1 Corinthians 11 contains the oldest written account of the institution of Communion - Jesus taking bread and cup on the night of his betrayal and commanding, “Do this in memory of me.” Alongside it, Paul addresses the order of men and women in corporate worship.

Full sung version coming soon.

Lyrics

Be imitators of me even as I also am of Christ Now I praise you brothers that you remember me in all things And hold firm the traditions even as I delivered them to you But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ

And the head of the woman is man and the head of Christ is God Every man praying or prophesying having his head covered dishonours his head But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered Dishonours her head For it is one and the same thing as if she were shaved

For if a woman is not covered let her hair also be cut off But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or be shaved Let her be covered For a man indeed ought not to have his head covered Because he is the image and glory of God but the woman is the glory of the man

For man is not from woman but woman from man For man wasn’t created for the woman but woman for the man For this cause the woman ought to have authority over her own head Because of the angels Nevertheless neither is the woman independent of the man Nor the man independent of the woman in the Lord

For as woman came from man so a man also comes through a woman But all things are from God But in giving you this command I don’t praise you Because you come together not for the better but for the worse For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you That the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread

When he had given thanks he broke it and said Take eat This is my body which is broken for you Do this in memory of me In the same way he also took the cup after supper saying This cup is the new covenant in my blood Do this as often as you drink in memory of me

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup You proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup In a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty Of the body and the blood of the Lord But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread And drink of the cup

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks Judgement to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body For this cause many amongst you are weak and sickly And not a few sleep For if we discerned ourselves we wouldn’t be judged But when we are judged we are disciplined by the Lord That we may not be condemned with the world

Therefore my brothers when you come together to eat Wait for one another But if anyone is hungry Let him eat at home lest your coming together be for judgement

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1 Corinthians 11 sung by Psalm Selah. The whole Bible, one chapter at a time.

Published 2026-05-22 · Last updated 2026-06-06
Written by Reid Wender, Editorial Director at Psalmody Press