3:18 Guard against self-deception, each of you. 3 If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise. 3:19 For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” 4 3:20 And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 5
1 sn A quotation from Isa 29:14.
2 tn Grk “the scribe.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the Mosaic law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.
3 tn Grk “let no one deceive himself.”
4 sn A quotation from Job 5:13.
5 sn A quotation from Ps 94:11.