Christian Standard Bible
1 Corinthians 7:23
23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people.
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 called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity. 22For he who is called by the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people. 24Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called. 25Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is faithful.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 71 Corinthians 7:23 word by word
τιμῆς ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:23
- 1 Corinthians 6:20for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.
- Leviticus 25:42They are not to be sold as slaves, because they are my servants that I brought out of the land of Egypt.
- Acts 20:28Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood.
- 1 Peter 1:18For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold,
- 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
- Revelation 5:9And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.
- Matthew 23:8“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ because you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters.
- Galatians 2:4This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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