1 Corinthians 1
The full text of 1 Corinthians 1 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those made holy in Christ Jesus, called to be his holy people, together with all who everywhere call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus,
5 for in him you have been made rich in every way—in all your speaking and all your knowledge—
6 because the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you.
7 So you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there are no divisions among you, and that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose.
11 For some from Chloe's household have told me, my brothers and sisters, that there are quarrels among you.
12 What I mean is this: each of you is saying, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15 so no one can say you were baptized in my name.
16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not remember whether I baptized anyone else.)
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Think about your own calling, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,
29 so that no one may boast before God.
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—our righteousness, holiness, and redemption—
31 so that, as it is written: "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."
Translation notes (10)
- 1 Corinthians 1:1a The Greek kletos apostolos means 'called as an apostle'. The individual Sosthenes may be the synagogue ruler mentioned in Acts 18:17, who was beaten by a crowd.
- 1 Corinthians 1:2a The Greek verb hegiasmenois (ἡγιασμένοις) is a perfect passive participle, indicating a completed action with lasting results: 'those who have been sanctified' or 'made holy'.
- 1 Corinthians 1:10a The Greek word adelphoi, meaning 'brothers,' here addresses the entire congregation, including both men and women.
- 1 Corinthians 1:12a Cephas is the Aramaic (כֵּיפָא) for Peter (Πέτρος), meaning 'stone' or 'rock'.
- 1 Corinthians 1:14a Some manuscripts read simply 'I thank God,' without the word 'my.'
- 1 Corinthians 1:19a This verse quotes Isaiah 29:14, following the Septuagint. The Greek apolō, 'I will destroy,' and atheteō, 'I will frustrate,' reflect the Hebrew 'destroy' (ʾabad) and 'hide' (satar).
- 1 Corinthians 1:20a The three rhetorical questions in this verse echo Isaiah 33:18, emphasizing God's subversion of worldly wisdom. The Greek grammateus (γραμματεύς) refers to a scribe or scholar, and syzētētēs (συζητητής) refers to a debater or disputer.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23a The Greek word skandalon means 'a trap' or 'cause of stumbling,' and ethnesin refers to 'the nations' or 'Gentiles.'
- 1 Corinthians 1:28a The Greek literally distinguishes between ta mē onta —'the things that are not'— and ta onta —'the things that are'— which are categories of being and non-being. The Septuagint uses similar phrasing in Deuteronomy 32:21.
- 1 Corinthians 1:31a This verse quotes Jeremiah 9:24. The Greek of the Septuagint for Jeremiah 9:24 is very similar to Paul's quotation here, using ho kauchomenos en kyriō kauchasthō, 'the one who boasts, let him boast in the Lord'.
About this translation
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