1 Corinthians 3:17

If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
If	εἴ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
man	τις tis	G5100	some or any person or object · indefinite pronoun — nominative singular masculine
defile	φθείρει, phtheirei	G5351	properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
temple	ναὸν naon	G3485	a fane · noun — accusative singular masculine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
him	τοῦτον toûton	G5126	this (person
shall	φθερεῖ phtherei	G5351	properly · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person singular
God	θεός· theos	G2316	figuratively · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
destroy	φθείρω phtheírō	G5351	properly
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
temple	ναὸς naos	G3485	a fane · noun — nominative singular masculine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
holy	ἅγιός hagios	G40	sacred (physically · adjective — nominative singular masculine
which	οἵτινές oitines	G3748	which some · relative pronoun — nominative plural masculine
ye	ὑμεῖς hymeîs	G5210	you (as subjective of verb)
are	ἐστέ esté	G2075	ye are

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

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
Ezekiel 43:12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law o…
Numbers 19:20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath def…
Ezekiel 7:22 My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret place: for the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
Ezekiel 5:11 Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine…
Ezekiel 23:38-39 Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
Leviticus 20:3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defil…
Psalms 79:1 O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Here the apostle resumes his argument and exhortation, founding it on his former allusion, You are God's building, Co1 3:9, and here, Know you not that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile (corrupt and destroy) the temple of God, him shall God destroy (the same word is in the original in both clauses); for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. It looks from other parts of the epistle, where the apostle argues to the very same purport (see Co1 6:13-20), as if the false teachers among the Corinthians were not only loose livers, but taught licentious doctrines, and what was particularly fitted to the taste of this lewd city, on the head…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 3:17

If any . . . defile . . . destroy--rather as the Greek verb is the same in both cases, "destroy . . . destroy." God repays in kind by a righteous retaliation. The destroyer shall himself be destroyed. As temporal death was the penalty of marring the material temple (Lev 16:2; Dan 5:2-3, Dan 5:30), so eternal death is the penalty of marring the spiritual temple--the Church. The destroyers here (Co1 3:16-17), are distinct from the unwise or unskilful builders (Co1 3:12, Co1 3:15); the latter held fast the "foundation" (Co1 3:11), and, therefore, though they lose their work of superstructure and the special reward, yet they are themselves saved; the destroyers, on the contrary, assailed with fa…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 3:17

If any man defile the temple - This clause is not consistently translated. Ει τις τον ναον του Θεου φθειρει, φθερει τουτον ὁ Θεος If any man destroy the temple of God, him will God destroy. The verb is the same in both clauses. If any man injure, corrupt, or destroy the Church of God by false doctrine, God will destroy him - will take away his part out of the book of life. This refers to him who wilfully opposes the truth; the erring, mistaken man shall barely escape; but the obstinate opposer shall be destroyed. The former shall be treated leniently; the latter shall have judgment without mercy.

The Church Fathers

Paul says this in order to prick the consciences of those who have corrupted their bodies through evil living, especially the man who was having an affair with his father's wife..
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

But "if any man defile the temple of God, he shall be himself destroyed" -of course, by the God of the temple. If you threaten an avenger, you threaten us with the Creator.
— Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V

"If any man destroy the Temple of God, him will God destroy." Dost thou mark the sweeping vehemence of his words? However, so long as the person is unknown, what is spoken is not so invidious, all dividing among themselves the fear of rebuke. "Him will God destroy," that is, will cause him to perish. And this is not the word of one denouncing a curse, but of one that prophesieth. "For the Temple of God is holy:" but he that hath committed fornication is profane. Then, in order that he might not seem to spend his earnestness upon that one, in saying, "for the Temple of God is holy," he addeth, "which ye are."
— John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 9

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

Temple — First used of the tabernacle, which is called “the temple of the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:9). In the New Testament the word is used figuratively of Christ’s human body (John 2:19, 21). Believers are called…
Chastity · Breach of, punished — Breach of, punished
Church, The · Defiling of, will be punished — Defiling of, will be punished
Defilement · Illustrative: Of unholy doctrines — Illustrative: Of unholy doctrines
Excellency And Glory Of The Church, The · Consist in its: Being the temple of God — Consist in its: Being the temple of God
Holiness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
House Of God · Holy — Holy
Sacrilege · Forbid — Forbid
Titles And Names Of The Church · Temple of God — Temple of God

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 3:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 3:17

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 3:17

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 3:17

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 3:17

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 3:17

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 3:16–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 3:16-17