1 Corinthians 16 is the sixteenth and final chapter of the

First Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. It is authored by

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and

Sosthenes Sosthenes (Greek: Σωσθένης, ''Sōsthénēs'', "safe in strength") was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth, who, according to the Acts of the Apostles, was seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor ...

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

, composed between 52–55 CE, and sent to the church in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition, Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. This chapter contains the closing statements of the letter, with Paul's travel plans, final instructions, and greetings. Verse 8 confirms that Paul was in Ephesus when the letter was composed, and

verse 21 Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict mete ...

confirms that the majority of the letter was scribed by an

amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 24 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(AD 325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(~450; complete). *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(~450; extant verses 1–2, 12–13) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing p ...

(~550)

Arranging the collection (16:1–4)

Verses 1–4 discuss the fifth matter the Corinthians wrote about (others previously being in 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1) regarding the money collected for the poor

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Paul's travel arrangements (16:5–9)

In verses 5–9, Paul details that he expects to spend the winter in Corinth, to get them participating in his future ministry, and also desires to visit Rome, but he planned to remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, due to a good evangelistic opportunities in that city.

Timothy's proposed visit (16:10–11)

In verses 10–11, Paul asks that Timothy is to be well received when he comes to visit them, be protected from enmity and be given provision of his needs for travel.

The return of Apollos (16:12–14)

The sixth and final matter the Corinthians wrote is to ask for the return of Apollos, but it is clear from 1:12; 3:4; 4:6 that the motives could be suspect, that is, as an alternative of Paul's return. Nonetheless, Paul urges Apollos to go. On the other hand, Apollos responded that "it was not at all the will that he now come" and "he will come when he has the opportunity" (), suggesting that Apollos understood the bad timing to accept the invitation ("would not be in the interests of the congregation") at this time of tension between Paul and the church there. Interestingly, "Apollos was content for Paul to reply on his behalf".

The godly example of the household of Stephanas (16:15–18)

In verses 15–18, the members of the household of Stephanas were "the earliest fruits of Paul's ministry in Corinth, and they have used their resources to help God's people" (cf 1:2). Paul has experienced in Ephesus how Stephanas ministered to the needs, together with Fortunatus and Achaicus, as their arrivals gave joy to Paul while he was separated from the church in Corinth.

Final greetings (16:19–24)

In verses 19–24, Paul forwards the greetings of the churches in the province of Asia, of which Ephesus is the capital, as his ministry has expanded beyond that one city. Other co-workers also sent their greetings, including Priscilla and Aquila, and Paul calls the Corinthians to greet each other "as members of a holy brotherhood". Almost to the end, Paul himself took the pen and wrote his personal blessings, as well as curse to those who preach another gospel (cf. Galatians 1:8–9), but ended the letter with the greeting of grace as he added his love in Jesus to the congregation, despite their attitudes towards him, to follow the example of Jesus's love, that never changes.

Verse 19

*"Asia" (Greek: ) in the narrower sense, only the western coastlands of Asia Minor, (see on Acts 2:9)Meyer's NT Testament. 1 Corinthians 16
Accessed 24 April 2019 or Lydian Asia, where Ephesus is the capital.Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew Robert; Brown, David. '' Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary On the Whole Bible''
"1 Corinthians 16"
1871.

Verse 21

This statement suggests that the majority of this epistle may have actually been scribed by someone else, and many interpreters suggest that

was the

of the Epistle (see 1 Corinthians 1:1).

Verse 22

*"Lord Jesus Christ": The Vulgate Latin, the Syriac and Ethiopian versions read "our Lord". *"Anathema": Hebrew: ; signifies "anything separated and devoted to holy uses" as also used in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

in Leviticus 27:28, and in Luke 21:5. If isolated to any other purposes, may entail a curse on persons, so it is often translated "accursed", as in Romans 9:3; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Galatians 1:8–9. Here it is suggested that the persons who do not love Jesus as the Lord should be separated from their communion, as rendered in the Arabic version, "let him be separated", i.e., from the church. *"

Maranatha __NOTOC__ ''Maranatha'' (Aramaic: ') is an Aramaic phrase which occurs once in the New Testament (). It also appears in Didache 10:14. It is transliterated into Greek letters rather than translated and, given the nature of early manuscripts, the ...

": consisting of two words, ''maran atha'', "our Lord comes", as added by the apostle Paul. The Ethiopian version, joining it with the former word, renders the whole "let him be anathema in the coming of our Lord".''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'', – 1 Corinthians 16:22
/ref>

References

Sources

* *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{First Epistle to the Corinthians 16