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Wednesday, July 9th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Read the Bible

Lexham English Bible

1 Corinthians 11:13

You judge for yourselves: is it fitting for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Worship;   The Topic Concordance - Men;   Women;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Women;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Overseer;   Woman;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Lord's Supper;   Worship of God;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Dress;   James, the General Epistle of;   Veil;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Covering the Head;   Veil;   Woman;   1 Corinthians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Paul the Apostle;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Clothes;   Judge Judging (Ethical);   Unity (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Hair;   Woman;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Veil;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Synagogue;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Beard;   Veil (1);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
King James Version (1611)
Iudge in your selues, is it comely that a woman pray vnto God vncouered?
King James Version
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
English Standard Version
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered?
New American Standard Bible
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
New Century Version
Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Amplified Bible
Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to offer prayer to God [publicly] with her head uncovered?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Legacy Standard Bible
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Berean Standard Bible
Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Contemporary English Version
Ask yourselves if it is proper for a woman to pray without something on her head.
Complete Jewish Bible
Decide for yourselves: is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God when she is unveiled?
Darby Translation
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman should pray to God uncovered?
Easy-to-Read Version
Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God without something on her head?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Iudge in your selues, Is it comely that a woman pray vnto God vncouered?
George Lamsa Translation
Judge for yourselves, Is it comely for a woman to pray to God with uncovered head?
Good News Translation
Judge for yourselves whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God in public worship with nothing on her head.
Literal Translation
You judge among yourselves: is it fitting for a woman to pray to God unveiled?
American Standard Version
Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
Bible in Basic English
Be judges yourselves of the question: does it seem right for a woman to take part in prayer unveiled?
Hebrew Names Version
Judge for yourselves. Is it appropriate that a woman pray to God unveiled?
International Standard Version
Decide for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?It is proper . . . uncovered, isn't it?
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Etheridge Translation
Judge among yourselves, Is it comely for a woman with her head revealed to pray to Aloha?
Murdock Translation
Judge for yourselves, among yourselves; is it becoming, that a woman pray to God with her head uncovered?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Iudge in your selues, whether it be comely that a woman pray vnto God bare headed?
English Revised Version
Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled?
World English Bible
Judge for yourselves. Is it appropriate that a woman pray to God unveiled?
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Judge of yourselves: is it decent for a woman to pray to God uncovered?
Weymouth's New Testament
Judge of this for your own selves: is it seemly for a woman to pray to God when she is unveiled?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Deme ye you silf; bisemeth it a womman not hilid on the heed to preye God?
Update Bible Version
Judge in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman prays to God unveiled?
Webster's Bible Translation
Judge in yourselves: Is it comely that a woman should pray to God uncovered?
New English Translation
Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
New King James Version
Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
New Living Translation
Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head?
New Life Bible
Think this over yourselves. Does it look right for a woman to pray with no covering on her head?
New Revised Standard
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head unveiled?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Among your own selves, judge ye, - Is it becoming for a woman, - unveiled, to be praying unto God?
Douay-Rheims Bible
You yourselves judge. Doth it become a woman to pray unto God uncovered?
Revised Standard Version
Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Iudge in youre selves whether it be coly yt a woman praye vnto god bare heeded.
Young's Literal Translation
In your own selves judge ye; is it seemly for a woman uncovered to pray to God?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Iudge ye by yor selues, whether it be comly, yt a woma praye before God bare headed?
Mace New Testament (1729)
Be you yourselves judges: is it decent for a woman to pray to God without a veil?
THE MESSAGE
Don't you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you're not going to be argumentative about this. All God's churches see it this way; I don't want you standing out as an exception.
Simplified Cowboy Version
See if this ain't right, a woman shouldn't be going to God in prayer or say she rides for the brand without doing things the way God said to do 'em.

Contextual Overview

1 Become imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you that you remember me in all things, and just as I handed over to you the traditions, you hold fast to them. 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies while having something on his head dishonors his head, 5 but every woman who prays or prophesies with uncovered head dishonors her head, for she is one and the same with the one whose head is shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover herself, let her hair be shorn off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her head shorn or shaved, let her cover her head. 7 For indeed a man ought not to cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 For indeed man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. 10 Because of this, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, on account of the angels.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Corinthians 10:15, Luke 12:57, John 7:24

Reciprocal: Romans 14:13 - but 1 Corinthians 13:5 - behave

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Judge in yourselves,.... The apostle having gone through a variety of reasoning and arguments, showing the superiority of the man to the woman, by which he would prove, that the one should be covered, and the other uncovered, returns to his subject again, and appeals to the common sense and understanding of the Corinthians, and makes them themselves judges of the matter; suggesting that the thing was so clear, and he so certain of what he had advanced being right, that he leaves it with them, not doubting but that they would, upon a little reflection within themselves, join with him in this point:

is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? in you judgment you can never think so, however pleasing and gratifying such a sight may be, to the lust of the flesh, and to the lust of the eye; he does not mention prophesying, only instances in praying; but it is to be understood of one, as of another; and his meaning is, that it is an uncomely thing in a woman to appear in public service with her head uncovered, whether it be in joining in the public prayers, or in singing of psalms, or in hearing the word expounded; and though the apostle does not put the case of the man's praying to God, or prophesying in his name with his head covered, yet his sense is the same of that, as of the woman's.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Judge in yourselves - Or, “Judge among yourselves.” I appeal to you. I appeal to your natural sense of what is proper and right. Paul had used various arguments to show them the impropriety of their females speaking unveiled in public. He now appeals to their natural sense of what was decent and right, according to established and acknowledged customs and habits.

Is it comely ... - Is it decent, or becoming? The Grecian women, except their priestesses, were accustomed to appear in public with a veil - Doddridge. Paul alludes to that established and proper habit, and asks whether it does not accord with their own views of propriety that women in Christian assemblies should also wear the same symbol of modesty.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 11:13. Judge in yourselves — Consider the subject in your own common sense, and then say whether it be decent for a woman to pray in public without a veil on her head? The heathen priestesses prayed or delivered their oracles bare-headed or with dishevelled hair, non comptae mansere comae, as in the case of the Cumaean Sibyl, AEn. vi., ver. 48, and otherwise in great disorder: to be conformed to them would be very disgraceful to Christian women. And in reference to such things as these, the apostle appeals to their sense of honour and decency.


 
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