1 Corinthians 10:24
in 1 Corinthians 10No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor’s good.
KJV
Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 10
Commentary
11 notes on this verseLet no man seek his own,.... His carnal pleasure and private advantage in eating things sacrificed to "idols", to the hurt and disadvantage of his brethren; otherwise it is lawful for a man to seek his own good, temporal, spiritual, and eternal, to seek for the necessaries of life, his spiritual peace and comfort, and his everlasting welfare and happiness; but then he should not only seek his own, but every man another's wealth, or "that which is another's"; for the word "wealth" is not in the original text.
This site's exposition
Everything is permissible,” but not
on 1 Corinthians 10:23-24
Paul answers the slogan Everything is permissible, his own maxim of 6:12, with two better tests: not everything is beneficial and not everything is edifying. Verse 24 gives the rule: no one should seek his own good, but the good of others.
This site's exposition
the good of others
Paul turns the slogan of 10:23 into a rule. Oecumenius and Theophylact say the question goes beyond a clear conscience to the benefit of the brother. Barnes holds that the rule, though general in form, first answered the dispute over idol food.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
The question is not merely whether you are eating with a clear conscience. It is whether what you are doing is of benefit to your brother.
It is true that anyone who is an idolater will seek what pleases him alone. He will place scandals in the way of the weaker brother's conscience. This is why we ought to be quick to resist doing just what we want to do, for …
"All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbor's good." Seest thou his exact wisdom? Because it was likely that they might say, "I am perfect and master of myself, and it does me no harm to partake of what is set before me;" "Even so," saith he, "perfect thou art and master of thyself; do not however look to this, but whether the result involve not injury, nay subversion." For both these he mentioned, saying, "All things are not expedient, all things edify not;" and using the former with reference to one's self, the latter, to one's brother: since the clause, "are not expedient," is a covert intimation of the ruin of the person to whom he speaks; but the clause, "edify not," of the stumbling block to the brother. Wherefore also he adds, "Let no man seek his own;" which he every where through the whole Epistle insists upon and in that to the Romans; when he says, "For even Christ pleased not Himself:" and again, "Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit." And again in this place; he does not, however, fully work it out here. That is, since in what had gone before he had established it at length, and shown that he no where "seeks his own," but both "to the Jews became as a Jew and to them that are without law as without law," and used not his own "liberty" and "right" at random, but to the profit of all, serving all; he here broke off, content with a few words, by these few guiding them to the remembrance of all which had been said.
And for those who are aiming at perfection there is proposed the rational gnosis, the foundation of which is "the sacred Triad." "Faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love." Truly, "all things are lawful, but all things are not expedient," says the apostle: "all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." And, "Let no one seek his own advantage, but also that of his neighbour," so as to be able at once to do and to teach, building and building up.
Are we to paint ourselves out that our neighbours may perish? Where, then, is (the command), "Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself? " "Care not merely about your own (things), but (about your) neighbour's? " No enunciation of the Holy Spirit ought to be (confined) to the subject immediately in hand merely, and not applied and carried out with a view to every occasion to which its application is useful.
3 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Do not only keep in mind whether you eat with a clean conscience, but also whether your action edifies your brother. In many places in his epistles he sets this forth as a matter of the utmost necessity. He does not forbid seeking one's own …
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let no man seek his own, etc. - Let none, for his private gratification or emolument, disturb the peace or injure the soul of another. Let every man live, not for himself, but for every part of the great human family with which he is surrounded.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let no man seek his own - This should be properly interpreted of the matter under discussion, though the direction assumes the form of a general principle. Originally it meant, “Let no man, in regard to the question about partaking of the meat offered in sacrifice to idols, consult his own pleasure, happiness, or convenience; but let him, as the leading rule on the subject, ask what will be for the welfare of others. Let him not gratify his own taste and inclinations, regardless of their feelings, comfort, and salvation; but let him in these things have a primary reference to their welfare.” He may dispense with these things without danger or injury; He cannot indulge in them without endangering the happiness or purity of others. His duty therefore requires him to abstain. The injunction, however, has a general form, and is applicable to all Christians, and to all cases “of a similar kind.” It does not mean that a man is not in any instance to regard his own welfare, happiness, or salvation; it does not mean that a man owes no duty to himself or family; or that he should neglect all these to advance the welfare of others; but the precept means, that “in cases like that under consideration,” when there is no positive law, and when a man’s example would have a great influence, he should be guided in his conduct, not by a reference to his own ease, comfort or gratification, but by a reference to the purity and salvation of others. And the observance of this simple rule would make a prodigious change in the church and the world. But every man another’s wealth - The word “wealth” is not in the Greek. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| μηδεὶς | medeis | No one | G3367 → | 90 times |
| τὸ | to | the [good] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἑαυτοῦ | he'autou | of himself | G1438 → | 322 times |
| ζητείτω | zeteito | should seek | G2212 → | 117 times |
| ἀλλὰ | alla | but | G235 → | 635 times |
| τὸ | to | that | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἑτέρου | heterou | other | G2087 → | 97 times |
μηδεὶςNo one
medeisG3367 →90 times
τὸthe [good]
toG3588 →19766 times
ἑαυτοῦof himself
he'autouG1438 →322 times
ζητείτωshould seek
zeteitoG2212 →117 times
ἀλλὰbut
allaG235 →635 times
τὸthat
toG3588 →19766 times
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
ἑτέρουother
heterouG2087 →97 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
Philippians 2:21For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:33
as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.
- Philippians 2:4
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
- Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- 1 Corinthians 13:5
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
- 2 Timothy 3:2
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
- 1 Corinthians 10:33
Through
1 Corinthians 10:33as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.
it leads to
- Galatians 1:10
Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 9:19–23
Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
- Romans 15:2–3
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
- Galatians 1:10
Where this verse is studied
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About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 4; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 24; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women Book II and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.