Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Corinthians 11:27

27. [τοῦτον] after ἄρτον, rec. with Vulg. (auth.). Text אABCDEFG Peshito and many ancient copies of the Vulg.

27. ἢ πίνῃ τὸ ποτήριον. Or drink the cup. Many Protestant translators, including those of the A.V., have evaded the force of the or, from a fear lest they should thereby be countenancing the denial of the Cup to the laity. See Alford, Stanley, Meyer, De Wette, who, while rejecting this clearly incorrect rendering, point out that the fear which prompted it was quite needless. Calvin renders boldly by aut; Wiclif and Tyndale by or. See also note on 1 Corinthians 11:25.

ὀναξίως. ‘Not merely,’ says Estius, ‘with a mind distracted by worldly thoughts, though that is not to be commended, but in an irreverent spirit,’ in a frame of mind unsuitable to so solemn an act; without faith in, or a thankful remembrance of, the great mystery therein commemorated; and, above all, in a spirit which regards what is essentially the Supper of the Lord as a supper of one’s own, and therefore as one at which it is lawful to be selfish, or intemperate, or both.

ἔνοχος. This word (Vulg. reus), translated guilty by the A.V. here and in Matthew 26:66; James 2:10, signifies literally dependent on. Hence it comes to signify amenable to the laws, as in Plat. Legg. 869 B πολλοῖς ἔνοχος ἔστω νόμοις ὁ δράσας τι τοιοῦτον. Hence comes the sense liable to some particular punishment. Matthew 5:21-22, and Matthew 26:66 above cited. Cf. Mark 3:29, the punishment taking the gen. after it. Here it means liable to the consequences which flow from despising the Body and Blood of the Lord, just as in James 2:10 it means liable to the consequences which flow from a breach of the law. So to treat the Body and Blood of the Lord, mystically present in this Sacrament, is to treat Him with disrespect, to ‘crucify Him afresh and put Him to an open shame’ (Hebrews 6:6).

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

1 Corinthians 11:27

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