Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 10:22
Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian believers concerning their social and religious practices, placing this warning immediately after stating that sharing the Lord’s cup and table excludes sharing with demons.
The words — παραζηλοῦμεν (parazēloumen) literally means "do we provoke to jealousy," and ἰσχυρὸτεροι (ischuroteroi) means "stronger," forming a direct rhetorical challenge about human capability versus divine authority.
The thread — The phrase provoking God’s jealousy traces to Deuteronomy 32:16 and Deuteronomy 32:21, where Israel’s idolatry triggers divine jealousy, while the warning of divine reckoning parallels Hebrews 10:31.
Why it lands — The text states that attempting to serve both God and idols provokes divine jealousy and presumes a false strength, requiring the reader to abandon spiritual compromise and recognize God’s absolute supremacy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:21 They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.
- Deuteronomy 32:16 They provoked His jealousy with foreign gods; they enraged Him with abominations.
- Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Exodus 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Exodus 34:14 For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
- Deuteronomy 6:15 For the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God. Otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.
- Joshua 24:19 But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your rebellion or your sins.
- Job 40:9 Do you have an arm like God’s? Can you thunder with a voice like His?
- Psalms 78:58 They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.