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1 Corinthians 10 · a question people ask

"All things are lawful for me" (10:23). Whose words are these?

In the text

The WEB prints the words in quotation marks, twice in this verse: "“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up." (10:23). It prints the same words in the same way twice in 6:12. The letter doesn't say whose words they are. Christians read them in more than one way, and these notes don't settle it.

The verses

““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are profitable. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things build up.”
1 Corinthians 10:23 · World English Bible
““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.”
1 Corinthians 6:12 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10: Do all to the glory of God

1 Corinthians 10 says all five times in 10:1-4 before "However with most of them, God was not well pleased" (10:5). It says, "God is faithful" (10:13), as 1:9 does, and it says, "do all to the glory of God" (10:31).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions