So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?
Parallel translations
- WEB If then, you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly?
- KJV If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.
- NKJV If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?
- NASB So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church?
- NLT If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul rebukes them for taking ordinary disputes to judges the church holds in no esteem. It matters because the church has the resources and calling to resolve such matters internally.
Overview
With some irony, Paul points out the inconsistency of appointing as arbiters those outside the church ('of no account in the assembly') for everyday legal matters. The Corinthians esteemed worldly judges yet overlooked the Spirit-given wisdom within the body. The verse continues his argument that the church should adjudicate its own affairs.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Cor 5:12What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
- Acts 6:2–4So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 6:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.