1 Corinthians 1

New American Standard Bible

Appeal to Unity

1 Paul, ^(A)called as an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a]by ^(B)the will of God, and our ^(C)brother ^(D)Sosthenes,

²To ^(E)the church of God which is in ^(F)Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^[b]saints ^(G)by calling, with all who in every place ^(H)call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

³^(I)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴^(J)I thank ^[c]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵that in everything you were ^(K)enriched in Him, in all ^(L)speech and ^(M)all knowledge, ⁶just as ^(N)the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ^[d]in you, ⁷so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly ^(O)await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸^(P)who will also ^[e]confirm you to the end, blameless on ^(Q)the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹^(R)God is faithful, through whom you were ^(S)called into ^(T)fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰Now ^(U)I urge you, ^(V)brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ^[f]agree and that there be no ^[g]^(W)divisions among you, but that you be ^[h]made complete in ^(X)the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹²Now I mean this, that ^(Y)each one of you is saying, “I am ^[i]with Paul,” ^[j]or “I am ^[k]with ^(Z)Apollos,” ^[l]or “I am ^[m]with ^[n]^(AA)Cephas,” ^[o]or “I am ^[p]with Christ.” ¹³^[q]Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you ^(AB)baptized ^[r]in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I am thankful that I ^(AC)baptized none of you except ^(AD)Crispus and ^(AE)Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one would say you were baptized ^[s]in my name! ¹⁶But I did baptize the ^(AF)household of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷^(AG)For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^(AH)not with ^[t]cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

The Wisdom of God

¹⁸For the word of the cross is ^(AI)foolishness to ^(AJ)those who ^[u]are perishing, but to us who ^[v]are being saved it is ^(AK)the power of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

“^(AL)I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the understanding of those who have understanding, I will confound.”

²⁰^(AM)Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of ^(AN)this age? Has God not ^(AO)made foolish the wisdom of ^(AP)the world? ²¹For since in the wisdom of God ^(AQ)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, ^(AR)God ^[w]was pleased through the ^(AS)foolishness of the ^[x]message preached to ^(AT)save those who believe. ²²For indeed ^(AU)Jews ask for ^[y]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; ²³but we preach ^[z]^(AV)Christ crucified, ^(AW)to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles ^(AX)foolishness, ²⁴but to those who are ^(AY)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AZ)the power of God and ^(BA)the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the ^(BB)foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and ^(BC)the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.

²⁶For ^[aa]consider your ^(BD)calling, brothers and sisters, that there were ^(BE)not many wise according to ^[ab]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷but ^(BF)God has chosen the foolish things of ^(BG)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^(BH)the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸and the ^[ac]insignificant things of ^(BI)the world and the despised God has chosen, ^(BJ)the things that are not, so that He may ^(BK)nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that ^(BL)no ^[ad]human may boast before God. ³⁰But it is ^[ae]due to Him that you are in ^(BM)Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(BN)wisdom from God, ^[af]and ^(BO)righteousness and ^(BP)sanctification, and ^(BQ)redemption, ³¹so that, just as it is written: “^(BR)Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Footnotes

1 Corinthians 1:1 Lit through
1 Corinthians 1:2 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
1 Corinthians 1:4 Two early mss do not contain my
1 Corinthians 1:6 Or among
1 Corinthians 1:8 Or strengthen
1 Corinthians 1:10 Lit say the same thing
1 Corinthians 1:10 Lit schisms
1 Corinthians 1:10 Or united
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:12 Peter’s Aramaic name
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit and
1 Corinthians 1:12 Lit of
1 Corinthians 1:13 Or Christ has been divided! or Christ is divided!
1 Corinthians 1:13 Lit into
1 Corinthians 1:15 Lit into
1 Corinthians 1:17 I.e., persuasive rhetoric
1 Corinthians 1:18 Or perish
1 Corinthians 1:18 Or are saved
1 Corinthians 1:21 Or resolved
1 Corinthians 1:21 Lit preaching
1 Corinthians 1:22 Or confirming miracles
1 Corinthians 1:23 I.e., the Messiah
1 Corinthians 1:26 Lit see
1 Corinthians 1:26 I.e., human standards
1 Corinthians 1:28 Or lowly
1 Corinthians 1:29 Lit flesh
1 Corinthians 1:30 Lit from Him
1 Corinthians 1:30 Or both

2 Corinthians 1

New American Standard Bible

Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)by the will of God, and our brother ^(D)Timothy,

To ^(E)the church of God which is at ^(F)Corinth with all the ^[a]saints who are throughout ^(G)Achaia:

²^(H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³^(I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^(J)God of all comfort, ⁴who ^(K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^[b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵For just ^(L)as the sufferings of Christ are ^[c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ⁶But if we are afflicted, it is ^(M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; ⁷and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that ^(N)as you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

⁸For ^(O)we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our ^(P)affliction which occurred in ^[d]^(Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹^[e]Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰who ^(R)rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He ^[f]^(S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹if you also join in ^(T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^(U)many persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Integrity

¹²For our ^[g]proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^(V)our conscience, that in holiness and ^(W)godly sincerity, ^(X)not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. ¹³For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand ^(Y)until the end; ¹⁴just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, on ^(Z)the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵In this confidence I intended at first to ^(AA)come to you, so that you might ^[h]twice receive a ^[i]^(AB)blessing; ¹⁶^[j]that is, to ^(AC)pass ^[k]your way into ^(AD)Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^(AE)helped on my journey to Judea. ¹⁷Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I decide, do I decide ^(AF)according to the flesh, so that with me there will be ^[l]yes, yes and no, no at the same time? ¹⁸But as ^(AG)God is faithful, ^(AH)our word to you is not yes and no. ¹⁹For ^(AI)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^(AJ)Silvanus and ^(AK)Timothy—was not yes and no, but has been yes ^(AL)in Him. ²⁰For ^(AM)as many as the promises of God are, ^(AN)in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is ^(AO)our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹Now He who ^(AP)establishes us with you in Christ and ^(AQ)anointed us is God, ²²who also ^(AR)sealed us and ^(AS)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ^[m]pledge.

²³But ^(AT)I call God as witness to my soul, that it was ^(AU)to spare you that I did not come again to ^(AV)Corinth. ²⁴Not that we ^(AW)domineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^(AX)standing firm.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 1:1 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
2 Corinthians 1:4 Lit every
2 Corinthians 1:5 Lit to us
2 Corinthians 1:8 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
2 Corinthians 1:9 Lit But we ourselves
2 Corinthians 1:10 One early ms on whom we have set our hope that He will also
2 Corinthians 1:12 Or source of pride
2 Corinthians 1:15 Lit have a second grace
2 Corinthians 1:15 One early ms joy
2 Corinthians 1:16 Lit and
2 Corinthians 1:16 Lit through you into
2 Corinthians 1:17 I.e., a strong yes and no
2 Corinthians 1:22 Or first installment