1:1 Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ ①by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
▷ ①Lit through
1:2 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ①saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
▷ ①Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
1:3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:4 I thank ①my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus,
▷ ①Two early mss do not contain my
1:5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge,
1:6 just as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ①in you,
▷ ①Or among
1:7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1:8 who will also ①confirm you to the end, blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
▷ ①Or strengthen
1:9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1:10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ①agree and that there be no ②divisions among you, but that you be ③made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
▷ ①Lit say the same thing ②Lit schisms ③Or united
1:11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you.
1:12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am ①with Paul,” ②or “I am ③with Apollos,” ④or “I am ⑤with ⑥Cephas,” ⑦or “I am ⑧with Christ.”
▷ ①Lit and ②Lit of ③Lit and ④Lit of ⑤Peter’s Aramaic name ⑥Lit and ⑦Lit of ⑧Lit of
1:13 ①Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized ②in the name of Paul?
▷ ①Or Christ has been divided! or Christ is divided! ②Lit into
1:14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
1:15 so that no one would say you were baptized ①in my name!
▷ ①Lit into
1:16 But I did baptize the household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else.
1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with ①cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.
▷ ①I.e., persuasive rhetoric
1:18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who ①are perishing, but to us who ②are being saved it is the power of God.
▷ ①Or perish ②Or are saved
1:19 For it is written:
“I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,
AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE WHO HAVE UNDERSTANDING, I WILL CONFOUND.”
1:20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world?
1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God ①was pleased through the foolishness of the ②message preached to save those who believe.
▷ ①Or resolved ②Lit preaching
1:22 For indeed Jews ask for ①signs and Greeks search for wisdom;
▷ ①Or confirming miracles
1:23 but we preach ①Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,
▷ ①I.e., the Messiah
1:24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.
1:26 For ①consider your calling, brothers and sisters, that there were not many wise according to ②the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;
▷ ①Lit see ②I.e., human standards
1:27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
1:28 and the ①insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are,
▷ ①Or lowly
1:29 so that no ①human may boast before God.
▷ ①Lit flesh
1:30 But it is ①due to Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, ②and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
▷ ①Lit from Him ②Or both
1:31 so that, just as it is written: “LET THE ONE WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”