1 Corinthians 2
Christian Standard Bible
Paul’s Proclamation
2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery[a] of God to you, I did not come with brilliance(A) of speech(B) or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(C) 3 I came to you in weakness,(D) in fear,(E) and in much trembling.(F) 4 My speech(G) and my preaching were not with persuasive(H) words of wisdom[b] but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.(I)
Spiritual Wisdom
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature,(J) but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers(K) of this age, who are coming to nothing.(L) 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined(M) before the ages for our glory.(N) 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(O) 9 But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.[c](P)
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything,(Q) even the depths of God.(R) 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts[d] except his spirit(S) within him? In the same way, no one knows(T) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words(U) taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.[e] 14 But the person without the Spirit[f] does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated[g] spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate[h] everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For
But we have the mind of Christ.(W)
1 Corinthians 2
Lexham English Bible
Paul’s Approach to Ministry in Corinth
2 And I, when I[a] came to you, brothers, did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony[b] of God. 2 For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I came to you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling, 4 and my speech and my preaching were not with the persuasiveness[c] of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, 5 in order that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
The Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but wisdom not of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing, 7 but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, which God predestined before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But just as it is written,
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
and have not entered into the heart of man,
all that[d] God has prepared for those who love him.”[e]
10 For[f] to us God has revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man that is in him? Thus also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, in order that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 things which we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.[g] 14 But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 Now the spiritual person discerns all things, but he himself is judged by no one. 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord; who has advised him?”[h] But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts have “mystery”
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Some manuscripts have “with persuasive words”
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 Some manuscripts have “which”
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 A quotation from Isa 64:4
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 Some manuscripts have “But to us God has revealed them”
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or “in spiritual words”
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 A quotation from Isa 40:13
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