1 Corinthians 2
King James Version
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2
American Standard Version
2 And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of [a]speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the [b]testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my [c]speech and my [d]preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5 that your faith should not [e]stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this [f]world, nor of the rulers of this [g]world, who are coming to nought: 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the [h]worlds unto our glory: 8 which none of the rulers of this [i]world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory: 9 but as it is written,
[j]Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not,
And which entered not into the heart of man,
Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.
10 [k]But unto us God revealed [l]them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. 12 But we received, not the spirit of the [m]world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; [n]combining spiritual things with spiritual words. 14 Now the [o]natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually [p]judged. 15 But he that is spiritual [q]judgeth all things, and he himself is [r]judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or, word
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Many ancient authorities read mystery.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Or, word
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 Greek thing preached.
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 Greek be.
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 Or, age: and so in verses 7, 8; but not in verse 12.
- 1 Corinthians 2:6 Or, age: and so in verses 7, 8; but not in verse 12.
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 Or, age
- 1 Corinthians 2:8 Or, age
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isa. 64:4; 65:17.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 Some ancient authorities read For.
- 1 Corinthians 2:10 Or, it
- 1 Corinthians 2:12 See verse 6.
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or, interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or, unspiritual. Greek psychical.
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 Or, examined
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 Or, examineth
- 1 Corinthians 2:15 Or, examined
1 Corinthians 2
Contemporary English Version
Telling about Christ and the Cross
2 Friends, when I came and told you the mystery[a] that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise. 2 In fact, while I was with you, I made up my mind to speak only about Jesus Christ, who had been nailed to a cross.
3 (A) At first, I was weak and trembling with fear. 4 When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power. 5 That way you would have faith because of God's power and not because of human wisdom.
6 We do use wisdom when speaking to people who are mature in their faith. But it isn't the wisdom of this world or of its rulers, who will soon disappear. 7 We speak of God's hidden and mysterious wisdom that God decided to use for our glory long before the world began. 8 (B) The rulers of this world didn't know anything about this wisdom. If they had known about it, they would not have nailed the glorious Lord to a cross. 9 (C) But it is just as the Scriptures say,
“What God has planned
for people who love him
is more than eyes have seen
or ears have heard.
It has never even
entered our minds!”
10 God's Spirit has shown you everything. His Spirit finds out everything, even what is deep in the mind of God. 11 You are the only one who knows what is in your own mind, and God's Spirit is the only one who knows what is in God's mind. 12 But God has given us his Spirit. This is why we don't think the same way that the people of this world think. This is also why we can recognize the blessings God has given us.
13 Every word we speak was taught to us by God's Spirit, not by human wisdom. And this same Spirit helps us teach spiritual things to spiritual people.[b] 14 This is why only someone who has God's Spirit can understand spiritual blessings. Anyone who doesn't have God's Spirit thinks these blessings are foolish. 15 People who are guided by the Spirit can make all kinds of judgments, but they cannot be judged by others. 16 (D) The Scriptures ask,
“Has anyone ever known
the thoughts of the Lord
or given him advice?”
But we understand what Christ is thinking.[c]
1 Corinthians 2
Darby Translation
2 And *I*, when I came to you, brethren, came not in excellency of word, or wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God.
2 For I did not judge [it well] to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and *him* crucified.
3 And *I* was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling;
4 and my word and my preaching, not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of [the] Spirit and of power;
5 that your faith might not stand in men's wisdom, but in God's power.
6 But we speak wisdom among the perfect; but wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who come to nought.
7 But we speak God's wisdom in [a] mystery, that hidden [wisdom] which God had predetermined before the ages for our glory:
8 which none of the princes of this age knew, (for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;)
9 but according as it is written, Things which eye has not seen, and ear not heard, and which have not come into man's heart, which God has prepared for them that love him,
10 but God has revealed to us by [his] Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who of men hath known the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? thus also the things of God knows no one except the Spirit of God.
12 But *we* have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which [is] of God, that we may know the things which have been freely given to us of God:
13 which also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, communicating spiritual [things] by spiritual [means].
14 But [the] natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him; and he cannot know [them] because they are spiritually discerned;
15 but the spiritual discerns all things, and *he* is discerned of no one.
16 For who has known the mind of [the] Lord, who shall instruct him? But *we* have the mind of Christ.
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Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)