The big picture
1 Corinthians 5 opens in verse 1 with “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 7 with “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For…”, and closes in verse 13 with “But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that…” Repeated or prominent terms include leaven, Christ, Jesus, Lord, spirit. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
1 Corinthians · King James Version · 131 Corinthians 5:1-7
1–7: It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such…
1 Corinthians 5:1–7 opens with “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so…” and reaches “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on 1 Corinthians 5 develops its own movement around leaven, Christ, Jesus, Lord, spirit, with particular weight carried by Christ, Jesus, Lord.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the…” The number one makes the report concrete. Ask whether it measures time, people, distance, repetition, or completeness before deciding what weight it carries.
1 Corinthians 5:1-7
King James Version1It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
2And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
7Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Corinthians 5:8-13
8–13: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the…
1 Corinthians 5:8–13 opens with “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and…” and reaches “But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on 1 Corinthians 5 develops its own movement around leaven, Christ, Jesus, Lord, spirit, with particular weight carried by company, covetous, fornicators.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the…” This line supplies a reason, result, or conclusion. It should stay attached to the claim or action that gives it meaning.
1 Corinthians 5:8-13
King James Version8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 Corinthians 5:1 begins with “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his…”
Where the chapter turns
1 Corinthians 5:6 forms a natural hinge: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”
The final note
1 Corinthians 5:13 leaves the reader with “But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words leaven, Christ, Jesus, Lord, spirit, company help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.