1 Corinthians 7:23

1 Corinthians 7:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
• New International Version (NIV)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:23

21Were you a slave when you were called? Do not worry about that [since your status as a believer is equal to that of a freeborn believer]; but if you are able to gain your freedom, do that. 22For he who was a slave when he was called in the Lord is a freedman of the Lord, likewise he who was free when he was called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price [a precious price paid by Christ]; do not become slaves to men [but to Christ]. 24Brothers, let each one remain with God in that condition in which he was [when he was] called. 25Now concerning the virgins [of marriageable age] I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.

1 Corinthians 7:23 word by word

τιμῆς ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye are boughtἀγοράζωagorazō · to buyG59
• with a priceτιμήtimē · honorG5092
• beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notμήmē · notG3361
• the servantsδοῦλοςdoulos · slaveG1401
• of menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:23

• 1 Corinthians 6:20You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own]. So then, honor and glorify God with your body.
• Leviticus 25:42For the Israelites are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold in a slave sale.
• Acts 20:28Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.
• 1 Peter 1:18For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless [spiritually unproductive] way of life inherited [by tradition] from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold,
• 1 Peter 3:18For indeed Christ died for sins once for all, the Just and Righteous for the unjust and unrighteous [the Innocent for the guilty] so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit;
• Revelation 5:9And they sang a new song [of glorious redemption], saying, “Worthy and deserving are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slain (sacrificed), and with Your blood You purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
• Matthew 23:8But do not be called Rabbi (Teacher); for One is your Teacher, and you are all [equally] brothers.
• Galatians 2:4My concern was because of the false brothers [those people masquerading as Christians] who had been secretly smuggled in [to the community of believers]. They had slipped in to spy on the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back into bondage [under the Law of Moses].

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Ye are bought with a price - As truly as your bodies have become the property of your masters, in consequence of his paying down a price for you; so sure you are now the Lord's property, in consequence of your being purchased by the blood of Christ. Some render this verse interrogatively: Are ye bought with a price from your slavery? Do not again become slaves of men. Never sell yourselves; prefer and retain your liberty now that ye have acquired it. In…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Ye are bought with a price - Though you are slaves to people, yet you have been purchased for God by the blood of His Son; see the note at 1 Corinthians 6:20. You are, therefore, in his sight of inestimable worth, and are bound to be His. Be not ye the servants of men - That is, “Do not regard yourselves as the slaves of men. Even in your humble relation of life, even as servants under the laws of the land, regard yourselves as the servants of God, as…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-24Verses 17-24 The rules of Christianity reach every condition; and in every state a man may live so as to be a credit to it. It is the duty of every Christian to be content with his lot, and to conduct himself in his rank and place as becomes a Christian. Our comfort and happiness depend on what we are to Christ, not what we are in the world. No man should think to make his faith or religion, an argument to break through any natural or civil obligations…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23Slavery shows the general idea mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 24. Slavery was common in the Greco-Roman world, and many Christian converts were slaves serving wealthy families. According to Paul, like circumcision, being a slave is not very important for a Christian. Even as a slave, a Christian is spiritually free from sin, death, and the law (see Romans 6:14; 7:4–6; 8:2). As a free person, the believer is still a servant of Christ (see Ephesians…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. be not ye--Greek, "become not ye." Paul here changes from "thou" (1Co 7:21) to "ye." Ye all are "bought" with the blood of Christ, whatever be your earthly state (1Co 6:20). "Become not servants to men," either externally, or spiritually; the former sense applying to the free alone: the latter to Christian freemen and slaves alike, that they should not be servile adherents to their party leaders at Corinth (1Co 3:21, 22; Mt 23:8-10; 2Co 11:20); nor…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:23

• God Continued...
• Holiness
• Marriage
• Redemption
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Abuse
• Attend
• Consent
• Contain
• Distraction
• Loose
• Mercy
• Revelation of Christ
• Snare
• Sorrow

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7

• 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
• 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