1 Corinthians 10:22
in 1 Corinthians 10Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
KJV
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHe says this as a reproach to them. Are we really to test and provoke God, whether He can punish us when we go over to the side of His enemies? Then, in order to show the full absurdity of their behavior, he says: "Are …
This site's exposition
the cup of devils
on 1 Corinthians 10:21-22
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils: the impossibility is moral rather than physical, a believer can attend both feasts but cannot belong genuinely to both, the exclusive claim following directly from the real fellowship each table confers. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?: the language of jealousy recalls the Decalogue's own description of God regarding rival worship, and the rhetorical question exposes the folly of testing that jealousy while claiming his protection. The bench treats this as the argument's climax, the idol-meat question no longer a matter of private conscience alone once actual participation in temple feasts is in view, distinct from the marketplace meat the next section will address.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then, speaking also to their sense of shame, "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than He?" i.e., "Are we tempting Him, whether He is able to punish us, and irritating Him by going over to the adversaries and taking our stand with His enemies?" And this he said, reminding them of an ancient history and of their fathers' transgression. Wherefore also he makes use of this expression, which Moses likewise of old used against the Jews, accusing them of idolatry in the person of God. "For they," saith He, "moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they provoked Me to anger with their idols." "Are we stronger than He?" Dost thou see how terribly, how awfully he rebukes them, thoroughly shaking their very nerves, and by his way of reducing them to an absurdity, touching them to the quick and bringing down their pride? "Well, but why," some one will say, "did he not set down these things at first, which would be most effectual to withdraw them?" Because it is his custom to prove his point by many particulars, and to place the strongest last, and to prevail by proving more than was necessary. On this account then, he began from the lesser topics, and so made his way to that which is the sum of all evils: since thus that last point also became more easily admitted, their mind having been smoothed down by the things said before.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He was with the church in the wilderness; he was the angel of the covenant, who went before them. But he was greatly grieved and provoked by them in many ways: They spoke against him and Moses, Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for which reason God sent fiery serpents among them ( Num. xxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?....
He lets them yet know that though they must not eat of things sacrificed to idols as such, and out of any regard to the idol, yet they might buy such flesh in the markets, or eat it at the table of heathen acquaintances, without asking any questions; for that the heathens' abuse of them did not render the creatures of God unfit to be the food of his servants.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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?
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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? De 32:21 is before the apostle's mind [ALFORD], (Ex 20:5). are we stronger?--that we can risk a contest with Him.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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. […]
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἢ | e | Or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| παραζηλοῦμεν | parazeloumen | do we provoke to jealousy | G3863 → | |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κύριον; | kurion | Lord? | G2962 → | 711 times |
| μὴ | me | Surely not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| ἰσχυρότεροι | ischuroteroi | stronger | G2478 → | 29 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | than He | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐσμεν;¶ | esmen | are we? | G1510 → | 2333 times |
ἢOr
eG2228 →342 times
παραζηλοῦμενdo we provoke to jealousy
parazeloumenG3863 →
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
κύριον;Lord?
kurionG2962 →711 times
μὴSurely not
meG3361 →1066 times
ἰσχυρότεροιstronger
ischuroteroiG2478 →29 times
αὐτοῦthan He
autouG846 →5565 times
ἐσμεν;¶are we?
esmenG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:9
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth…
- Numbers 14:18
‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon…
- Deuteronomy 5:9
Through
Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will…
it leads to
- Romans 10:19
I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says: “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”
- Romans 9:25
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- Romans 10:19
Through
Hebrews 10:31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
it leads to
- Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Luke 12:5
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear the One who, after you have been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him!
- Hebrews 12:29
“For our God is a consuming fire.”
- Isaiah 33:14
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”
- Matthew 10:28
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 24; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.