1 Corinthians 5:9
New International Version
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—

New Living Translation
When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.

English Standard Version
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—

Berean Standard Bible
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

Berean Literal Bible
I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the sexually immoral,

King James Bible
I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:

New King James Version
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

New American Standard Bible
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people;

NASB 1995
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

NASB 1977
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

Legacy Standard Bible
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people;

Amplified Bible
I wrote you in my [previous] letter not to associate with [sexually] immoral people—

Christian Standard Bible
I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

American Standard Version
I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators;

Contemporary English Version
In my other letter I told you not to have anything to do with immoral people.

English Revised Version
I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins.

Good News Translation
In the letter that I wrote you I told you not to associate with immoral people.

International Standard Version
I wrote to you in my letter to stop associating with people who are sexually immoral—

Majority Standard Bible
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

NET Bible
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

New Heart English Bible
I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;

Webster's Bible Translation
I have written to you in this epistle, not to associate with persons guilty of lewdness:

Weymouth New Testament
I wrote to you in that letter that you were not to associate with fornicators;

World English Bible
I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
I wrote to you in the letter, not to keep company with whoremongers—

Berean Literal Bible
I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with the sexually immoral,

Young's Literal Translation
I did write to you in the epistle, not to keep company with whoremongers --

Smith's Literal Translation
I wrote to you in the epistle not to mix together with fornicators.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
I wrote to you in an epistle, not to keep company with fornicators.

Catholic Public Domain Version
As I have written to you in an epistle: “Do not associate with fornicators,”

New American Bible
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people,

New Revised Standard Version
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons—
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
I wrote to you in an epistle not to associate with immoral persons.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
I have written to you in a letter not to mix with fornicators.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
I have written to you in the letter not to associate with lewd persons;

Godbey New Testament
I have written unto you in a letter to have no fellowship with fornicators;

Haweis New Testament
I have written unto you in an epistle that you should not associate with fornicators.

Mace New Testament
When I formerly writ to you, not to keep company with the vicious:

Weymouth New Testament
I wrote to you in that letter that you were not to associate with fornicators;

Worrell New Testament
I wrote to you, in my letter, not to keep company with fornicators;

Worsley New Testament
I wrote to you in an epistle, not to associate with whoremongers:

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Expel the Immoral Brother
8Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth. 9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.…

Cross References
2 Corinthians 6:14-17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? / What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? / What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” ...

Ephesians 5:11
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

2 Thessalonians 3:6
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
Take note of anyone who does not obey the instructions we have given in this letter. Do not associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. / Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

Romans 16:17
Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

1 Corinthians 15:33
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

2 Timothy 3:5
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

Matthew 18:15-17
If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. / But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ / If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

2 John 1:10-11
If anyone comes to you but does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your home or even greet him. / Whoever greets such a person shares in his evil deeds.

Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

1 Timothy 6:5
and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.

Titus 3:10-11
Reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition, / knowing that such a man is corrupt and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Proverbs 13:20
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.

Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.

Proverbs 4:14-15
Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. / Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.


Treasury of Scripture

I wrote to you in an letter not to company with fornicators:

not.

1 Corinthians 5:2,7
And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you…

Psalm 1:1,2
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful…

Proverbs 9:6
Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Jump to Previous
Associate Company Desires Epistle Flesh Fornicators Guilty Immoral Letter Mix Persons Sexual Sexually Sinners Whoremongers Write Written Wrote
Jump to Next
Associate Company Desires Epistle Flesh Fornicators Guilty Immoral Letter Mix Persons Sexual Sexually Sinners Whoremongers Write Written Wrote
1 Corinthians 5
1. The sexual immorality person,
6. is cause rather of shame unto them than of rejoicing.
7. The old leaven is to be purged out.
10. Heinous offenders are to be shamed and avoided.














I wrote to you in my letter
This phrase indicates that the Apostle Paul had previously communicated with the Corinthian church through another letter, which is not part of the canonical New Testament. The Greek word for "wrote" (ἔγραψα, egrapsa) suggests a past action with ongoing relevance. This highlights the importance of written communication in the early church and underscores the apostolic authority Paul held. Historically, letters were a primary means of instruction and correction, and this reference suggests a continuous pastoral relationship between Paul and the Corinthians.

not to associate
The Greek term used here is "συναναμίγνυσθαι" (synanamignysthai), which means to mix together or keep company with. This implies a deliberate and conscious decision to avoid close relationships with certain individuals. In the context of the Corinthian church, Paul is addressing the need for the community to maintain its moral and spiritual integrity by distancing itself from those who persist in sinful behavior. This reflects the early Christian emphasis on holiness and the distinctiveness of the Christian community.

with sexually immoral people
The phrase "sexually immoral" translates the Greek word "πόρνοις" (pornois), which refers to those engaging in sexual immorality. In the Greco-Roman world, sexual immorality was rampant and often accepted as part of daily life. However, for the early Christians, sexual purity was a significant aspect of their witness to the world. This instruction is not about shunning the world entirely but about maintaining the purity of the church community. It reflects the biblical call to be in the world but not of it, emphasizing the transformative power of the Gospel in personal and communal ethics.

(9) I wrote unto you in an epistle.--These words have given rise to some controversy as to whether the Apostle here refers to some former Epistle addressed to the Corinthian Church, and which has not been preserved, or whether the reference is not to this Epistle itself. It has been suggested by some who adopt the latter view that these words may have been added as an interpolation after the completion of the Epistle, and be intended to intensify the remarks made by the Apostle on this subject in 1Corinthians 5:6-8; 1Corinthians 6:9-20. Such an interpretation, however, seems rather strained. It is more natural to suppose that the reference is to an Epistle written to the Corinthians, probably from Ephesus, after a visit paid to Corinth of which we have no record, for in 2Corinthians 12:14; 2Corinthians 13:1, we read of a third visit being contemplated, whereas only one previous one is recorded. (See also Introduction.) The condition of the Church which caused the Apostle that "heaviness," which he connects with this visit in 2Corinthians 2:1, would naturally have given rise to an Epistle containing the kind of direction here referred to.

Verses 9-13. - Correction of a mistaken inference which they had deduced from a former letter of St. Paul's. Verse 9. - In an Epistle; rather, in the Epistle; in some former letter to the Church, which is no longer extant (comp. 2 Corinthians 10:10). The attempt to get rid of so plain a statement, in the supposed interests of some superstitious notion that every line which an apostle wrote to a Church must necessarily have been inspired and infallible, is at once unscriptural and grossly superstitious. The notion that "the Epistle" intended is this Epistle is an absurdity invented in the interests of the same fiction. The only hypothesis which could give the least plausibility to such a view is that which makes this paragraph a postscript or marginal addition after the letter was finished; but there is little or nothing in favour of such a view. Not to company with. The Greek word is rather stronger: not to be mingled up among (comp. 2 Thessalonians 3:14). The spirit of the injunction is repeated in Ephesians 5:11, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
I wrote
Ἔγραψα (Egrapsa)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1125: A primary verb; to 'grave', especially to write; figuratively, to describe.

you
ὑμῖν (hymin)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

[my]
τῇ (tē)
Article - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

letter
ἐπιστολῇ (epistolē)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1992: A letter, dispatch, epistle, message. From epistello; a written message.

not
μὴ (mē)
Adverb
Strong's 3361: Not, lest. A primary particle of qualified negation; not, lest; also (whereas ou expects an affirmative one) whether.

to associate with
συναναμίγνυσθαι (synanamignysthai)
Verb - Present Infinitive Middle
Strong's 4874: From sun and a compound of ana and mignumi; to mix up together, i.e. associate with.

sexually immoral [people].
πόρνοις (pornois)
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4205: A fornicator, man who prostitutes himself. From pernemi; a prostitute, i.e. a debauchee.


Links
1 Corinthians 5:9 NIV
1 Corinthians 5:9 NLT
1 Corinthians 5:9 ESV
1 Corinthians 5:9 NASB
1 Corinthians 5:9 KJV

1 Corinthians 5:9 BibleApps.com
1 Corinthians 5:9 Biblia Paralela
1 Corinthians 5:9 Chinese Bible
1 Corinthians 5:9 French Bible
1 Corinthians 5:9 Catholic Bible

NT Letters: 1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter (1 Cor. 1C iC 1Cor i cor icor)
1 Corinthians 5:8
Top of Page
Top of Page