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When I came[a] to you, brothers and sisters,[b] I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony[c] of God. For I decided to be concerned about nothing[d] among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 tn Grk “and I, when I came.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, κἀγώ (kagō) has not been translated here.
  2. 1 Corinthians 2:1 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.
  3. 1 Corinthians 2:1 tc ‡ A few significant mss (P46vid א* A C as well as some versions and fathers) read μυστήριον (mustērion, “mystery”) instead of μαρτύριον (marturion, “testimony”). But the latter has wider ms support (א2 B D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 M and some versions), though not quite as impressive. μαρτύριον may have been changed by scribes in anticipation of Paul’s words in 2:7, or conversely, μυστήριον may have been changed to conform to 1:6. Transcriptionally, since “the mystery of God/Christ” is a well-worn expression in the corpus Paulinum (1 Cor 2:7; 4:1; Eph 3:4; Col 2:2; 4:3), while “testimony of Christ” occurs in Paul only once (1 Cor 1:6, though “testimony of the Lord” appears in 2 Tim 1:8), and “testimony of God” never, it is likely that scribes changed the text to the more usual expression. A decision is difficult in this instance, but a slight preference should be given to μαρτύριον.
  4. 1 Corinthians 2:2 tn Grk “to know nothing.”

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

And when I came to you, brothers, I (A)did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you (B)the [a]witness of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except (C)Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in (D)weakness and in (E)fear and in much trembling, and my word and my preaching were (F)not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of (G)the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in (H)the power of God.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 Some early mss mystery