1 Corinthians 10:21 (DRB)

Passage

You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of devils.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 10:19 What then? Do I say that what is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? Or that the idol is any thing?

1 Corinthians 10:20 But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you should be made partakers with devils.

1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the chalice of the Lord and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and of the table of devils.

1 Corinthians 10:22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? All things are lawful for me: but all things are not expedient.

1 Corinthians 10:23 All things are lawful for me: but all things do not edify.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "drink", "chalice", "lord", "devils", "partakers", and "table". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "drink" and "chalice", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "But the things which the heathens sacrifice..." into verse 22's "Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy...", so "drink" and "chalice" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "drink" and "chalice" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.