The Holy Bible – Knox Translation
The First Epistle of the Blessed Apostle Paul to the Corinthians
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Chapter 5
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1
Why, there are reports of incontinence among you, and such incontinence as is not practised even among the heathen; a man taking to himself his father’s wife.
2
And you, it seems, have been contumacious over it, instead of deploring it, and expelling the man who has been guilty of such a deed from your company.
3
For myself, though I am not with you in person, I am with you in spirit; and, so present with you, I have already passed sentence on the man who has acted thus.
4
Call an assembly, at which I will be present in spirit, with all the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5
hand over the person named to Satan, for the overthrow of his corrupt nature, so that his spirit may find salvation in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.✻
vv. 3-5: Either St Paul directs the Corinthians to meet, as if in his presence, and condemn the delinquent; or he has already passed sentence, as if in the presence of the Corinthian assembly, and he is only calling upon them to give the sentence its effect. In either case, the authority of the Apostle is strongly emphasized. The punishment inflicted is evidently that of excommunication; and some commentators think that the effect of this was to be physical harm (such as disease) inflicted by Satan on the offender. But this is not certain; St Paul alludes to the destruction or overthrow, not of the body (corpus), but of the flesh (caro), by which he commonly means the natural (as opposed to the spiritual) principle in man.
6
This good conceit of yourselves is ill grounded. Have you never been told that a little leaven is enough to leaven the whole batch?
7
Rid yourselves of the leaven which remains over, so that you may be a new mixture, still uncontaminated as you are. Has not Christ been sacrificed for us, our paschal victim?✻
Ex. 12.15; during the days of unleavened bread, the Jews were not allowed to have any leaven at all in their houses. It is probable that St Paul wrote his letter, or expected it to be received, about Eastertide (Cf. 16.8 below).
8
Let us keep the feast, then, not with the leaven of yesterday, that was all vice and mischief, but with unleavened bread, with purity and honesty of intent.
9
In the letter I wrote to you, I told you to avoid the company of fornicators;
10
not meaning everyone in the world around you who is debauched, or a miser, or an extortioner, or an idolater; to do that, you would have to cut yourselves off from the world altogether.
11
No, my letter meant that if anyone who is counted among the brethren is debauched, or a miser, or an idolater, or bitter of speech, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, you must avoid his company; you must not even sit at table with him.
12
Why should I claim jurisdiction over those who are without? No, it is for you to pass judgement within your own number,
13
leaving God to judge those who are without. Banish, then, the offender from your company.
