1 Corinthians 16:22
in 1 Corinthians 16If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be under a curse. Come, O Lord!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If any man loveth not the Lord, let him be anathema. Maranatha.
KJV
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 16
Commentary
14 notes on this verseIf any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,.... The Vulgate Latin, and the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, read "our Lord".
This site's exposition
let him be Anathema Maran-atha
on 1 Corinthians 16:22-24
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha: the letter's last warning is written in Paul's own hand, and the two terms are distinct, anathema the Greek of devoted-to-judgment, and Maran-atha Aramaic, kept untranslated as keep-hard philology: read marana tha it is the church's oldest recorded prayer, Our Lord, come, the cry Revelation 22:20 echoes in Greek; read maran atha it is a confession, our Lord has come. The bench names both readings, the prayer reading standing as the likeliest, an Aramaic liturgical fragment preserved in a Greek letter to a Greek church, evidence of how early and how widely Jesus was addressed as Lord in prayer. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, and then a closing found in no other epistle: my love be with you all in Christ Jesus, the apostle who has rebuked this church for sixteen chapters signing off with love to all of it, chapter 13 practiced in the letter's last line.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Paul is referring to the Jews, who were accursed because they said that the Lord had not yet come.
A commentator
Didymus the BlindPAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH · Written before 398.
proposed
The person who does not keep the commandments has no love for the Lord.
"If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema." By this one word he strikes fear into all: those who made their members the members of an harlot; those who put stumbling blocks in the way of their brethren by the things offered in sacrifice unto idols; those who named themselves after men; those who refuse to believe the resurrection. And he not only strikes fear, but also points out the way of virtue and the fountain of vice, viz. that as when our love towards Him hath become intense, there is no kind of sin but is extinguished and cast out thereby; so when it is too weak, it causes the same to spring up. "Maran atha." For what reason is this word used? And wherefore too in the Hebrew-tongue? Seeing that arrogance was the cause of all the evils, and this arrogance the wisdom from without produced, and this was the sum and substance of all the evils, a thing which especially distracted Corinth; in repressing their arrogance he did not even use the Greek tongue, but the Hebrew: signifying that so far from being ashamed of that sort of simplicity, he even embraces it with much warmth. But what is the meaning of "Maran atha?" "Our Lord is come." For what reason then doth he use this phrase in particular? To confirm the doctrine of the Economy: out of which class of topics more than any other he hath put together those arguments which are the seeds of the Resurrection. And not only this, but also to rebuke them; as if he had said, "The common Lord of all hath condescended to come down thus far, and are ye in the same state, and do ye abide in your sins? Are ye not thrilled with the excess of His love, the crown of His blessings? Yea, consider but this one thing," saith he, "and it will suffice thee for progress in all virtue, and thou shalt be able to extinguish all sin."
A commentator
Ignatius of AntiochEpistle of Pseudo-Ignatius to the Antiochians · Written before 108.
proposed
Ye have been the disciples of Paul and Peter; do not lose what was committed to your trust. Keep in remembrance Euodias, your deservedly-blessed pastor, into whose hands the government over you was first entrusted by the apostles. Let us not bring disgrace upon our Father. Let us prove ourselves His true-born children, and not bastards. Ye know after what manner I have acted among you. The things which, when present, I spoke to you, these same, when absent, I now write to you. "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema."
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Bernard of ClairvauxSermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 20 · Written before 1153.
proposed
"If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema." Truly, I ought to love the one through whom I have my being, my life, my understanding. If I am ungrateful, I am unworthy too. Lord Jesus, whoever refuses to live for you …
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Secondly, he set down the greeting itself, in which first, he speaks evil to evil ones, saying, if anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed, i.e., separated or excommunicated; maranatha, i.e., may the Lord come! As if to say: whoever does …
By this one word he struck fear into all — the fornicators, the dissenters, those who consumed food offered to idols, those who disbelieved in the resurrection, and in general all among them who conducted themselves contrary to his teaching and tradition. For all such …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Maran-atha-Anathema signifies a thing devoted to destruction. It seems to have been customary with the Jews of that age, when they had pronounced any man an Anathema, to add the Syriac expression, Maran-atha, that is, "The Lord cometh;" namely, to execute vengeance upon him.
"Do not give into such conduct, if you would escape the severest vengeance." Note, Professed Christians will, by contempt of Christ, and revolt from him, bring upon themselves the most dreadful destruction. Some understand the words as they lie, in their plain and obvious meaning, for such as are without holy and sincere affection for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
If any man love not the Lord Jesus - This is directed immediately against the Jews. From 1Co 12:3, we find that the Jews, who pretended to be under the Spirit and teaching of God, called Jesus αναθεμα, or accursed; i.e. a person who should be devoted to destruction: see the note on 1Co 12:3. In this place the apostle retorts the whole upon themselves, and says: If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let Him be αναθεμα, accursed, and devoted to destruction.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Love to one another is to be in connection with love to Him above all. IGNATIUS [Epistle to the Romans, 7] writes of Christ, "My love, has been crucified" (compare So 2:7). Jesus Christ--omitted in the oldest manuscripts. let him be Anathema--accursed with that curse which the Jews who call Jesus "accursed" (1Co 12:3) are bringing righteously on their own heads [BENGEL].
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ - This is a most solemn and affecting close of the whole epistle. It was designed to direct them to the great and essential matter of religion, the love of the Lord Jesus; and was intended, doubtless, to turn away their minds from the subjects which had agitated them, the disputes and dissensions which had rent the church into factions, to the great inquiry whether they truly loved the Saviour. It is implied that there was danger, in their disputes and strifes about minor matters, of neglecting the love of the Lord Jesus, or of substituting attachment to a party in the place of that love to the Saviour which alone could be connected with eternal life. Let him be anathema - On the meaning of the word anathema, see the note at 1Co 12:3. The word properly means accursed, or devoted to destruction; and the idea here is, that he who did not believe in the Lord Jesus, and love him, would be, and ought to be, devoted to destruction, or accursed of God. It expresses what ought to be done; it expresses a truth in regard to God’s dealings, not the desire of the apostle. No matter what any man’s endowments might be; no matter what might be his wealth, his standing, or his talent; no matter if he were regarded as a ruler in the church, or at the head of a party; yet if he had not true love to the Lord Jesus, he could not be saved. This sentiment is in accordance with the declaration of the Scripture everywhere. See particularly, Joh 3:31; Mic 6:16, and the note on the latter place. Maran-atha - These are Syriac words, Moran Etho - “the Lord comes;” that is, will come. […]
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἴ | ei | If | G1487 → | 508 times |
| τις | tis | anyone | G5100 → | 528 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| φιλεῖ | philei | loves | G5368 → | |
| τὸν | ton | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κύριον | kurion | Lord | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ἤτω | eto | he should be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἀνάθεμα. | anathema | accursed. | G331 → | |
| μαράνα θά.¶ | marana tha | Marana tha! | G3134 → |
εἴIf
eiG1487 →508 times
τιςanyone
tisG5100 →528 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
φιλεῖloves
phileiG5368 →
τὸνthe
tonG3588 →19766 times
κύριονLord
kurionG2962 →711 times
ἤτωhe should be
etoG1510 →2333 times
ἀνάθεμα.accursed.
anathemaG331 →
μαράνα θά.¶Marana tha!
marana thaG3134 →
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
John 14:21Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
it leads to
- John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
- 1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome,
- 1 John 2:5
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
- 2 John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the very commandment you have heard from the beginning, that you must walk in love.
- John 15:9–10
As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Remain in My love.
- John 14:15
Through
1 John 4:19We love because He first loved us.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:10
And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 15:16
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
- 1 John 4:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 15 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; Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Song of Songs, Sermon 20; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Didymus the Blind, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Pseudo-Ignatius to the Antiochians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 44; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.