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 speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. 18Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar? 19Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, 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

• Becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520
• loafἄρτοςartos · breadG740
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• we all partakeπᾶςpas · allG3956
• we all partakeμετέχωmetechō · to shareG3348
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:17

• 1 Corinthians 12:12The body is a unit, though it is composed of many parts. And although its parts are many, they all form one body. So it is with Christ.
• Romans 12:5so in Christ we who are many are one body, and each member belongs to one another.
• Galatians 3:26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 1:22And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
• Ephesians 2:15by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace
• Ephesians 3:6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
• Ephesians 4:12to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
• Ephesians 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
• Colossians 2:19He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.
• Colossians 3:11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
• 1 Corinthians 10:3They all ate the same spiritual food
• 1 Corinthians 11:26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

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