Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Parallel Translations
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Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
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Ether shall we provoke the lorde? Or are we stronger then he?
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Doe we prouoke the Lord to anger? are we stronger then he?
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 10:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
- Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me,
- Exodus 34:14 for you shall worship no other god; for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 4:24 For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 6:15 for Yahweh your God among you is a jealous God, lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.
- Joshua 24:19 Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve Yahweh, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
- Job 40:9-14 Or do you have an arm like God? Can you thunder with a voice like him? “Now deck yourself with excellency and dignity. Array yourself with honor and majesty. Pour out the fury of your anger. Look at everyone who is proud, and bring him low. Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him. Crush the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together. Bind their faces in the hidden place. Then I will also admit to you that your own right hand can save you.
- Psalms 78:58 For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
- Ecclesiastes 6:10 Whatever has been, its name was given long ago; and it is known what man is; neither can he contend with him who is mightier than he.
- Ezekiel 22:14 Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.
- Job 9:4 God who is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who has hardened himself against him and prospered?
- Isaiah 45:9 Woe to him who strives with his Maker— a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, ‘What are you making?’ or your work, ‘He has no hands?’
- Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 22. Do we provoke the Lord? Having laid down…
22. Do we provoke the Lord? Having laid down the doctrine, he assumes a more vehement tone, from observing, that what was a most atrocious offense against God was regarded as nothing, or, at least, was looked upon as a very trivial error. The Corinthians wished the liberty that they took to be reckoned excusable, as there is not one of us that willingly allows himself to be found fault with, but, on the contrary, we seek one subterfuge after another, under which to shelter ourselves. Now Paul says, and not without reason, that in this way we wage war against God; for nothing does God more require from us than this — that we adhere strictly to everything that he declares in his word. Do not those, then, who use subterfuges, in order that they may be at liberty to transgress the commandment of God, arm themselves openly against God? Hence that curse which the Prophet denounces against all those who call evil, good, and darkness, light (Isaiah 5:20.)
Are we stronger? He warns them how dangerous a thing it is to provoke God — because no one can do this but to his own ruin. Among men the chance of war, as they speak, is doubtful, but to contend with God is nothing short of voluntarily courting destruction. Accordingly, if we fear to have God as an enemy, let us shudder at the thought of framing excuses for manifest sins, that is, whatever stand opposed to his word. Let us, also, shudder at the thought of calling in question those things that he has himself pronounced upon — for this is nothing less than to rise up against heaven after the manner of the giants. (Genesis 11:4.)
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are…
22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
Ver. 22. Do we provoke the Lord] As Caligula that dared his Jove to a duel; as the raging Turk at the last assault of Scodra most horribly blaspheming God. But who knoweth the power of his anger? Psa 90:11. It is such as none can avert or avoid, avoid or abide. To such therefore as will needs provoke the Lord, we may well say, as Ulysses’ companions said to him, when he would needs provoke Polydamas;
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"Σχετλιε τιπτ εθελεις ερεθιζεμεν αγριον ανδρα.
What mean’st thou, wretch, to enrage this cruel man?"
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Jealousy is a violent passion in a man, not…
Jealousy is a violent passion in a man, not bearing a companion or a rival as to a thing or person which he loveth. It is in holy writ applied unto God, not to signify any such extravagancy, excess, or vehemence, as attendeth that passion in men, but only his just displeasure at the giving that homage to any creature which is due to him alone. It is most applied to God to express his anger against those who give Divine homage to idols; the worship of God being a great piece of his glory which he hath said he will not give to another, nor his praise to graven images, Isa 42:8. Hence divines observe, that jealousy is attributed to God in the second commandment, which concerns the more external worship of God, to deter men from the violation of it, Exo 20:5. So Exo 34:14; Deu 4:24; 5:9; 6:16, and in many other texts, it signifieth, that the worship of God is a thing that he is very tender of, and that his will is to endure no creature to share with him in it; and that his wrath shall flame against that man that offers to make any creature such a sharer. So that it is not safe for any to do any thing of that nature, unless he could fancy himself to be stronger than God; for he that doth it, must expect the power and strength of God to be engaged against him. Thus the apostle had dissuaded them from eating meat sacrificed to idols in the idol’s temple, from the impiety of it, it being a species of idolatry, against which God hath signally revealed his wrath. He returns in the following verses to an argument, by which he had before dissuaded it, 1Co 8:1-13, as it was against charity, and the duty of love, in which they were indebted to their brethren.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, 1. That the worship of God is…
Observe here, 1. That the worship of God is that which he is very tender and jealous of: never was husband so jealous of the chastity of his suspected wife, as God is jealous in point of worship; idolatry is a provoking God to jealousy.
Observe, 2. That such as worship idols, or are guilty of idolatrous worship in any kind or degree, must expect God a jealous revenger, and will find themselves not strong enough to contend with him. "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy, by joining devils in competition with him? Are we stronger than he? Who knows the power of his anger? The strength of God should make sinners tremble."
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?.... As they…
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?.... As they do who are guilty of idolatry in any shape: nothing is more highly resented by God, or stirs him up more to wrath and fury, and to inflict punishment; he cannot bear, nor will he admit of a rival in religious worship; he is a God jealous of his own honour; nor will he give, or suffer to be given by others, his praise and glory to graven images:
are we stronger than he? to give into idolatrous practices, is to proclaim and enter into a war against God; and what madness must this be? who can be so sottish and stupid as to think of succeeding? when God is omnipotent, and man a poor feeble impotent creature, a worm, and but dust and ashes: thus the apostle dissuades from idolatry, and every species and branch of it; partly from its ill effect, in bringing men into fellowship with devils; and partly from the impossibility of practising it, in consistence with a true and real participation of the cup and table of the Lord; and from the absurdity and stupidity of it, and its dangerous consequence, in exposing men to the vengeance of an almighty incensed Being.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy - By…
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy - By thus caressing his rivals? Are we stronger than he - Are we able to resist, or to bear his wrath?
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?]…
Verse 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?] All idolatry is represented as a sort of spiritual adultery; it is giving that heart to Satan that should be devoted to God; and he is represented as being jealous, because of the infidelity of those who have covenanted to give their hearts to him.
Are we stronger than he?] As he has threatened to punish such transgressors, and will infallibly do it, can we resist his omnipotence? A sinner should consider, while he is in rebellion against God, whether he be able to resist that power whereby God will inflict vengeance.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? - That…
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? - That is, shall we, by joining in the worship of idols, “provoke” or “irritate” God, or excite him to anger? This is evidently the meaning of the word παραζηλοῦμεν parazēloumen, rendered “provoke to jealousy.” The word קנא qaana', usually rendered by this word by the Septuagint, has this sense in Deu 32:21; 1Ki 14:22; Ezr 8:3; Psa 78:58. There is a reference here, doubtless, to the truth recorded in EXO 20:5. That God “is a jealous God,” and that he regards the worship of idols as a direct affront to himself. The sentiment of Paul is, that to join in the worship of idols, or in the observance of their feasts, would be to participate in that which had ever been regarded by God with special abhorrence, and which more than anything else tended to provoke his wrath. We may observe, that any course of life that tends to alienate the affections from God, and to fix them on other beings or objects, is a sin of the same kind as that referred to here. Any inordinate love of friends, of property, of honor, has substantially the same idolatrous nature, and will tend to provoke him to anger. And it may be asked of Christians now, whether they will by such inordinate attachments provoke the Lord to wrath? whether they will thus excite his displeasure, and expose themselves to his indignation? Very often Christians do thus provoke him. They become unduly attached to a friend, or to wealth, and God in anger takes away that friend by death, or that property by the flames, or they conform to the world, and mingle in its scenes of fashion and gaiety, and forget God; and in displeasure he visits them with judgments, humbles them, and recalls them to Himself.
Are we stronger than he? - This is given as a reason why we should not provoke his displeasure. We cannot contend successfully with Him; and it is therefore madness and folly to contend with God, or to expose ourselves to the effects of His indignation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?--by dividing our…
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?--by dividing our fellowship between Him and idols (Eze 20:39). Is it our wish to provoke Him to assert His power? Deu 32:21 is before the apostle's mind [ALFORD], (Exo 20:5).
are we stronger?--that we can risk a contest with Him.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 22. Provoke the Lord—As we have above intimated, St.…
22. Provoke the Lord—As we have above intimated, St. Paul has in mind Deu_32:17-26, and this is an allusion to 1Co_10:21.
Stronger than he—So as to meet all the threatenings of Deu_32:21-26.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?] i.e.…
22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?] i.e. as the Jews had done to their cost See note on last verse. Cf. also Numbers 14; Deuteronomy 1; Deu_32:21 (see note on 1Co_10:19 and observe that it was idol worship which provoked God); Psa_95:8; Heb_3:16. The same word is found, with the same translation, in Rom_10:19; Rom_11:11, and in 1Co_10:14 of that chapter it is translated provoke to emulation.
are we stronger than he?] So as to be able to resist His wrath.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?. (Deu_32:21," They…
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?. (Deu_32:21," They have moved me to jealousy by that which is not God The expression, "a jealous God," is used in the second commandment with express reference to idolatry, as in Exo_34:14, Exo_34:15. Are we stronger than he? Can we, therefore, with impunity, kindle his anger against us? "He is mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?". (Job_9:4)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Such…
22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Such acts in an idol temple would be worship of the idol. Yet Jehovah says that he is “a jealous God” (Exod. 20:5).
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are…
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? [God does not permit a division of his worship ( Mat_6:24 ). Any attempt to do this is said to arouse his jealousy, that passion which arises from wounded love ( Isa_54:5 ; Eph_5:23-32 ; Exo_20:5 ). Paul doubtless has in mind the passage at Deu_32:17-26 ; which shows the necessity of obedience on the part of those not able to resist.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Christian principles involved:
The Christian principles involved:
v. 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
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v. 23. All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
v. 24. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.
The apostle here mentions a thought that may have been found in the hearts of some of the Corinthians: Is it that we want to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Was that the idea which made them partake at both tables? Should Christians venture upon such a course? See Deu 32:21. They may be assured that the Lord would be apt to feel the most intense displeasure at such an evidence of adulterous love on their part. And: Are we stronger than He? Shall we presume to risk His displeasure to that extent? Can we avert the power of His wrath? The very fact that Paul included himself in the question was to encourage and admonish his readers to stand on his side and answer with an emphatic: Nevermore! But he also urges a consideration which he has brought once before: All things are in my power, but all things are not expedient, not advantageous, if the welfare of my neighbor is taken into account. Between having the right to do a certain thing and insisting upon making use of this right at all times and under all circumstances there is a great difference. And again: All things are in my power, but not do they all edify. An act which I know to be right and good may be considered highly improper by a weak brother, and therefore my doing it will result in his being offended instead of his being furthered in piety and righteous living. See chap. 6:12. To go ahead at all times without exercising charitable care, in conceited security, may result in endangering a fellow-Christian’s immortal soul. But a basic principle of Christian love is: Let no one seek his own interest or benefit, but rather that of the other, of his neighbor, of his Christian brother. To make one’s own enjoyment, one’s own rights, one’s own liberty the sole and paramount consideration, regardless of the good of others, is the essence of selfishness, a violation of the great law of love. Even things indifferent become sinful when they result in detriment to one’s neighbor.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 10:22 To ignore Paul’s advice on this matter is…
10:22 To ignore Paul’s advice on this matter is to rouse the Lord’s jealousy and judgment, just as Israel did (see 10:6-11; Exod 20:5; Deut 32:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.