Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 10:21 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 21. 21Ye 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation.
Two tables cannot share one allegiance.
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Corinthians 10:14–22. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 10:14–22
Read 1 Corinthians 10:21 with 10:14–22. This verse states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation. The complete unit establishes: Paul calls discerning people to flee idolatry: the Lord's cup and bread create participation in Christ and one body, and sacrificial meals create real fellowship; although an idol is no deity, pagan sacrifice can involve demons, so divided table allegiance is impossible.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The unit distinguishes ordinary food from cultic participation and grounds refusal in communal and covenantal fellowship. At 10:21, this verse states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation.
Follow the Context
- Paul commands flight and invites judgment.
- Cup and bread mean participation in Christ.
- One loaf enacts one body.
- Israel's altar illustrates sacrificial participation.
- Idols are not gods, yet sacrifice can involve demons.
- The Lord's table and demons' table are incompatible.
- Provoking the Lord is dangerous presumption.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of”
In plain language: This verse states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation.
It contributes specifically to The Lord's Table Cannot Be Joined to Idol Fellowship inside 1 Corinthians 10:14–22.
Why it matters: The verse carries enough interpretive or pastoral weight to require the full unit and its explicit limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Corinthians 10:21 does not turn the fact that it states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation into a standalone universal rule. Demon language does not justify diagnosing disagreement, mental illness, art, or unfamiliar culture as possession.
What Remains True
This verse states the incompatibility of the Lord's table and demon participation. This supports the unit's enduring conclusion: Shared worship forms allegiance and community, so people cannot treat consequential participation as morally empty.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 10:21's contribution to 1 Corinthians 10:14–22. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Corinthians 10:14–22 — The Lord's Table Cannot Be Joined to Idol FellowshipSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Interpreters differ over sacramental presence, demon ontology, and which meals count as participation. The explicit temple-table incompatibility is stronger than a blanket rule about every market item.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Corinthians 10:14–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Cor.txt, 10:14–22
Open the 1 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Corinthians 10:14–22 print view with translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Corinthians PDFLexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository morphology and lexical records for 1 Corinthians 10:14–22
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Corinthians
Eric C. Redmond
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter movement, Corinthian setting, bibliography, major alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Redmond, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, introduction and section on 10:14–22
Open source ↗modern open access doctoral dissertation
Emotional Rescue: Idolatry and Affective Conversion in 1 Corinthians 8-10
Marshall McKee Evans
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2020
Supports: Relation of idol-food instruction, Israel's Scriptures, worship, rights, and neighbor-directed freedom.
Exact location: Evans, Idolatry and Proper Worship: Paul's Use of the Old Testament in 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1, UC dissertation (2020), repository abstract and chapter description
Open source ↗