another often quoted passage

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ... will inherit the kingdom of God.

There are two words in the Greek. The first is malakos, and the second is arsenokoitai.

This edition of the NIV has translated the passage as if it only refers to one group, and they have used the phrase: “men who have sex with men”.

Malakos is translated in an older revision of the NIV and in the RSV as male prostitutes.

Strong’s concordance gives the meaning:

1. of a catamite
2. of a boy kept for homosexual relations with a man
3. of a male who submits his body to unnatural lewdness
4. of a male prostitute  
    

Arsenokoitai is made up of the Greek words for male (arseno-) and beds (koitai). We easily understand this euphemism for someone who has sex as we say ‘to go to bed with’ so it does mean ‘to have sex with a man’.

However, since arsenokoitai so closely follows malakos, isn’t it reasonable to conclude that it refers to someone who sleeps with a male prostitute? We would expect the Bible to condemn prostitution and any man who used a prostitute or took advantage of a slave boy!

Both conservative and progressive scholars agree that arsenokoitai is a word that Paul coined from the Greek words for male (arseno-) and beds (koitai) found together in Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13 in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was in use in his day).

Since the New Testament guides the way we take the Old Testament Law, we can conclude that Paul understood Leviticus to condemn the use of male prostitutes not Gay Relationships.

In fact, there is reason to think that the ancient Jewish view was that Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 prohibited shrine prostitution. See these sites which I found helpful:

www.gaychurch.org/homosexuality-and-the-bible/the-bible-christianity-and-homosexuality/

www.gaychristian101.com/what-did-paul-mean-when-he-used-the-greek-word-arsenokoitai.html

1 Timothy 1:9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

10 for the sexually immoral, for those practising homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.

The grouping in these verses is significant:

Lawbreakers and rebels –  ungodly and sinful – unholy and irreligious,

These expressions are grouped in pairs of words with similar meanings.

Then we have three words about killing: for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

So it seems reasonable that we find three connected expressions next:

10 for the sexually immoral, for those practising homosexuality, for slave traders

Finally another connected pair: liars and perjurers

To understand better the connection between the expressions grouped in the first part of verse 10,

we need to look at the New Testament Greek.

The word translated, in this version, as ‘sexually immoral’ is pornos, and Strong’s concordance gives male prostitute as the main meaning.

The word translated, in this version, as 'practising homosexuality’  is arsenokoitai,

which we came across in 1 Corinthians 6:9.

The word for ‘slave traders’ is andrapodistēs… a slave-dealer, kidnapper, man-stealer. 

So, here too, it seems to follow that ‘those practising homosexuality’  should really be translated as ‘those who have sex with male prostitutes’. Slave traders are those who would obtain men or boys for this purpose. In other words Paul condemns what we would now call people traffickers for the purpose of sexual exploitation. This also suggests that Paul is especially concerned about this sort of abuse, which was common in his day, as the reference to ‘catamites’ in 1 Corinthians also implies.