1 Corinthians 10:20

1 Corinthians 10:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
• New International Version (NIV)No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.
• English Standard Version (ESV)No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

Context of 1 Corinthians 10:20

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? On the contrary, the things which the Gentiles (pagans) sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [in effect], and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons [by eating at feasts in pagan temples]. 21You cannot drink [both] the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot share in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons [thereby becoming partners with them]. 22Do we [really] provoke the Lord to jealousy [when we eat food sacrificed to handmade “gods” at pagan feasts]? Are we [spiritually] stronger than He? [Certainly not! He knows that the idols are nothing. But we deeply offend Him.]

1 Corinthians 10:20 word by word

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι ἃ θύουσιν δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ θύουσιν· οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δαιμονίων γίνεσθαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butἀλλάalla · butG235
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• the thingsὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• the Gentilesἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• sacrificeθύωthuō · to sacrificeG2380
• to devilsδαιμόνιονdaimonion · demonG1140
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• andδέde · thenG1161
• I wouldθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• thatγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• yeσύsu · youG4771
• fellowshipκοινωνόςkoinōnos · participantG2844

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:20

• Leviticus 17:7So they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to goat-idols or demons or field spirits with which they have played the prostitute. This shall be a permanent statute for them throughout their generations.” ’
• Deuteronomy 32:16They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His]; And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.
• 2 Chronicles 11:15Jeroboam appointed his own priests for the high places, for the satyrs (goat demons) and calves (idols) which he had made.
• Psalms 106:37They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons
• 2 Corinthians 4:4among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
• Revelation 9:20The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent even then of the works of their hands, so as to cease worshiping and paying homage to the demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of bronze and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk;

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20But - The negative here is omitted, but is understood. The ellipsis of a negative after an interrogative sentence is common in the Classical writers as well as in the Scriptures. Bloomfield. The sense is, “No; I do not say this, but I say that there are reasons why you should not partake of those sacrifices; and one of those reasons is, that they have been really offered to devils.” They sacrifice to devils - ( ́ daimoniois“demons”). The pagans used the…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. 19-20Idols lack reality or life (see 8:4–6), and sacrifices to them achieve nothing. When pagans sacrifice to idols, they unknowingly sacrifice to demons (see Deuteronomy 32:16–17; Psalm 106:37; Revelation 9:20). By participating in these religious meals, people unite with demons.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 19-2019-20. What say I then?--The inference might be drawn from the analogies of the Lord's Supper and Jewish sacrifices, that an idol is really what the heathen thought it to be, a god, and that in eating idol-meats they had fellowship with the god. This verse guards against such an inference: "What would I say then? that a thing sacrificed to an idol is any real thing (in the sense that the heathen regard it), or that an idol is any real thing?" (The oldest…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 10:20

• Demons
• Gentiles
• Idolatry
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Admonition
• Lust
• Meekness
• Communion With Demons; Devils
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Jude, the Epistle of
• Paul, the Apostle
• Pauline Theology

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