What Does 1 Corinthians 11:23 Mean in the King James?

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

1 Corinthians 11:23 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

One Greek verb names both Paul’s handing on of the meal and Jesus’ being betrayed: both are acts of being handed over.

THE MEANING

What reaches you as teaching is received from the Lord and handed onward; it does not arrive outside the vulnerability of human relationships. The same verb names Jesus’ betrayal and the passing on of what is shared with you, while the bread is taken into the scene.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The verse unsettles the belief that what is sacred arrives untouched by betrayal: the transmission of the meal and Jesus’ being handed over share one verb.

THE ROOT

παραδίδωμι

paradidōmi

GROWS FROM

δίδωμι

didōmi

To give; in the compound ⁨παραδίδωμι⁩, to hand over or give into another’s hands.

“delivered / betrayed” in this verse is paradidōmi. The Greek uses ⁨παραδίδωμι⁩ both for what Paul delivered to the community and for what happened to Jesus that night. English renders the same verb as “delivered” and “betrayed,” concealing the shared image of handing over.

ALSO GROWS

paredōka: I delivered, handed on

παρέδωκα

This is the form behind “I delivered unto you.”

paredideto: He was being handed over; KJV: “was betrayed”

παρεδίδετο

This form uses the same verb as “delivered,” showing that the two English words share a Greek root.

παρέλαβον

parelabon

GROWS FROM

λαμβάνω

lambanō

To take, receive, or obtain.

“received / took” in this verse is parelabon. The Greek word behind “received” shares its root with the word behind “took.” The verse links receiving from the Lord with Jesus taking bread, a connection the different English words obscure.

ALSO GROWS

parelabon: I received

παρέλαβον

This form describes what reaches Paul from the Lord.

elaben: He took

ἔλαβεν

This form describes Jesus taking bread; it shares the ⁨λαμβάνω⁩ root with “received.”

THE PATTERN

What is received is carried forward through people who pass it on.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1 Corinthians 15:3 · KJVThe verse repeats the movement from receiving to delivering, with the same Greek verb for “delivered” as in 1 Corinthians 11:23.

And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Deuteronomy 6:7 · KJVWhat is held is passed to others through teaching woven into the rhythms of daily life.

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

2 Timothy 2:2 · KJVThe teaching moves through a chain of hearing, entrusting, and passing it on.

THE THREAD

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1 Corinthians 15:3 · KJV

In both verses, “delivered” translates ⁨παραδίδωμι⁩ (paradidōmi), the same verb rendered “betrayed” in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Both also use the ⁨λαμβάνω⁩ (lambanō) word family for “received,” joining reception, handover, and what is passed to you in one chain.

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