1 Corinthians 10:6 (DRB)

Passage

Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things, as they also coveted.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 10:4 And all drank the same spiritual drink: (And they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ.)

1 Corinthians 10:5 But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert.

1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were done in a figure of us, that we should not covet evil things, as they also coveted.

1 Corinthians 10:7 Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

1 Corinthians 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them that committed fornication: and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "things", "done", "figure", "should", "covet", "evil", and "coveted". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "things" and "done", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "But with most of them God was..." into verse 7's "Neither become ye idolaters as some of...", so "things" and "done" 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 "things" and "done" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.