Font Size
1 Corinthians 2
New Matthew Bible
1 Corinthians 2
New Matthew Bible
It is not eloquence and glorious painted words of worldly wisdom that can edify and convert souls to Christ, but the plain words of the scripture. For they tell of him and his cross.
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not in gloriousness of words or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 Nor did I show myself to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3 And I was among you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my words and my preaching were not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
6 That which we speak of is wisdom among those who are sound: not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world (who come to nothing), 7 but we speak the wisdom of God, which is in secret and lies hid, which God ordained before the world for our glory. 8 Which wisdom none of the rulers of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. 9 But as it is written: The eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared for those who love him.
10 But God has revealed them to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yea, the bottom of God’s secrets. 11 For what man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of a man which is within him? In the same way, the things of God are known by no man, but by the Spirit of God. 12 And we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes of God, in order to know the things that are given to us by God – 13 which things also we speak, not in the wise words of man’s wisdom, but with the wise words of the Holy Spirit, making spiritual comparisons of spiritual things. 14 For the natural man does not perceive the things of the Spirit of God. For they are but foolishness to him. Nor can he perceive them, because they are spiritually examined. 15 But he who is spiritual evaluates all things. Yet he himself is judged by no man. 16 For who knows the mind of the Lord, or who shall inform him? But we understand the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2
New International Version
1 Corinthians 2
New International Version
2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom(A) as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(B) 3 I came to you(C) in weakness(D) with great fear and trembling.(E) 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,(F) but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,(G) 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.(H)
God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,(I) but not the wisdom of this age(J) or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.(K) 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery(L) that has been hidden(M) and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age(N) understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(O) 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—(P)
10 these are the things God has revealed(Q) to us by his Spirit.(R)
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts(S) except their own spirit(T) within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit(U) of the world,(V) but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom(W) but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[c] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God(X) but considers them foolishness,(Y) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit(Z) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
But we have the mind of Christ.(AB)
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts proclaimed to you God’s mystery
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 Isaiah 64:4
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13
New Matthew Bible (NMB)
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.