1 Corinthians 5:6

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Your	ὑμῶν hymōn	G5216	of (from or concerning) you
glorying	καύχημα kauchēma	G2745	a boast (properly · noun — nominative singular neuter
not	Οὐ Ou	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
good	καλὸν kalon	G2570	X better · adjective — nominative singular neuter
ye	εἴδω eídō	G1492	used only in certain past tenses
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
little	μικρὰ mikra	G3398	small (in size · adjective — nominative singular feminine
leaven	ζύμη zumē	G2219	ferment (as if boiling up) · noun — nominative singular feminine
leaveneth	ζυμοῖ; zumoi	G2220	to cause to ferment · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
whole	ὅλον holon	G3650	"whole" or "all" · adjective — accusative singular neuter
lump	φύραμα phurama	G5445	perhaps akin to G5453 (φύω) through the idea of swellin… · noun — accusative singular 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

Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
James 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
1 Corinthians 5:2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
Luke 13:21 It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
1 Corinthians 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1 Corinthians 4:18-19 Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till 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 5:1-6

Here the apostle states the case; and, I. Lets them know what was the common or general report concerning them, that one of their community was guilty of fornication, Co1 5:1. It was told in all places, to their dishonour, and the reproach of Christians. And it was the more reproachful because it could not be denied. Note, The heinous sins of professed Christians are quickly noted and noised abroad. We should walk circumspectly, for many eyes are upon us, and many mouths will be opened against us if we fall into any scandalous practice. This was not a common instance of fornication, but such as was not so much as named among the Gentiles, that a man should have his father's wife - either mar…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 5:6

Your glorying in your own attainments and those of your favorite teachers (Co1 3:21; Co1 4:19; Co1 5:2), while all the while ye connive at such a scandal, is quite unseemly. a little leaven leaveth . . . whole lump-- (Gal 5:9), namely, with present complicity in the guilt, and the danger of future contagion (Co1 15:33; Ti2 2:17).

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 5:6

Your glorying is not good - You are triumphing in your superior knowledge, and busily employed in setting up and supporting your respective teachers, while the Church is left under the most scandalous corruptions - corruptions which threaten its very existence if not purged away. Know ye not - With all your boasted wisdom, do you not know and acknowledge the truth of a common maxim, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? If this leaven - the incestuous person, be permitted to remain among you; if his conduct be not exposed by the most formidable censure; the flood-gates of impurity will be opened on the Church, and the whole state of Christianity ruined in Corinth.

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 5:6

Your glorying is not good,.... Their glorying in their outward flourishing condition, in their riches and wealth, and in their ministers, in their wisdom and parts when under such an humbling dispensation; and especially if their glorying was in the sin itself, and their connivance at it, it was far from being good, it was very criminal, as the consequence of it was dangerous: know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? This, in nature, is what everybody knows; and the proverb, which is much used by the Jews (f), was common in the mouths of all, and the meaning of it easy to be understood: thus, whether applied to the leaven of false doctrine, nothing is more manifest, than w…

The Church Fathers

Just as the sin of one person contaminates many, if it is not dealt with once it is known, so also does the sin of the many who know what is happening and either do not turn away from it or pretend that they have not noticed it. Sin does not look like sin if it is not corrected or avoided by anybody.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

It remains, therefore, that his meaning was, that that spirit which is accounted to exist in the Church must be presented "saved," that is, untainted by the contagion of impurities in the day of the Lord, by the ejection of the incestuous fornicator; if, that is, he subjoins: "Know ye not, that a little leaven spoileth the savour of the whole lump? " And yet incestuous fornication was not a little, but a large, leaven.
— Tertullian, On Modesty

Are women who think that, in furnishing to their neighbour that which is demanded of beauty, they are furnishing it to themselves also, to augment that (beauty) when (naturally) given them, and to strive after it when not (thus) given? Some one will say, "Why, then, if voluptuousness be shut out and chastity let in, may (we) not enjoy the praise of beauty alone, and glory in a bodily good? "Let whoever finds pleasure in "glorying in the flesh" see to that.
— Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women Book II

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

Leaven — (1.) Heb. seor (Ex. 12:15, 19; 13:7; Lev. 2:11), the remnant of dough from the preceding baking which had fermented and become acid. (2.) Heb. hamets, properly “ferment.” In Num. 6:3, “vinegar of…
Passover — The name given to the chief of the three great historical annual festivals of the Jews. It was kept in remembrance of the Lord’s passing over the houses of the Israelites (Ex. 12:13) when the first…
Adultery · 29:22,23; — 29:22,23;
Backsliders · .Corinthian Christians — .Corinthian Christians
Company · EVIL — EVIL
Influence · EVIL — EVIL
Leaven · Diffusive properties of — Diffusive properties of
Leaven (Yeast) · A symbol for sin — A symbol for sin
Pride · 4:1; — 4:1;

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 5:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 5:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 5:6

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 5:6

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 5:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 5:6

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 5:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 5:6

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 5:6

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 5:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 5:6-7