In the same way: here, as in verse 24, attention is focused on the actions of Jesus rather than on the bread and wine themselves. Bruce comments: “as he had taken the bread and given thanks for it, so he took the cup and gave thanks for it.”

The in front of cup shows that Paul is referring to a particular cup, either the cup of wine drunk after the Passover meal, or the cup, well known to the readers, which formed part of their regular celebration of the Lord’s supper. Translators need to find a natural way in the receptor language to indicate this.

As in verse 20, supper should be translated in such a way as to make it clear that a real meal was in progress, both at the Last Supper itself, and in the Lord’s Supper as it was celebrated at Corinth and elsewhere.

The idea of the new covenant can best be understood in the light of Jer 31.31-34; the words in my blood recall Exo 24.8. New covenant is found also in Luke 22.20. The basic meaning of covenant is that of an agreement, normally between two parties. In the Old Testament the term covenant was specially used of the inevitably one-sided agreement by which God claimed Israel as his special people and gave himself to Israel as their God. In many languages there is no parallel to this idea apart from language based on the Bible. Good News Bible and some other common language translations try to bring out the meaning by adding “God’s,” but covenant is not used in modern secular English except in the sense of a financial arrangement. An American Translation and Phillips translate “agreement,” which has a somewhat wider range of meaning in English than covenant. Barclay translates “This cup stands for the new relationship with God made possible at the cost of my death.” Whatever expression the translator chooses, he or she must carefully examine its meaning in common language to avoid misunderstanding or lack of understanding by the readers of the translation. See A Translator’s Handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews Appendix B, on “The Translation of ‘Covenant.’ ”

In my blood (Good News Bible‘s “sealed in…”): the Greek may mean “by means of” or “at the cost of my blood”; compare Bijbel in Gewone Taal “ratified by,” Bible en français courant “guaranteed by,” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente “established with,” Translator’s New Testament “made by my blood.” The grammar of this sentence is understood in different ways. The two most likely meanings are (1) to take my blood with This cup, meaning “if the cup is a cup of the covenant, it is because of my blood”; and (2) to take the phrase “sealed with my blood” (Good News Bible) with new covenant. Good News Bible and most translations and commentaries favor the second.

In verse 25b the words translated as often as you drink it may mean “as often as you drink wine” (Barrett), suggesting that bread, but not wine, was a normal article of diet. However, the context suggests rather “as often as you drink wine in celebrating the Lord’s Supper.” In many languages, including English, it is not natural to speak of drinking a cup. In such cases it will be necessary for reasons of style to translate “each time you drink wine from it,” that is, “from this cup,” as in verse 26. There is nothing in the Greek to suggest how often the Lord’s Supper was celebrated at Corinth.

The words Do this may be expanded to “You should do this.”

In remembrance: see comments on verse 24.

The final sentence can be translated as “Whenever you drink wine from this cup, you should do it in memory of me.”

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 .