The Bible, Douay-Rheims Part 757

4:21. What will you? Shall I come to you with a rod? Or in charity and in the spirit of meekness?

1 Corinthians Chapter 5

He excommunicates the incestuous adulterer and admonishes them to purge out the old leaven.

5:1. It is absolutely heard that there is fornication among you and such fornication as the like is not among the heathens: that one should have his father's wife.

5:2. And you are puffed up and have not rather mourned: that he might be taken away from among you that hath done this thing.

5:3. I indeed, absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged, as though I were present, him that hath so done,

5:4. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you being gathered together and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus:

5:5. To deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

5:6. Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump?

5:7. Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ our pasch is sacrificed.

5:8. Therefore, let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9. I wrote to you in an epistle not to keep company with fornicators.

5:10. I mean not with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous or the extortioners or the servers of idols: otherwise you must needs go out of this world.

5:11. But now I have written to you, not to keep company, if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator or covetous or a server of idols or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner: with such a one, not so much as to eat.

5:12. For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within?

5:13. For them that are without, G.o.d will judge. Put away the evil one from among yourselves.

1 Corinthians Chapter 6

He blames them for going to law before unbelievers. Of sins that exclude from the kingdom of heaven. The evil of fornication.

6:1. Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to be judged before the unjust: and not before the saints?

6:2. Know you not that the saints shall judge this world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

6:3. Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more things of this world?

6:4. If therefore you have judgments of things pertaining to this world, set them to judge who are the most despised in the church.

6:5. I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not among you any one wise man that is able to judge between his brethren?

6:6. But brother goeth to law with brother: and that before unbelievers.

6:7. Already indeed there is plainly a fault among you, that you have law suits one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

A fault... Lawsuits can hardly ever be without a fault, on the one side or the other; and oftentimes on both sides.

6:8. But you do wrong and defraud: and that to your brethren.

6:9. Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of G.o.d?

Do not err: Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers:

6:10. Nor the effeminate nor liers with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor railers nor extortioners shall possess the kingdom of G.o.d.

6:11. And such some of you were. But you are washed: but you are sanctified: but you are justified: in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our G.o.d.

6:12. All things are lawful to me: but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful to me: but I will not be brought under the power of any.

All things are lawful, etc... That is, all indifferent things are indeed lawful, inasmuch as they are not prohibited; but oftentimes they are not expedient; as in the case of lawsuits, etc. And much less would it be expedient to be enslaved by an irregular affection to any thing, how indifferent soever.

6:13. Meat for the belly and the belly for the meats: but G.o.d shall destroy both it and them. But the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord: and the Lord for the body.

6:14. Now G.o.d hath raised up the Lord and will raise us up also by his power.

6:15. Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot?

G.o.d forbid!

6:16. Or know you not that he who is joined to a harlot is made one body? For they shall be, saith he, two in one flesh.

6:17. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.

6:18. Fly fornication. Every sin that a man doth is without the body: but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

6:19. Or know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from G.o.d: and you are not your own?

6:20. For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear G.o.d in your body.

1 Corinthians Chapter 7

Lessons relating to marriage and celibacy. Virginity is preferable to a married state.

7:1. Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

7:2. But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife: and let every woman have her own husband.

Have his own wife... That is, keep to his wife, which he hath. His meaning is not to exhort the unmarried to marry: on the contrary, he would have them rather continue as they are, (Ver. 7:8.) But he speaks here to them that are already married; who must not depart from one another, but live together as they ought to do in the marriage state.

7:3. Let the husband render the debt to his wife: and the wife also in like manner to the husband.

7:4. The wife hath not power of her own body: but the husband. And in like manner the husband also hath not power of his own body: but the wife.

7:5. Defraud not one another, except, perhaps, by consent, for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer: and return together again, lest Satan tempt you for your incontinency.

7:6. But I speak this by indulgence, not by commandment.