1 Corinthians 16:22

Context

The verse belongs to the closing greetings of 1 Corinthians. Paul sent this letter to the church in Corinth while staying in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8). In the preceding verse (16:21) he states that he writes the greeting "with mine own hand." This is generally understood to mean that a scribe took down the body of the letter and that Paul wrote the last few lines himself. The following verse is a benediction invoking "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." A curse, a blessing, and a brief word about the Lord's coming thus stand side by side in Paul's own hand.

The KJV reads: "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha." The word rendered "let him be Anathema" is the Greek anathema, which denotes the condition of being handed over to God's judgment and cut off from the community. "Maranatha" is Aramaic, the everyday language of Judea in Jesus' day. Paul left this expression untranslated, in Aramaic, within a letter written in Greek.

Interpretation

• A warning directed within the church: Many commentators read this verse not as a curse on outsiders but as a warning to the Corinthian believers. Throughout the letter Paul rebukes them over divisions, pride, the Lord's Supper, and the resurrection. On this reading, he closes by briefly affirming that love for the Lord is the standard of faith. Some, noting that the verb used for "love" (phileō) is one Paul rarely uses elsewhere, suggest that he is quoting a set formula already in use before him.
• Two ways of dividing "Maranatha": If the Aramaic is divided as marana tha, it becomes a prayer: "Our Lord, come!" If divided as maran atha, it becomes a declaration: "Our Lord comes" (or "has come"). The Korean New Korean Revised Version and the Korean Revised Version, which render it "the Lord is coming," follow the declarative reading. The view that it is a prayer, comparable to "come, Lord Jesus" in Revelation 22:20, is also widely accepted, and some modern translations transliterate "Maranatha" while adding a sense of petition.
• The liturgical-setting hypothesis: Near the end of the Eucharistic prayers in the early Christian document known as the Didache, the words "If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha" also appear. On this basis some scholars hold that the verse is connected with language used at early Christian gatherings for the Lord's Supper. This hypothesis, however, rests on the assumption that the letter was read aloud before the congregation and was then followed by the Lord's Supper, and it has not been confirmed.

Questions of Application

Interpretations of this verse do not divide sharply along denominational lines. The strong word "curse," however, raises several questions.

• Love and curse: People often ask why a curse appears in the same letter that contains chapter 13, with its extended treatment of love. Many expositions explain that Paul is not personally cursing anyone but is using a form that commits judgment to God.
• Quotation out of context: Some point out that isolating this verse and using it as grounds for condemning particular individuals or groups removes it from its original context as a warning addressed to believers within the church.
• The timing of the Second Coming: In preaching that emphasizes the Second Coming, "Maranatha" is sometimes cited as evidence for an imminent return. Others respond that it should be read together with Mark 13:32: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man."

In the Korean Church

"Maranatha" is widely known in the Korean church as an expression of faith that awaits the Second Coming. It also appears in the titles of worship songs and in the names of churches and fellowship groups.

Related Passages

• 1 Corinthians 12:3 — the contrast between calling Jesus "accursed" and the confession "Jesus is the Lord"
• Galatians 1:8-9 — the "anathema" on anyone who preaches another gospel
• Revelation 22:20 — "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"
• Titus 2:13 — looking for the glorious appearing of the Lord