The structure of this verse consists largely of a comparison between three pairs of items: man and Christ, wife and husband, Christ and God. Between each of these pairs Paul uses the Greek connective de. Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible follow English usage in translating the first of these occurrences of de by a simple comma, and the second occurrence by a comma followed by and.

But suggests a contrast with verse 2. The contrast may be between (1) matters about which Paul can commend the Corinthians and (2) matters on which he must criticize them. However, he doesn’t express this contrast until verse 17. It is more likely that the contrast of verse 3 is between the teaching already given by Paul and accepted by the Corinthians (verse 3), and new teachings that he is about to develop. If this is so, I want you to understand is probably different in meaning from the expression in 10.1 translated “I want you to know” (Good News Bible‘s “remember”). The first expression understand refers to new teaching, whereas “know” refers to teaching that the Corinthians had already received from Paul (see the comments on 10.1, and compare 12.1).

The same Greek words are translated man or husband, and woman or “wife” (Good News Bible; see the comments on 7.2). Each occurrence of these words must be considered to find out which is the more likely meaning in each case. In this verse Paul appears to be referring to the relationship between a man and a woman in marriage, not stating generally that man is the head of a woman. Elsewhere in this passage Paul appears to be speaking more generally of men and women, though verse 10 will raise special problems.

Some modern translations such as Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente keep the word head because of a play on words in the Greek; it involves the literal meaning of “head” that occurs in verses 4-10. But in many languages it will be impossible to keep this play on words. Modern translations that do not use “head” in verse 3 tend to agree that Paul is thinking of the head as a symbol of authority; for example, Portuguese common language version (BÍBLIA para todos Edição Comum), “Christ has authority over all men as the man has authority over the woman and God over Christ.” Good News Bible‘s translation “supreme” also gives this meaning. (See Isa 7.8, 9 for a similar problem.)

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .