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1 Corinthians 11:7-9

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.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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1 Corinthians 11:7-9 sits inside this longer paragraph.

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, dishonors his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors 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.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    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.

  • TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534)

    A man ought not to cover his heed for as moche as he is the image and glory of God. The woman is the glory of the man.

    For the man is not of the woman but the woman of the man.

    Nether was the man created for the womans sake: but the woman for the mannes sake.

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  • GNV Geneva Bible (1599)

    For a man ought not to couer his head: for as much as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

    For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man.

    For the man was not created for the womans sake: but the woman for the mans sake.

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Cross-references (11)

  • 1 Corinthians 11:3 (v7) 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.
  • 1 Timothy 2:13 (v8) For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
  • Genesis 2:18 (v9) Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
  • Genesis 2:21-23 (v8) Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.…
  • Genesis 9:6 (v7) Whoever sheds man’s blood, his blood will be shed by man, for God made man in his own image.
Show all 11 cross-references
  • Genesis 1:26-27 (v7) God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky,…
  • Genesis 5:1 (v7) This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in God’s likeness.
  • Psalms 8:6 (v7) You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet:
  • Genesis 3:16 (v7) To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your…
  • Genesis 2:23-24 (v9) The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.”…
  • James 3:9 (v7) With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the image of God.

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (20 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. The man ought not to cover his head,…

7. The man ought not to cover his head, because he is the image The same question may now be proposed respecting the image, as formerly respecting the head. For both sexes were created in the image of God, and Paul exhorts women no less than men to be formed anew, according to that image. The image, however, of which he is now speaking, relates to the order of marriage, and hence it belongs to the present life, and is not connected with conscience. The simple solution is this — that he does not treat here of innocence and holiness, which are equally becoming in men and women, but of the distinction, which God has conferred upon the man, so as to have superiority over the woman. In this superior order of dignity the glory of God is seen, as it shines forth in every kind of superiority.

The woman is the glory of the man There is no doubt that the woman is a distinguished ornament of the man; for it is a great honor that God has appointed her to the man as the partner of his life, and a helper to him, and has made her subject to him as the body is to the head. For what Solomon affirms as to a careful wife — that she is a crown to her husband, (Proverbs 12:4,) is true of the whole sex, if we look to the appointment of God, which Paul here commends, showing that the woman was created for this purpose — that she might be a distinguished ornament of the man.

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.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7–9 The taking away of an objection: Have not men…
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–9 For a man indeed ought not to cover his…
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On v8 Another argument which the apostle offers, to prove the…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–9 For the man is not of the woman,.... In…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv7–8 A man indeed ought not to veil his head,…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Verse 7. A man indeed ought not to cover…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v7 1Co 11:7-9. A man indeed ought not to cover,…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–9 For a man indeed ought not to cover his…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Argument, also, from man's more immediate relation to God,…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. Image and glory of God—As God is Lord…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–8 7. For a man indeed ought not to cover…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v7 (7) For a man indeed.—In 1Co_11:4-7 the argument against…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–9 He is the image and glory of God. Because…
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. A man ought not to cover his head,…
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv7–9 For a man indeed ought not to have his…
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v7 The apostle advances a further argument for the woman’s…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 9 should not have his head covered
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 11:7 man is made in God’s image: See Gen…
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