English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 10:17
17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
- New Living Translation (NLT)And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body.
Context of 1 Corinthians 10:17
15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
Read all of 1 Corinthians 101 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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:17
- 1 Corinthians 12:12For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
- Romans 12:5so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
- Galatians 3:26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
- Ephesians 1:22And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
- Ephesians 2:15by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
- Ephesians 3:6This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
- Ephesians 4:12to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
- Ephesians 4:25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
- Colossians 2:19and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
- Colossians 3:11Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
- 1 Corinthians 10:3and all ate the same spiritual food,
- 1 Corinthians 11:26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the 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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries