Chapter 11

1Follow my example, just as I follow the Messiah’s example.

2I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the teachings I passed on to you.

3But I want you to understand that Christ stands as the head over every man, a man stands as the head in relation to a woman, and God stands as the head over Christ.

4Any man who prays or speaks a message from God with his head covered dishonors his head.

5But any woman who prays or speaks a message from God with her head uncovered dishonors her head. It is just as disgraceful as having her head shaved.

6If a woman will not cover her head, she might as well cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, she should cover her head.

7A man should not cover his head, because he is an image of God and reflects God’s greatness. But a woman reflects the greatness of man.

8For man did not come from woman; woman came from man.

9And man was not created for woman; woman was created for man.

10For this reason, and because of the angels, a woman ought to have authority over her own head.

11Still, in the Lord, woman does not exist independently of man, and man does not exist independently of woman.

12Just as woman came from man, so every man is born through a woman. But everything comes from God.

13Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

14Does not nature itself teach you that long hair is a disgrace for a man,

15but an honor for a woman? Her long hair has been given to her as a covering.

16If anyone wants to argue about this, we do not make a practice of such arguing, and neither do God’s congregations.

17As I give the following instruction, I do not praise you, because your gatherings do more harm than good.

18First, I hear that when you gather as a congregation, there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.

19Indeed, factions must arise among you so that those who have proven trustworthy may become clearly known.

20So when you gather in one place, what you eat is not really the Lord’s Supper.

21As you eat, each person rushes to eat their own meal. As a result, one person goes hungry while another gets drunk.

22Do you not have homes where you can eat and drink? Or do you treat God’s congregation with contempt and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Should I praise you? I certainly do not praise you for this.

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over, he took bread.

24After giving thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this to remember me.”

25In the same way, after the meal he took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant—the new binding relationship with God—established by my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this to remember me.”

26For whenever you eat this bread and drink from the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27Therefore, whoever eats the Lord’s bread or drinks from his cup in a way that dishonors the occasion will be guilty of wronging the Lord’s body and blood.

28Each person should examine themselves first, and then eat some of the bread and drink from the cup.

29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the significance of the body eats and drinks God’s judgment upon themselves.

30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and quite a few have died.

31But if we examined ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.

32When the Lord judges us, he corrects us so that we will not be condemned along with the rest of the world.

33So, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, wait for one another.

34If anyone is hungry, that person should eat at home, so that your gathering does not bring judgment on you. I will give directions about the remaining matters when I come.