1 Corinthians 5:1-6:11

English Standard Version

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is ^(A)sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, ^(B)for a man has his father's wife. ² And ^(C)you are arrogant! Ought you ^(D)not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

³ For though ^(E)absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. ⁴ When you are assembled ^(F)in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ you are ^(G)to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so ^(H)that his spirit may be saved ^(I)in the day of the Lord.^[a]

^6 (J)Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that ^(K)a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Let us therefore celebrate the festival, ^(L)not with the old leaven, ^(M)the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter ^(N)not to associate with sexually immoral people— ^10 (O)not at all meaning ^(P)the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, ^(Q)since then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone ^(R)who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹² For what have I to do with judging ^(S)outsiders? ^(T)Is it not those inside the church^[b] whom you are to judge? ¹³ God judges^[c] those outside. ^(U)“Purge the evil person from among you.”

Lawsuits Against Believers

6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous ^(V)instead of the saints? ² Or do you not know that ^(W)the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! ⁴ So if you have such cases, ^(X)why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? ^5 (Y)I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, ⁶ but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? ⁷ To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^(Z)Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸ But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even ^(AA)your own brothers!^[d]

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous^[e] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: ^(AB)neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,^{[f] 10} nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And ^(AC)such were some of you. But ^(AD)you were washed, ^(AE)you were sanctified, ^(AF)you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.