1 COR 5:7 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–13: Paul commanded the believers to punish the immoral church member

Someone had told Paul that one of the men in the church in Corinth had been having sexual relations with his father’s wife, that is, his step-mother. Paul wrote that the believers must punish this man by expelling him from the church. They should not allow this man to meet with them when they gathered to worship God together. Paul urged the Corinthians to keep away from people who called themselves believers but continually committed grave sins. The main point of this section is that the Corinthians were to judge and discipline the man within their fellowship who was sinning.

Paragraph 5:6–8

In this section, Paul referred to two Jewish feasts. The Passover Feast was held each year in remembrance of the time that the Israelites departed from Egypt. Its name comes from the way the angel of death “passed over” each family that had placed the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. After celebrating the Passover, the Jewish people celebrated a second feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It lasted for seven days. It was called this because people ate bread made without yeast.

Paul assumed that the Corinthian believers knew about these Jewish holidays. But the people who read your translation may not know about them. In your translation you may want to use a dictionary/glossary or footnotes to explain the Jewish customs of Passover and Unleavened Bread.Here are some brief explanations about Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and yeast. You may want to put information like this into a dictionary (glossary) in the back of your translation, or in a footnote at 1 Corinthians 5:6–8, to explain background information to your readers.Passover: On the day of Passover, the Jewish people remember the day that God freed them from being slaves in Egypt long ago. We read this story in Exodus 12. On that day long ago, God punished the Egyptian people so they would allow the Jewish people to go free. Here is what he did. First he gave the Jewish people these instructions: Each family was to kill a lamb and put its blood on the sides and top of the doorway of their house. Then they were to stay inside the house all night, cook the lamb and eat it. On that same night, God killed every firstborn son in the land of Egypt. But he did not kill anyone who was in a house where there was the blood of a lamb on the door. In the NT, Jesus was killed at the time of the Passover feast (Matthew 26:2; Luke 22:1; John 13:1). Jesus is like a lamb that the Jewish people killed at Passover time, because he died in our place, so that God would not punish us for our sins. See John 1:29, 36; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19; Revelation 5; Isaiah 53:6–7; Acts 8:32–35.Feast of Unleavened Bread: This is the name of a special holiday of the Jewish people. Every year they removed all yeast from their houses. They ate bread made with no yeast. They did this beginning on the day of Passover and for the seven days that followed (Exodus 12:15–20). This custom reminded them of the time when they left Egypt long ago. At that time long ago, God caused the Egyptian people to free the Jewish people from being slaves. They left Egypt quickly and did not have time to put yeast in their bread dough (Exodus 12:39).Yeast: This is a sort of fungus that is mixed with flour. When the flour is mixed with water and sugar, the yeast causes the mixture to get bigger. A very small amount of yeast will affect a large amount of flour, water and sugar. In the NT, yeast is often a symbol of evil behavior. See Matthew 16:6–12; Mark 8:15–21; Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 5:9. But in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20–21, yeast is a symbol of how God’s kingdom becomes bigger.

In these verses Paul used the Passover lamb and yeast as symbols/metaphors. First, the Passover feast was a reminder of the joy and the freedom from slavery that the Jewish people experienced after God delivered them from the power of the Egyptian king. Slavery can be compared to the bondage that sinning causes us to experience, so the metaphor of Passover refers to a new life of freedom from sin. Second, just as the Jewish people removed yeast from their houses, so the Corinthian believers should remove the immoral man from their church group (5:7a), because the immoral man was like yeast among the believers. Believers should stop behaving in evil ways (5:8).

5:7a-c

This verse continues the metaphor of the yeast. Consider whether your readers would understand that the yeast refers to sin. There are several ways of translating it:

literally, keeping the metaphor. For example:
Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough—you are, in fact, without yeast. (NET)
explaining something of the meaning of the metaphor. For example, the GNT has made it clear that the expression “old yeast” refers to sin:
You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast… (GNT)
removing the metaphor and translating the meaning. For example:
Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. (NLT)

Consider how much explanation is necessary to make it possible for your readers to understand what Paul was saying.

5:7a

Get rid of the old leaven,

Remove the old yeast of sin
Just as the Jews remove all yeast from their houses before they celebrate the Passover feast, so you should remove/expel this immoral man from your group.

Get rid of the old leaven: At the time of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, the Jewish people carefully removed all the old leaven from their homes and then for seven days they ate bread that had no leaven in it. But in this context this is a figure of speech. Paul did not really want the Corinthian to throw leaven out of their houses. The leaven is a symbol of sin, and Paul wanted the Corinthians to get rid of the sin in their church. He wanted them to stop allowing wrongdoing to go on among the people in the church. This would mean expelling from the church the man who had married his step-mother.

5:7b

that you may be a new unleavened batch,

so that you may become like bread that has no yeast in it, that is, a pure church.
Then you will be holy/pure, like new bread made without yeast,

that you may be a new unleavened batch: This is a purpose clause. Paul said that the Corinthian believers were to throw out the old leaven in order that they might be a new unleavened batch. The phrase a new…batch means a new piece or lump of dough. This is an illustration of a pure and holy church. Another way to translate this is:

Then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast (CEV)

so that you may be like a new batch of bread made without leaven

5:7c

as you really are.

God has indeed made you clean/pure.
just as you really are God’s holy/special people.

as you really are: The phrase as you really are here means “as you really are new bread without yeast.” This continues the figure of speech. Paul was saying that Christ had forgiven the Corinthians’ sin and made them clean on the inside. They had been cleansed from their sin and therefore they really were God’s holy people. So they should act like it.

5:7d

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

For Christ has been sacrificed for us^(incl), like a Passover lamb.
For Christ has died as our^(incl) sacrifice, our^(incl) Passover Lamb.
For Christ died to set us^(incl) free from our^(incl) sins. He is like the lamb that the Jews kill/sacrifice at Passover time.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed: Paul gave the reason for saying that the Corinthians were unleavened or pure. The Corinthians were like a new batch of bread made without yeast because Christ had already been sacrificed for their sins. Christ had already died as their complete payment for sin. He had set them free from being slaves to their old life of sin. This is illustrated by the Passover story. The Jewish people left their life of slavery in Egypt as soon as they had sacrificed their Passover Lamb.

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed: This is a metaphor taken from the Jewish Passover Feast. Passover was the feast/holiday that the Jewish people celebrated immediately before the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On Passover they sacrificed a lamb (young sheep), and then immediately began to use only bread made without yeast for seven days. You can read about those two feasts in Exodus 12:3–8, 14–20 and Leviticus 23:5–7.

This is a passive clause. There are two ways of translating it:

with a passive verb. For example:
Our Passover Lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed. (CEV)
with an active verb. For example:
Christ, our passover lamb, has died as our sacrifice.
Christ has become our sacrifice, our passover lamb.
They have already sacrificed Christ, who is our passover lamb.

Christ, our Passover lamb: Christ is like a Passover lamb in several ways. The lamb was killed at the first Passover so that God’s people, the Hebrews, would not be killed when God’s angel killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt. In the same way, Christ was killed so that God’s people will not be punished for their sins. Also, on the day that the Hebrews killed the Passover lamb, they were set free from slavery in Egypt. In the same way, Christ died to set us free from being slaves to sin. See the endnote on 5:6–8. In some languages it may be natural to translate this metaphor as a simile:

Christ is like our Passover Lamb

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἐκκαθάρατε τὴν παλαιὰν ζύμην, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα, καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι καὶ γὰρ τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη, Χριστός

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐκκαθάρατε τήν παλαιάν ζύμην ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα καθώς ἐστέ ἄζυμοι καί Γάρ τό Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός)

Just as in [5:6](../05/06.md) and [5:8](../05/08.md), Paul is thinking about the Jewish festival of Passover. During this festival, people would remove all the yeast from their houses and only bake unleavened bread, that is, bread that is not fermented. Additionally, a lamb would be sacrificed and eaten. The lamb would remind the people about how God had delivered them from slavery in the land of Egypt. See [Exodus 12:1–28](../exo/12/01.md). If your readers would not infer this information, you could include a footnote that explains Passover and how it relates to yeast and a lamb.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor

ἐκκαθάρατε τὴν παλαιὰν ζύμην, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα, καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι

Here Paul speaks about how Jews would clean out the old yeast during the festival of Passover and only bake unleavened bread. Just like in [5:6](../05/06.md), he compares sin to yeast. By speaking in this way, he urges the Corinthians to clean out the person who is sinning. Then, they will be like new dough, like unleavened bread, that is, without sin. Since this metaphor is based on material from the Old Testament, you should try to preserve the form in your language. You could use a simile, or if necessary, you could use a comparable metaphor. Alternate translation: [Clean out the old yeast, that is, sin, so that you may be new dough, just as you are unleavened bread] or [Clean out the bad apple so that you may be a fresh barrel, just as you are fresh apples]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

καθώς ἐστε ἄζυμοι

as (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐκκαθάρατε τήν παλαιάν ζύμην ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα καθώς ἐστέ ἄζυμοι καί Γάρ τό Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός)

When Paul says that they are unleavened bread, this means that they are in danger of encountering the yeast, that is, sin. This is why they must clean out the old yeast. If they remain unleavened by avoiding contact with old yeast, they will be new dough. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express you are unleavened bread by clarifying that Paul calls them this because it shows that yeast is a threat to them. Alternate translation: [for you are currently unleavened bread]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

Here Paul uses For to introduce the reason why his metaphor about yeast is appropriate. Christ is like the Passover lamb. Since Christ has been sacrificed like that lamb, the Corinthians are supposed to live as if it is Passover. This means avoiding sin in their group. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make it more explicit. Alternate translation: [You should act like people observing Passover because]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καὶ & τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη, Χριστός

When God delivered the Jewish people from Egypt, he required them to sacrifice a lamb and spread its blood on their doors. God did not harm anyone who had the blood on their door, but the firstborn son of anyone who did not have the blood on their door died. Because of this, the lamb that was sacrificed at Passover represented God delivering the Jewish people by accepting the lamb’s death in place of the firstborn son. See [Exodus 12:1–28](../exo/12/01.md). The implication here is that Christ’s death also functioned in this way, in place of those whom he delivers. If it would be helpful in your language, you could add a footnote explaining the function of the lamb at Passover.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor

καὶ & τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη, Χριστός

Here Paul compares Christ to the Passover lamb, since both died to save someone else. Since this metaphor is based on material from the Old Testament, you should try to preserve the form in your language, or you could use a simile. Alternate translation: [Christ, who is like our Passover lamb, has also been sacrificed]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

καὶ & τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ἐτύθη, Χριστός

Paul intentionally does not state who sacrificed the Passover lamb, who is Christ. If your language does not use this passive form, you can express the idea in another way. If possible, do not state who sacrificed Christ. Alternate translation: [Christ, our Passover lamb, has also died as a sacrifice]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear 1 COR 5:7

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 5:1–13: Paul commanded the believers to punish the immoral church member

Paragraph 5:6–8

5:7a-c

5:7a

5:7b

5:7c

5:7d

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 COR 5:7

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 5:1–13: Paul commanded the believers to punish the immoral church member

Paragraph 5:6–8

5:7a-c

5:7a

5:7b

5:7c

5:7d

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 COR 5:7