Correcting an abuse of the Lord's Supper

But in what I instruct [you] next I do not commend [you],
because when you meet together, it is not for the better but for the worse.

For in the first place, when you assemble as a congregation,
I hear that there are cliques (divisions and factions) among you;
and I in part believe it,

For doubtless there have to be factions or parties among you
in order that they who are genuine and of approved fitness
may become evident and plainly recognized among you.

So when you gather for your meetings,
it is not the supper instituted by the Lord that you eat,

For in eating each one [hurries] to get his own supper first
[not waiting for the poor], and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

What! Do you have no houses in which to eat and drink?
Or do you despise the church of God and mean to show contempt for it,
while you humiliate those who are poor (have no homes and have brought no food)?
What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this?
No, [most certainly] I will not!

For I received from the Lord Himself that which I passed on to you
[it was given to me personally],
that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was treacherously delivered up
and while His betrayal was in progress took bread,

And when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said,
Take, eat. This is My body, which is broken for you.
Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying,
This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood.
Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you are representing and signifying and proclaiming
the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes [again].

So then whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
in a way that is unworthy [of Him] will be guilty of
[profaning and sinning against] the body and blood of the Lord.

Let a man [thoroughly] examine himself,
and [only when he has done]
so should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing
with due appreciation that [it is Christ’s] body,
eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment) upon himself.

That [careless and unworthy participation] is the reason many of you are weak
and sickly, and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death.

For if we searchingly examined ourselves
[detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition],
we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

But when we [fall short and] are judged by the Lord,
we are disciplined and chastened,
so that we may not [finally] be condemned
[to eternal punishment along] with the world.

So then, my brothers, when you gather together to eat [the Lord’s Supper],
wait for one another.

If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home,
lest you come together to bring judgment [on yourselves].
About the other matters, I will give you directions [personally] when I come.