Do not be deceived: in this verse the bad influence of other people is suggested. Perhaps one may translate “Do not let people deceive you.”

The words Bad company ruins good morals are found in a play by Menander (4th–3rd century B. C.) but may well have become a common saying by Paul’s time.

The word translated company sometimes means “conversation” but has also the wider meaning of company. Good News Bible makes this word more concrete with the translation “Bad companions.”

Some languages will have proverbs that have a meaning equivalent to the saying in this verse. For example, Thai Common Language Version has a proverb in the form of a poetic couplet that says literally “Associate bad people—mischievously lead to badness.”

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 .