1 Corinthians 10:21

1 Corinthians 10:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.
• New Living Translation (NLT)You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too.

Context of 1 Corinthians 10:21

19Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.

1 Corinthians 10:21 word by word

οὐ δύνασθε ποτήριον κυρίου πίνειν καὶ ποτήριον δαιμονίων· οὐ δύνασθε τραπέζης κυρίου μετέχειν καὶ τραπέζης δαιμονίων.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye cannotοὐou · noG3756
• Ye cannotδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
• drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095
• the cupποτήριονpotērion · cupG4221
• of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• of devilsδαιμόνιονdaimonion · demonG1140
• be partakersμετέχωmetechō · to shareG3348
• tableτράπεζαtrapeza · tableG5132

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 10:21

• 1 Corinthians 10:16Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
• 1 Corinthians 8:10For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?
• Deuteronomy 32:37He will say: “Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in,
• 1 Kings 18:21Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing.
• Matthew 6:24“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
• 2 Corinthians 6:15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 10:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord - It is in vain that you who frequent these idol festivals profess the religion of Christ, and commemorate his death and passion in the holy eucharist; for you can not have that fellowship with Christ which this ordinance implies, while you are partakers of the table of demons. That the Gentiles, in their sacrifices, fed on the slain beasts, and ate bread and drank wine in honor of their gods, is sufficiently clear from…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord … - This does not mean that they had no physical ability to do this, or that it was a natural impossibility; for they certainly had power to do it. But it must mean that they could not “consistently” do it. It was not fit, proper, decent. They were solemnly bound to serve and obey Christ, they had devoted themselves to him, and they could not, consistently with these obligations, join in the worship of demons. This is a…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. 21Believers should avoid joining in religious meals in a pagan temple (see 8:10). Those united with the Lord (Christ) cannot also unite with demons (see 2 Corinthians 6:14–16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord--really and spiritually; though ye may outwardly (1Ki 18:21). cup of devils--in contrast to the cup of the Lord. At idol feasts libations were usually made from the cup to the idol first, and then the guests drank; so that in drinking they had fellowship with the idol. the Lord's table--The Lord's Supper is a feast on a table, not a sacrifice on an altar. Our only altar is the cross, our only sacrifice that of…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 10:21

• Consistency
• Cup
• Demons
• Holiness
• Idolatry
• Table

In the dictionaries

• Admonition
• Cup
• Lust
• Meekness
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Jude, the Epistle of
• Lord's Supper; (eucharist)
• Paul, the Apostle
• Table
• pagan

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