1 Corinthians 2
The full text of 1 Corinthians 2 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Greek. Free to read.
1 And so, brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come with eloquent speech or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony of God.
2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 I came to you in weakness, with great fear and trembling,
4 and my message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on the power of God.
6 Yet among the mature we do speak a wisdom—but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
7 No, we speak God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden, which God destined before the ages for our glory.
8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived"—these things God has prepared for those who love him.
10 These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11 For who among people knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities to those who are spiritual.
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them, because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
15 The one who is spiritual discerns all things, but is not subject to anyone else's judgment.
16 For "who has known the mind of the Lord, that they may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
Translation notes (6)
- 1 Corinthians 2:1a Some manuscripts read 'the mystery of God' instead of 'the testimony of God.'
- 1 Corinthians 2:4a The exact wording varies in the manuscripts, with some reading 'persuasive words of wisdom,' others 'persuasive words of human wisdom,' and other forms.
- 1 Corinthians 2:6a This can also be translated 'of the rulers of this age,' which some understand as human authorities and others as spiritual powers.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10a Some manuscripts read 'but to us God has revealed.'
- 1 Corinthians 2:13a The last phrase is ambiguous in Greek and may mean 'interpreting spiritual truths to spiritual people,' 'comparing spiritual things with spiritual,' or 'expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.'
- 1 Corinthians 2:14a The Greek word psychikos refers to the 'natural' or 'unspiritual' person, meaning one who lives only by the soul or natural life apart from the Spirit.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is a new translation of the Bible prepared by Trinity Bible AI — rendered from the original Greek and faithful to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. Finished in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation you can read today, and it is available only through Trinity Bible. All 66 books, including 1 Corinthians, are free to read on this site.
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