1 Korintus 2:1

2:1 When I came ¹  to you, brothers and sisters, ²  I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony ³  of God.

1 Korintus 4:19

4:19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.

1 Korintus 6:5

6:5 I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? ⁴ 

1 Korintus 10:11

10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

1 Korintus 13:12

13:12 For now we see in a mirror indirectly, ⁵  but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.

1 Korintus 16:7

16:7 For I do not want to see you now in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows.

1 Korintus 16:11

16:11 So then, let no one treat him with contempt. But send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me. For I am expecting him with the brothers. ⁶ 

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

[2:1]  ³ 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.

[6:5]  ⁴ tn Grk “to decide between his brother (and his opponent),” but see the note on the word “Christian” in 5:11.

[13:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “we are seeing through [= using] a mirror by means of a dark image.” Corinth was well known in the ancient world for producing some of the finest bronze mirrors available. Paul’s point in this analogy, then, is not that our current understanding and relationship with God is distorted (as if the mirror reflected poorly), but rather that it is “indirect,” (i.e., the nature of looking in a mirror) compared to the relationship we will enjoy with him in the future when we see him “face to face” (cf. G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [NICNT], 648). The word “indirectly” translates the Greek phrase ἐν αἰνίγματι (ejn ainigmati, “in an obscure image”) which itself may reflect an allusion to Num 12:8 (LXX οὐ δι᾿ αἰνιγμάτων), where God says that he speaks to Moses “mouth to mouth [= face to face]…and not in dark figures [of speech].” Though this allusion to the OT is not explicitly developed here, it probably did not go unnoticed by the Corinthians who were apparently familiar with OT traditions about Moses (cf. 1 Cor 10:2). Indeed, in 2 Cor 3:13-18 Paul had recourse with the Corinthians to contrast Moses’ ministry under the old covenant with the hope afforded through apostolic ministry and the new covenant. Further, it is in this context, specifically in 2 Cor 3:18, that the apostle invokes the use of the mirror analogy again in order to unfold the nature of the Christian’s progressive transformation by the Spirit.

[16:11]  ⁶ tn Since Paul appears to expect specific delegates here and they were most likely men, the Greek word ἀδελφοί (adelfoi) here has not been not translated as “brothers and sisters.”