1 Corinthians 10:19

1 Corinthians 10:19 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?
• New International Version (NIV)Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?
• English Standard Version (ESV)What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
• New King James Version (NKJV)What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything?

Context of 1 Corinthians 10:19

17We are many people, but all of us eat part of the same loaf of bread. That shows that we are one group of people. We belong together because Christ died on our behalf. 18Think about Israel's people. They eat part of the animals that the priests offer on the altar as a sacrifice. This shows that they share together in the sacrifice. So think about food that people offer to idols as a sacrifice. I am not saying that the idols are real gods. The food that people offer to them is not special food. 20But the people who offer food to idols are worshipping demons. They are not worshipping God when they do that. I do not want you to share in what they do to worship demons. 21If you drink anything from the cup of demons, you can not then drink wine from the Lord's cup. If you share a meal with demons, you can not also share in the Lord's meal.

1 Corinthians 10:19 word by word

Τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ἢ ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• say Iφημίphēmi · to assertG5346
• thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• the idolεἴδωλονeidōlon · idolG1497
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• any thingτιςtis · oneG5100
• orἤē · orG2228
• that which is offered in sacrifice to idolsεἰδωλόθυτοςeidōlothuton · sacrificed to idolsG1494

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:19

• 1 Corinthians 1:28God chose to use things that people think are useless. People who belong to this world do not like those things. They think that they have no value. God did this so that the things that seem important would become unimportant.
• 1 Corinthians 3:7The person who plants the seeds is not important. The person who gives water to the plants is not important. The important person is God, because he causes everything to grow.
• 1 Corinthians 8:4So think about food that people have offered to idols. You ask, ‘Should Christians eat that food?’ We know that no idol is really alive. We also know that there is only one God.
• 1 Corinthians 13:2I may be able to speak messages from God. I may understand all God's secret things, and know all the facts. I may have great faith so that I trust God enough to move mountains. But I am nothing if I do not love others.
• Deuteronomy 32:21They have made me jealous as they serve false gods. They have made me angry as they worship useless idols. So I will make them jealous as I help a useless nation. I will make them angry as I bless a foolish nation.
• Isaiah 40:17All the nations in the world are not important to the Lord. He sees them as empty and useless.
• Isaiah 41:29Look! All the idols are useless. They can do nothing. Their images are as weak as a breath of wind.’
• 2 Corinthians 12:11I am speaking like a proud fool, but you have made me do it. You yourselves should be saying good things about me. I may not be important. But I am as good as those very special apostles.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:19

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 19What say I then? - A Jewish phrase for, I conclude; and this is his conclusion: that although an idol is nothing, has neither power nor influence, nor are things offered to idols any thing the worse for being thus offered; yet, as the things sacrificed by the Gentiles are sacrificed to demons and not to God, those who partake of them have fellowship with demons: those who profess Christianity cannot have fellowship both with Christ and the devil.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19What say I then? - This is in the present tense; ́ ̓͂ ti oun phēmiwhat do I say? What is my meaning? What follows from this? Do I mean to say that an idol is anything; that it has a real existence? Does my reasoning lead to that conclusion; and am I to be understood as affirming that an idol is of itself of any consequence? It must be recollected that the Corinthian Christians are introduced by Paul 1 Corinthians 8:4 as saying that they knew that an idol…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 10:19

• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Admonition
• Lust
• Meekness
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Food
• Jude, the Epistle of
• 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