2 Now I want to praise you for remembering my teaching and way of life always, and for faithfully adhering to the body of true teaching precisely as I handed it on to you. 3 Yet I want you to understand that the Messiah is the head, indeed, of every man. A man+ is the head, moreover, of his wife,+ and the head of the Messiah is God. 4 If a man prays or prophesies with a covering, then, hanging down from his head, he is bringing shame upon the Messiah, his head. 5 If any woman, however, prays or prophesies without a covering over her head, she is bringing shame upon her husband, her head; it is no less disgraceful than if her head were shaven. 6 Indeed, if a woman refuses to cover her head, she might as well just have her hair cut off. Now if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved, then she should wear a covering. 7 A man, you see, should not cover his head, since it is the image and glory of God that he reflects. As for the woman, it is the glory of the man that she reflects. 8 The man was not made from the woman, you see, but the woman from the man; 9 and man was not created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is the reason why a woman needs to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 In any case, woman’s existence is intricately tied to that of man, and man’s existence is intricately tied to that of woman, by the design of the Lord. 12 Just as woman, you see, was originally made from man, so also man comes into the world through woman. And all things come from God. 13 Weigh it out for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Doesn’t the very order of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is for him a shame? 15 If a woman, however, has long hair, it is for her an honor, because her long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 But if someone wants to be in regard to this matter contentious, I would simply add that we ourselves have no other practice, nor do God’s assemblies.

17 Now in the instructions I am about to give I cannot speak in praise of you, because it is not for the better, but for the worse, that you meet together. 18 To begin with, I’ve received news that there are in your gatherings divisions, and to a degree I believe it 19 (since even factions are themselves to be expected among you, so that which ones of you are approved as genuine upon examination may become evident). 20 When you meet together as a group, therefore, it isn’t the Lord’s supper that you are eating. 21 Each person, you see, just goes ahead before the others arrive and starts eating his own supper, leaving one person without anything to eat, while someone else gets drunk. 22 Surely you can eat and drink in your homes, can’t you? Or do you against God’s assembly dare show contempt, by humiliating those who are in need? What am I supposed to say to you? Should I praise you? In this matter I do not.

23 For I received from the Lord the tradition that I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took some bread, 24 and after giving thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body, which is about to be offered up for you.+ This continue to observe in rememberance of me.” 25 In the same way, he also took the cup of wine after they had eaten and said, “This cup is the new covenant, in my blood. This continue to observe, whenever you drink it, in rememberance of me.” 26 Every time you eat this bread, you see, and from the cup drink, it is the Lord’s death that you are proclaiming, until he comes again.

27 So then, if someone eats the bread or drinks from the cup of the Lord in a dishonorable manner, he will be guilty of profaning the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 A person must first examine himself, and only then eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 If someone eats and drinks without careful regard for the sacredness of the Lord’s body, you see, it is punishment that he brings on himself as he eats and drinks. 30 That is the reason why many of you are ailing and sick, and why a considerable number have even died. 31 If it were ourselves that we were examining, however, we would not be punished. 32 Yet when we are punished by the Lord, we are being disciplined, so that we will not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you gather to eat, wait for one another. 34 If someone is hungry, home is the place where he is to eat, so that your meetings don’t result for you in punishment. As for the other matters, I will give instructions about them whenever I come.