1 Korintus 1:17

1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless. ¹ 

1 Korintus 1:20-22

1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? ²  Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. 1:22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,

1 Korintus 1:26-28

1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, ³  brothers and sisters. ⁴  Not many were wise by human standards, ⁵  not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. ⁶  1:27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 1:28 God chose ⁷  what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,

1 Korintus 2:1

2:1 When I came ⁸  to you, brothers and sisters, ⁹  I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony ¹⁰  of God.

1 Korintus 2:6-8

Wisdom from God

2:6 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, ¹¹  but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. 2:7 Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Korintus 2:12

2:12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.

1 Korintus 2:14-15

2:14 The unbeliever ¹²  does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 2:15 The one who is spiritual discerns ¹³  all things, yet he himself is understood ¹⁴  by no one.

1 Korintus 3:1

Immaturity and Self-deception

3:1 So, brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, ¹⁶  as infants in Christ.

1 Korintus 3:3-4

3:3 for you are still influenced by the flesh. ¹⁷  For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people? ¹⁸  3:4 For whenever someone says, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” are you not merely human? ¹⁹ 

1 Korintus 3:18-19

3:18 Guard against self-deception, each of you. ²⁰  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.” ²¹ 

1 Korintus 3:21-22

3:21 So then, no more boasting about mere mortals! ²²  For everything belongs to you, 3:22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you,

1 Korintus 4:1

The Apostles’ Ministry

4:1 One ²³  should think about us this way – as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

1 Korintus 4:9

4:9 For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people.

1 Korintus 4:13

4:13 when people lie about us, we answer in a friendly manner. We are the world’s dirt and scum, even now.

1 Korintus 5:5

5:5 turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved ²⁴  in the day of the Lord. ²⁵ 

1 Korintus 5:10

5:10 In no way did I mean the immoral people of this world, or the greedy and swindlers and idolaters, since you would then have to go out of the world.

1 Korintus 6:2-4

6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits? 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! 6:4 So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? ²⁶ 

1 Korintus 7:23

7:23 You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men.

1 Korintus 7:28

7:28 But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face difficult circumstances, ²⁷  and I am trying to spare you such problems. ²⁸ 

1 Korintus 7:31

7:31 those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.

1 Korintus 7:33-34

7:33 But a married man is concerned about the things of the world, how to please his wife, 7:34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman ²⁹  or a virgin ³⁰  is concerned about the things of the Lord, to be holy both in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband.

1 Korintus 8:4

8:4 With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.” ³¹ 

1 Korintus 9:11

9:11 If we sowed spiritual blessings among you, is it too much to reap material things from you?

1 Korintus 9:25

9:25 Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.

1 Korintus 10:18

10:18 Look at the people of Israel. ³²  Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?

1 Korintus 11:32

11:32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned with the world.

1 Korintus 14:10

14:10 There are probably many kinds of languages in the world, and none is without meaning.

1 Korintus 15:6

15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters ³³  at one time, most of whom are still alive, ³⁴  though some have fallen asleep. ³⁵ 

1 Korintus 15:19

15:19 For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone.

1 Korintus 15:21

15:21 For since death came through a man, ³⁶  the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. ³⁷ 

1 Korintus 15:29

15:29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? ³⁸  If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they baptized for them?

1 Korintus 15:32

15:32 If from a human point of view I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, ³⁹  what did it benefit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ⁴⁰ 

1 Korintus 15:40

15:40 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The glory of the heavenly body is one sort and the earthly another.

1 Korintus 15:44

15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Korintus 15:48

15:48 Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly.

1 Korintus 15:50

15:50 Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: ⁴¹  Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

1 Korintus 15:53-54

15:53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 15:54 Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.” ⁴² 

[1:17]  ¹ tn Grk “would not be emptied.”

[1:20]  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.

[1:26]  ³ tn Grk “Think about your calling.” “Calling” in Paul’s writings usually refers to God’s work of drawing people to faith in Christ. The following verses show that “calling” here stands by metonymy for their circumstances when they became Christians, leading to the translation “the circumstances of your call.”

[1:26]  ⁴ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[1:26]  ⁵ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[1:26]  ⁶ tn The Greek word ευγενής (eugenh") refers to the status of being born into nobility, wealth, or power with an emphasis on the privileges and benefits that come with that position.

[1:28]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “and I, when I came.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, κἀγώ (kagw) has not been translated here.

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tc ‡ A few important mss (Ì^46vid א* A C pc as well as some versions and fathers) read μυστήριον (musthrion, “mystery”) instead of μαρτύριον (marturion, “testimony”). But the latter has wider ms support (א² B D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï and some versions), though not quite as impressive. μαρτύριον may have been changed by scribes in anticipation of Paul’s words in 2:7, or conversely, μυστήριον may have been changed to conform to 1:6. Transcriptionally, since “the mystery of God/Christ” is a well-worn expression in the corpus Paulinum (1 Cor 2:7; 4:1; Eph 3:4; Col 2:2; 4:3), while “testimony of Christ” occurs in Paul only once (1 Cor 1:6, though “testimony of the Lord” appears in 2 Tim 1:8), and “testimony of God” never, it is likely that scribes changed the text to the more usual expression. A decision is difficult in this instance, but a slight preference should be given to μαρτύριον.

[2:6]  ¹¹ tn In extrabiblical literature this word was applied to an initiate of a mystery religion (BDAG 995 s.v. τέλειος 3, gives numerous examples and states this was a technical term of the mystery religions). It could here refer to those who believed Paul’s message, the mystery of God (v. 1), and so be translated as “those who believe God’s message.”

[2:14]  ¹² tn Grk “natural person.” Cf. BDAG 1100 s.v. ψυχικός a, “an unspiritual pers., one who merely functions bodily, without being touched by the Spirit of God.”

[2:15]  ¹³ tn Or “evaluates.”

[2:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “is evaluated” (i.e., “is subject to evaluation”); Grk “he himself is discerned,” that is, the person without the Spirit does not understand the person with the Spirit, particularly in relation to the life of faith.

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[3:1]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “fleshly [people]”; the Greek term here is σαρκινός (BDAG 914 s.v. 1).

[3:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “are still merely human”; Grk “fleshly.” Cf. BDAG 914 s.v. σαρκικός 2, “pert. to being human at a disappointing level of behavior or characteristics, (merely) human.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse.

[3:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and walking in accordance with man,” i.e., living like (fallen) humanity without the Spirit’s influence; hence, “unregenerate people.”

[3:4]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “are you not men,” i.e., (fallen) humanity without the Spirit’s influence. Here Paul does not say “walking in accordance with” as in the previous verse; he actually states the Corinthians are this. However, this is almost certainly rhetorical hyperbole.

[3:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “let no one deceive himself.”

[3:19]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Job 5:13.

[3:21]  ²² tn Grk “so then, let no one boast in men.”

[4:1]  ²³ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is both indefinite and general, “one”; “a person” (BDAG 81 s.v. 4.a.γ).

[5:5]  ²⁴ tn Or perhaps “turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of your fleshly works, so that your spirit may be saved…”; Grk “for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved.” This is one of the most difficult passages in the NT, and there are many different interpretations regarding what is in view here. (1) Many interpreters see this as some sort of excommunication (“turn this man over to Satan”) which in turn leads to the man’s physical death (“the destruction of the flesh”), resulting in the man’s ultimate salvation (“that [his] spirit may be saved…”). (2) Others see the phrase “destruction of the flesh” as referring to extreme physical suffering or illness that stops short of physical death, thus leading the offender to repentance and salvation. (3) A number of scholars (e.g. G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 212-13) take the reference to the “flesh” to refer to the offender’s “sinful nature” or “carnal nature,” which is “destroyed” by placing him outside the church, back in Satan’s domain (exactly how this “destruction” is accomplished is not clear, and is one of the problems with this view). (4) More recently some have argued that neither the “flesh” nor the “spirit” belong to the offender, but to the church collectively; thus it is the “fleshly works” of the congregation which are being destroyed by the removal of the offender (cf. 5:13) so that the “spirit,” the corporate life of the church lived in union with God through the Holy Spirit, may be preserved (cf. 5:7-8). See, e.g., B. Campbell, “Flesh and Spirit in 1 Cor 5:5: An Exercise in Rhetorical Criticism of the NT,” JETS 36 (1993): 331-42. The alternate translation “for the destruction of your fleshly works, so that your spirit may be saved” reflects this latter view.

[5:5]  ²⁵ tc The shorter reading, κυρίου (kuriou, “Lord”), is found in Ì⁴⁶ B 630 1739 pc; κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ (kuriou Ihsou, “Lord Jesus”) is read by Ì^61vid א Ψ Ï; κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (kuriou Ihsou Cristou, “Lord Jesus Christ”) by D pc; and κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ (kuriou Jhmwn Ihsou Cristou, “our Lord Jesus Christ”) by A F G P 33 al. The shorter reading is preferred as the reading that best explains the other readings, especially in view of the mention of “Jesus” twice in the previous verse.

[6:4]  ²⁶ tn Or “if you have ordinary lawsuits, appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church!” This alternative reading (cf. KJV, NIV) takes the Greek verb καθίζετε (kaqizete) as an ironic imperative instead of a question. This verb comes, however, at the end of the sentence. It is not impossible that Paul meant for it to be understood this way, but its placement in the sentence does not make this probable.

[7:28]  ²⁷ tn Grk “these will have tribulation in the flesh.”

[7:28]  ²⁸ tn Grk “I am trying to spare you.” Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context. “Such problems” has been supplied here to make the sense of the statement clear.

[7:34]  ²⁹ sn In context the unmarried woman would probably refer specifically to a widow, who was no longer married, as opposed to the virgin, who had never been married.

[7:34]  ³⁰ tc There are three viable variant readings at this point in the text. (1) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος (Jh gunh Jh agamo" kai Jh parqeno", “the unmarried woman and the virgin”) is represented by ancient and important mss, as well as some significant versions (̹⁵ B 104 365 1505 pc vg co). (2) The reading ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄγαμος καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the unmarried woman and the unmarried virgin”) is also found in ancient and important mss (Ì⁴⁶ א A 33 1739 1881 pc). (3) The reading ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ἡ παρθένος ἡ ἄγαμος (“the woman and the unmarried virgin”) is found in Western mss (D F G) and the majority of Byzantine cursives. Based upon external evidence, the first and second readings are the strongest; the readings both reach deep into the second century with strong testimony from mss of the Alexandrian texttype. Internal evidence seems equally balanced: Scribes may have wanted to add ἡ ἄγαμος to παρθένος for stylistic reasons, but they might also have wanted to remove it because it sounded redundant. Because Paul’s meaning is not quite clear, a decision on the proper textual reading is difficult. On the whole scribes tended to add to the text, not take from it. Thus the first reading should be favored as original, but this decision should be regarded as less than certain.

[7:34]  tn Grk “The unmarried woman and the virgin.” The identity of the “virgin” here is a matter of interpretation (see note on “people who have never married” in v. 25 for discussion), which has in fact contributed to textual variation at this point in the text (see the text critical note above). As far as the translation is concerned, one must determine if one group of women or two are in view. It is possible that Paul means to refer to only one class of women here, namely unmarried virgins, but the use of the adjective ἡ ἄγαμος (Jh agamo", “unmarried”) with “woman” and not “virgin” precludes that interpretation; in addition, the use of the article with both “woman” and “virgin” implies that two distinct groups are in view. If two groups are in view, English would more naturally use the conjunction “or” to indicate the distinction. Thus the translation “An unmarried woman or a virgin” has been used to make clear that two groups are in view.

[8:4]  ³¹ sn “An idol in this world is nothing” and “There is no God but one.” Here and in v. 1 Paul cites certain slogans the Corinthians apparently used to justify their behavior (cf. 6:12-13; 7:1; 10:23). Paul agrees with the slogans in part, but corrects them to show how the Corinthians have misused these ideas.

[10:18]  ³² tn Grk “Israel according to (the) flesh.”

[15:6]  ³³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[15:6]  ³⁴ tn Grk “most of whom remain until now.”

[15:6]  ³⁵ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “sleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term.

[15:21]  ³⁶ tn Or “through a human being” (a reference to Adam).

[15:21]  ³⁷ tn Or “through a human being” (a reference to Jesus Christ).

[15:29]  ³⁸ sn Many suggestions have been offered for the puzzling expression baptized for the dead. There are up to 200 different explanations for the passage; a summary is given by K. C. Thompson, “I Corinthians 15,29 and Baptism for the Dead,” Studia Evangelica 2.1 (TU 87), 647-59. The most likely interpretation is that some Corinthians had undergone baptism to bear witness to the faith of fellow believers who had died without experiencing that rite themselves. Paul’s reference to the practice here is neither a recommendation nor a condemnation. He simply uses it as evidence from the lives of the Corinthians themselves to bolster his larger argument, begun in 15:12, that resurrection from the dead is a present reality in Christ and a future reality for them. Whatever they may have proclaimed, the Corinthians’ actions demonstrated that they had hope for a bodily resurrection.

[15:32]  ³⁹ map For location see JP1 D2; JP2 D2; JP3 D2; JP4 D2.

[15:32]  ⁴⁰ sn An allusion to Isa 22:13; 56:12.

[15:50]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[15:54]  ⁴² sn A quotation from Isa 25:8.