf of bread, or as the members in the human body, seeing they were all united to Christ, and had fellowship with him and one another. This is confirmed from the Jewish worship and customs in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-18Paul explains the spiritual meaning of sacred meals. In the Lord’s Supper, believers share in the blood and body of Christ (see also 11:17–34; Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20). Sharing one loaf unites believers as one body in Christ, similar to how pagans’ religious meals connect them with the gods they worship (see 1 Corinthians 10:19–21).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. one bread--rather, "loaf." One loaf alone seems to have been used in each celebration. and one body--Omit "and"; "one loaf [that is], one body." "We, the many (namely, believers assembled; so the Greek), are one bread (by our partaking of the same loaf, which becomes assimilated to the substance of all our bodies; and so we become), one body" (with Christ, and so with one another). we ... all--Greek, "the whole of us."Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 10:17

• Bread
• Church
• Communion
• Fellowship
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Admonition
• Communion
• Lust
• Meekness
• Christ, Offices of
• Communion; (fellowship)
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Jude, the Epistle of
• Lord's Supper; (eucharist)
• Paul, the Apostle

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings