1 Corinthians 4:13

Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now.

The imagery here is still that of the Coliseum, where, after the bloody games were over, the grounds-keepers cleaned the theater by the removal of the bloody corpses, the offal and the debris. Paul, in this remarkably blunt, shocking paragraph, merely stated the true facts with a view to bringing the giddy and irresponsible Corinthians to their senses.