Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 1 Corinthians 11:13 - 11:13

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 1 Corinthians 11:13 - 11:13


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13–15. ἐν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς κρίνατε. Fifth argument. An appeal is now made to our natural feeling of what is proper and becoming. Man, as his sphere is the world, and as he is the highest of God’s creatures in it, needs no covering to hide him from the gaze of others. Woman, as her sphere is the home, and as being, whether married or unmarried, under the dominion of man, receives of God’s providence the covering of her long hair, whereby she may veil herself from the gaze of those who are not her natural protectors.

πρέπον. Decet, Vulgate. Bisemeth it? Wiclif. Our Version follows Tyndale here, and is equivalent in our modern language to Is it proper? Is it becoming? ‘It is impossible,’ remarks Robertson, ‘to decide how much of our public morality and private purity is owing to the spirit which refuses to overstep the smallest bound of ordinary decorum.’ And again, ‘Whatever contradicts feelings which are universally received,’ that is ‘in questions of morality, propriety, and decency,’ ‘is questionable, to say the least.’ There may be occasions on which it may be our duty to overstep those boundaries, but (1) if done, it must be done after careful consideration, and (2) for objects which are clearly sufficient to justify it.