1 Corinthians 10:21

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.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Ye	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
cannot	δύνασθε dunasthe	G1410	to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
drink	πίνειν pinein	G4095	to imbibe (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active infinitive
cup	ποτήριον potērion	G4221	a drinking-vessel · noun — accusative singular neuter
Lord	κυρίου kuriou	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
cup	ποτήριον potērion	G4221	a drinking-vessel · noun — accusative singular neuter
devils	δαιμονίων· daimoniōn	G1140	a dæmonic being · noun — genitive plural neuter
ye	οὐ ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
cannot	δύνασθε dunasthe	G1410	to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 2nd person plural
partakers	μετέχειν metechein	G3348	to share or participate · verb — present active infinitive
Lord’s	κυρίου kuriou	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
table	τραπέζης trapezēs	G5132	a table or stool (as being four-legged) · noun — genitive singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
table	τραπέζης trapezēs	G5132	a table or stool (as being four-legged) · noun — genitive singular feminine
devils	δαιμονίων. daimoniōn	G1140	a dæmonic being · noun — genitive plural neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Y…
1 Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then foll…
2 Corinthians 6:15-17 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Isaiah 65:11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offerin…
1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the…
Deuteronomy 32:37-38 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
1 Corinthians 8:10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened t…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 10:15-22

In this passage the apostle urges the general caution against idolatry, in the particular case of eating the heathen sacrifices as such, and out of any religious respect to the idol to whom they were sacrificed. I. He prefaces his argument with an appeal to their own reason and judgment: "I speak to wise men, judge you what I say, Co1 10:15. You are great pretenders to wisdom, to close reasoning and argument; I can leave it with your own reason and conscience whether I do not argue justly." Note, It is no dishonour to an inspired teacher, nor disadvantage to his argument, to appeal for the truth of it to the reason and consciences of his hearers. It comes upon them with the greater force whe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 10:21

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord--really and spiritually; though ye may outwardly (Kg1 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 Christ once for all. The Lord's Supper stands, however, in the same relation, analogically, to Christ's sacrifice, as the Jews' sacrificial feasts did to their sacrifices (compare Mal 1:7, "altar . . . table of the Lord"), and the heathen idol fe…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 10:21

Ye 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 various accounts. See my Discourse on the Holy Eucharist, where many examples are produced. The following from Virgil, Aen. viii, verse 179-273, is proof in point: - Tum lecti juvenes certatim araeque sacerdos Viscera tosta ferunt taurorum…

The Church Fathers

Anyone who drinks the cup of demons insults the cup of Christ, and anyone who eats at the table of demons revolts against the table of Christ, that is to say, the altar of the Lord, and crucifies his body again.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

That we are not saying this dishonestly, our former letters have proved, wherein we have declared our opinion to you with a very plain statement, both against those who had betrayed themselves as unfaithful by the unlawful presentation of wicked certificates, as if they thought that they would escape those esnaring nets of the devil; whereas, not less than if they had approached to the wicked altars.
— Cyprian, Epistle XXX

Next, because he brought in the saying by way of exhortation, lest any of the grosser sort should make light of it as having license, because he said, "I would not," and, "judge ye;" he positively affirms in what follows and lays down the law, saying, "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons: ye cannot partake of the Lord's table, and of the table of demons." And he contents himself with the mere terms, for the purpose of keeping them away.
— John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 24

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Cup — A wine-cup (Gen. 40:11, 21), various forms of which are found on Assyrian and Egyptian monuments. All Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold (1 Kings 10: 21). The cups mentioned in the New Testament…
Communion Of The Lord’s Supper · Partakers of, be wholly separate to God — Partakers of, be wholly separate to God
Consistency · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Cup · Used in the institution of the Lord’s Supper — Used in the institution of the Lord’s Supper
Demons · Worship of — Worship of
Eucharist (The Lord’s Supper) · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Holiness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Table · .Of the Lord’ s supper — .Of the Lord’ s supper

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Corinthians 10:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 10:15-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 10:21

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 10:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 10:21

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 10:15-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 10:21

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 10:21

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 10:21

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 10:19-24

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 10:21