1 Corinthians · Bible in Basic English
1 Corinthians 2 Bible in Basic English
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
BBE Bible in Basic English
WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)
PT1904 Patriarchal Text 1904 (accented, eBible edition)
1 And when I came to you, my brothers, I did not come with wise words of knowledge, putting before you the secret of God.
1 When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
1 Κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ἦλθον οὐ καθ᾽ ὑπεροχὴν λόγου ἢ σοφίας καταγγέλλων ὑμῖν τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
2 For I had made the decision to have knowledge of nothing among you but only of Jesus Christ on the cross.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
2 οὐ γὰρ ἔκρινα τοῦ εἰδέναι τι ἐν ὑμῖν εἰ μὴ Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, καὶ τοῦτον ἐσταυρωμένον.
3 And I was with you without strength, in fear and in doubt.
3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
3 καὶ ἐγὼ ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ καὶ ἐν φόβῳ καὶ ἐν τρόμῳ πολλῷ ἐγενόμην πρὸς ὑμᾶς,
4 And in my preaching there were no honeyed words of wisdom, but I was dependent on the power of the Spirit to make it clear to you:
4 My speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
4 καὶ ὁ λόγος μου καὶ τὸ κήρυγμά μου οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας λόγοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἀποδείξει Πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως,
5 So that your faith might be based not on man's wisdom but on the power of God.
5 that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
5 ἵνα ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν μὴ ᾖ ἐν σοφίᾳ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν δυνάμει Θεοῦ.
6 But still we have wisdom for those who are complete in knowledge, though not the wisdom of this world, and not of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing:
6 We speak wisdom, however, among those who are full grown, yet a wisdom not of this world nor of the rulers of this world who are coming to nothing.
6 Σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις, σοφίαν δὲ οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, οὐδὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τῶν καταργουμένων·
7 But we give the news of the secret wisdom of God, which he had kept in store before the world came into existence, for our glory;
7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,
7 ἀλλὰ λαλοῦμεν σοφίαν Θεοῦ ἐν μυστηρίῳ, τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, ἣν προώρισεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων εἰς δόξαν ἡμῶν,
8 Of which not one of the rulers of this world had knowledge: for if they had, they would not have put the Lord of glory on the cross:
8 which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.
8 ἣν οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἔγνωκεν· εἰ γὰρ ἔγνωσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐσταύρωσαν·
9 But as it says in the holy Writings, Things which the eye saw not, and which had not come to the ears or into the heart of man, such things as God has made ready for those who have love for him.
9 But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”
9 ἀλλὰ καθὼς γέγραπται, ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν.
10 But God has given us the revelation of these things through his Spirit, for the Spirit makes search into all things, even the deep things of God.
10 But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
10 ἡμῖν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπεκάλυψε διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ· τὸ γὰρ Πνεῦμα πάντα ἐρευνᾷ, καὶ τὰ βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ.
11 For who has knowledge of the things of a man but the spirit of the man which is in him? in the same way, no one has knowledge of the things of God but the Spirit of God.
11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except God’s Spirit.
11 τίς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ; οὕτω καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδεὶς οἶδεν εἰ μὴ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ.
12 But we have not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes from God, so that we may have knowledge of the things which are freely given to us by God.
12 But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.
12 ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου ἐλάβομεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα εἰδῶμεν τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισθέντα ἡμῖν.
13 And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.
13 We also speak these things, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.
13 ἃ καὶ λαλοῦμεν οὐκ ἐν διδακτοῖς ἀνθρωπίνης σοφίας λόγοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν διδακτοῖς Πνεύματος Ἁγίου, πνευματικοῖς πνευματικὰ συγκρίνοντες.
14 For the natural man is not able to take in the things of the Spirit of God: for they seem foolish to him, and he is not able to have knowledge of them, because such knowledge comes only through the Spirit.
14 Now the natural man doesn’t receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him; and he can’t know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
14 ψυχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Θεοῦ· μωρία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστι, καὶ οὐ δύναται γνῶναι, ὅτι πνευματικῶς ἀνακρίνεται.
15 But he who has the Spirit, though judging all things, is himself judged by no one.
15 But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is to be judged by no one.
15 ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς ἀνακρίνει μὲν πάντα, αὐτὸς δὲ ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἀνακρίνεται.
16 For who has knowledge of the mind of the Lord, so as to be his teacher? But we have the mind of Christ.
16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he should instruct him?” But we have Christ’s mind.
16 τίς γὰρ ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου, ὃς συμβιβάσει αὐτόν; ἡμεῖς δὲ νοῦν Χριστοῦ ἔχομεν.
Cross references (16)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 2:4; Exodus 4:10; Romans 16:18
- 2 Galatians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 1:22–25; Philippians 3:8–10; John 17:3; Galatians 3:1
- 3 2 Corinthians 13:4; 1 Corinthians 4:10–13; 2 Corinthians 12:5–10; 2 Corinthians 13:9; Galatians 4:13–14
- 4 1 Corinthians 4:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 2:1; Romans 15:19
- 5 2 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Corinthians 6:7; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 3:6
- 6 Hebrews 5:14; James 3:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 2:8; 1 Corinthians 1:28
- 7 Colossians 1:26–27; 2 Peter 1:3; Romans 16:25–26; Matthew 11:25; Psalm 78:2
- 8 Acts 13:27; James 2:1; Acts 7:2; 1 Corinthians 2:6; Psalm 24:7–10
- 9 Isaiah 64:4; Psalm 31:19; James 1:12; Romans 8:28; Isaiah 65:17
- 10 John 14:26; Ephesians 3:5; Luke 10:21; John 16:13; Ephesians 3:3
- 11 Proverbs 20:27; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Romans 11:33–34; Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 14:10
- 12 1 John 2:27; Romans 8:5–6; 1 John 2:20; 1 John 5:19–20; 1 John 4:4–5
- 13 1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 2:4; 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1–3
- 14 1 Corinthians 1:18; Romans 8:5–8; Matthew 13:11–17; 2 Corinthians 4:4–6; 1 John 2:27
- 15 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Hebrews 5:14; Proverbs 28:5; 1 John 4:1; 1 Corinthians 14:37
- 16 Isaiah 40:13–14; Romans 11:34; John 16:13–16; John 15:15; Job 15:8
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Nothing was ever more prepared for combat than the spirit of Paul; or rather, I should say, not his spirit, (for he was not himself the inventor of these things,) but, nothing was ever equal to the grace working within him, which overcometh all things.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 12 (1889)
For [the Scripture] saith, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which He hath prepared for them that wait for Him." Chapter XXXV — Immense is this reward.
… forth the material, animal, and spiritual, saying in one place, "As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy;" and in another place, "But the animal man receiveth not the things of the Spirit;" and again: "He that is spiritual judgeth all things." And this, "The animal man receiveth not the things of the Spirit," they affirm to …
… things which are before," we were seeking between ourselves in the presence of the Truth, which Thou art, of what nature the eternal life of the saints would be, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man. But yet we opened wide the mouth of our heart, after those supernal streams of …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)
… in mentioning this, he hath mentioned also the resurrection of our bodies, and the manifestation of His miracles here, and our partaking of His kingdom, and the good things, which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man." For all these things He bestowed on us by that gift.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)