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
Living Bible
2 Dear brothers, even when I first came to you I didn’t use lofty words and brilliant ideas to tell you God’s message. 2 For I decided that I would speak only of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. 3 I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. 4 And my preaching was very plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the Holy Spirit’s power was in my words, proving to those who heard them that the message was from God. 5 I did this because I wanted your faith to stand firmly upon God, not on man’s great ideas.
6 Yet when I am among mature Christians I do speak with words of great wisdom, but not the kind that comes from here on earth, and not the kind that appeals to the great men of this world, who are doomed to fall. 7 Our words are wise because they are from God, telling of God’s wise plan to bring us into the glories of heaven. This plan was hidden in former times, though it was made for our benefit before the world began. 8 But the great men of the world have not understood it; if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of Glory.
9 That is what is meant by the Scriptures which say that no mere man has ever seen, heard, or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord. 10 But we know about these things because God has sent his Spirit to tell us, and his Spirit searches out and shows us all of God’s deepest secrets. 11 No one can really know what anyone else is thinking or what he is really like except that person himself. And no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) to tell us about the wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that God has given us. 13 In telling you about these gifts we have even used the very words given to us by the Holy Spirit, not words that we as men might choose. So we use the Holy Spirit’s words to explain the Holy Spirit’s facts.[a] 14 But the man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in. 15 But the spiritual man has insight into everything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can’t understand him at all. 16 How could he? For certainly he has never been one to know the Lord’s thoughts, or to discuss them with him, or to move the hands of God by prayer.[b] But, strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 to explain the Holy Spirit’s facts, or “interpreting spiritual truth in spiritual language.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:16 to move the hands of God by prayer, or “who can advise him?”
1 Corinthians 2
New King James Version
Christ Crucified
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you (A)except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 (B)I was with you (C)in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching (D)were not with persuasive words of [b]human wisdom, (E)but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the (F)power of God.
Spiritual Wisdom
6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God [c]ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for (G)had they known, they would not have (H)crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written:
(I)“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 But (J)God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the (K)spirit of the man which is in him? (L)Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but (M)the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the [d]Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 (N)But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For (O)“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” (P)But we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 NU mystery
- 1 Corinthians 2:4 NU omits human
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 predetermined
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 NU omits Holy
1 Corinthians 2
English Standard Version
Proclaiming Christ Crucified
2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,[a] (A)did not come proclaiming to you (B)the testimony[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And (D)I was with you (E)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (F)the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men[c] but (G)in the power of God.
Wisdom from the Spirit
6 Yet among (H)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not (I)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, (J)who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, (K)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of (L)the rulers of this age understood this, for (M)if they had, they would not have crucified (N)the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
(O)“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has (P)prepared (Q)for those who love him”—
10 these things (R)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even (S)the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person's thoughts (T)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now (U)we have received not (V)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this (W)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, (X)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.[d]
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (Y)folly to him, and (Z)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The (AA)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 (AB)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But (AC)we have the mind of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters
- 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some manuscripts mystery (or secret)
- 1 Corinthians 2:5 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
- 1 Corinthians 2:13 Or interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
