1 Corinthians 1

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek kletos apostolos ('called apostle') lacks the infinitive 'to be' — Paul is not 'called to become' an apostle but 'a called apostle,' one whose identity is defined by divine summons. Sosthenes may be the synagogue ruler mentioned in Acts 18:17, though this identification is uncertain.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek hegiasmenois ('having been sanctified') is a perfect passive participle — sanctification is something God has already done to them, not something they achieved. As with kletos in verse 1, kletois hagiois ('called saints') lacks the infinitive 'to be.' They are not 'called to become saints' but are 'called-saints' — their identity is established by God's call. The final phrase autōn kai hēmōn ('theirs and ours') is grammatically ambiguous: it could modify 'place' (every place, theirs and ours) or 'Lord' (their Lord and ours). We follow the latter reading as it reinforces the letter's unity theme.

Translator Notes

1. Paul's greeting combines the Greek charis ('grace') with the Hebrew-rooted eirēnē ('peace,' corresponding to shalom). This dual greeting bridges the Greek and Jewish worlds represented in the Corinthian congregation. The pairing of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ as co-source of grace and peace reflects early high Christology.

Translator Notes

1. Paul's thanksgiving section (vv. 4-9) is diplomatically crafted — he thanks God for what God has done among them, not for what they have accomplished. The grace (charis) is described as 'given' (dotheisē, aorist passive) — a definite past act of divine generosity.

Translator Notes

1. The verb eploutisthēte ('you were enriched') is aorist passive — God did the enriching. The two areas of enrichment, logos ('speech/word') and gnōsis ('knowledge'), are precisely the gifts the Corinthians valued most and would later abuse. Paul's thanksgiving subtly sets up his critique.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek martyrion tou Christou ('testimony of/about Christ') could be an objective genitive ('testimony about Christ') or subjective genitive ('testimony from Christ'). We take it as objective — the apostolic witness about Christ was validated in their experience. The verb ebebaiōthē ('was confirmed') is a legal term for establishing or guaranteeing something.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek charisma ('gift of grace') will become a major topic in chapters 12-14. Paul acknowledges the Corinthians' giftedness while framing it eschatologically — gifts serve the community while they await Christ's return. The word apokalypsis ('revelation, unveiling') refers to Christ's return, not a private spiritual experience.

Translator Notes

1. The verb bebaiōsei ('will confirm/sustain') echoes ebebaiōthē in verse 6 — the same God who confirmed the testimony will confirm the believers. The word anenklētous ('blameless, without accusation') is a legal term: they will stand unindicted on judgment day. 'The day of our Lord Jesus Christ' refers to the final judgment, corresponding to the Old Testament 'day of the LORD.'

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The declaration pistos ho theos ('faithful is God') anchors the entire thanksgiving — the Corinthians' security rests not on their performance but on God's faithfulness. The word koinōnia ('fellowship, participation, sharing') denotes a deep, mutual participation in Christ's life, not merely social association. This term will recur at 10:16 in connection with the Lord's Supper.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek schismata ('divisions, tears') is the word from which English 'schism' derives — it literally means rips or tears in fabric. The church is being torn apart. The verb katērtismenoi ('restored, mended, made complete') is used in Mark 1:19 for mending fishing nets — Paul envisions the torn community being stitched back together. The Greek adelphoi ('brothers') is rendered 'brothers and sisters' since Paul addresses the entire congregation, as the context of the letter makes clear.

Translator Notes

1. Chloe is named without further identification, suggesting she was well-known to both Paul and the Corinthians. The phrase tōn Chloēs ('those of Chloe') likely refers to members of her household — slaves, freedpersons, or family members who had traveled to Paul. That Paul names his source openly suggests he is not trafficking in gossip but acting on reliable intelligence. The word erides ('quarrels, strife') indicates active verbal conflict, not merely differing opinions.

Translator Notes

1. The four slogans reveal faction lines in the Corinthian church. Apollos was an eloquent Alexandrian Jew (Acts 18:24) whose rhetorical skill likely attracted those who valued sophisticated speech. Cephas (Aramaic for 'rock,' = Peter) may represent a more Jewish-oriented faction. The 'Christ party' is the most debated — they may have claimed a direct, unmediated relationship with Christ that bypassed apostolic authority. Paul's point is that all four slogans are equally problematic.

Translator Notes

1. Three rhetorical questions, each expecting a negative answer. The first — memeristic ho Christos ('Has Christ been divided?') — could also be read as a statement: 'Christ has been divided!' (an outraged exclamation). Either way, the implication is that factional loyalty tears apart the one body of Christ. The second and third questions establish the logic: only the one who was crucified for them and in whose name they were baptized has any claim on their allegiance.

Translator Notes

1. Crispus was the synagogue ruler who believed (Acts 18:8). Gaius is likely the Gaius of Romans 16:23 who hosted the whole church in Corinth. Paul's relief at having baptized so few reveals how baptism was being used as a badge of factional identity — 'I was baptized by Paul' became a status claim.

Translator Notes

1. Paul is grateful in retrospect — not that baptism is unimportant, but that the Corinthians' misuse of it to form factions was limited by the fact that he personally baptized so few of them.

Translator Notes

1. The correction mid-thought ('I did baptize the household of Stephanas as well') adds an unpolished, authentic quality — Paul is dictating and remembering as he goes. Stephanas's household will be mentioned again at 16:15 as the 'firstfruits of Achaia.' The Greek oikos ('household') would include family members, slaves, and dependents.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The phrase ouk en sophia logou ('not in wisdom of speech/word') targets the Corinthian obsession with rhetorical skill. Corinth was a city that prized sophisticated oratory. Paul insists that clever rhetoric actually undermines the gospel by shifting attention from the cross to the speaker. The verb kenoō ('to empty, to make void') is striking — human eloquence can drain the cross of its power by making the message about the messenger.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek ho logos tou staurou ('the word/message of the cross') is Paul's programmatic statement. Both participles — apollymenois ('perishing') and sōzomenois ('being saved') — are present tense, indicating ongoing processes rather than fixed states. The word mōria ('foolishness, stupidity') is blunt — the cross is not merely misunderstood by outsiders but actively regarded as idiotic.

Translator Notes

1. Paul quotes Isaiah 29:14 (from the Septuagint). The original context is God's judgment against Jerusalem's leaders who relied on political alliances rather than trusting God. Paul applies it more broadly to all human wisdom that operates independently of God. The verb athetēsō ('I will set aside, reject, nullify') is stronger than the KJV's 'bring to nothing' — it implies active divine rejection.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Isaiah 29:14. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. Three rhetorical questions echo Isaiah 33:18. The 'wise person' (sophos) represents Greek philosophical culture, the 'scribe' (grammateus) represents Jewish legal scholarship, and the 'debater' (syzētētēs) may represent either or both — anyone who relies on human argumentation. The phrase tou aiōnos toutou ('of this age') frames worldly wisdom as temporary and passing.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Isaiah 33:18 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase en tē sophia tou theou ('in the wisdom of God') suggests that the failure of human wisdom was itself part of God's design — God arranged things so that unaided human intellect would prove insufficient. The Greek kērygma ('proclamation, preaching') refers to the content proclaimed, not the act of preaching — it is 'the foolishness of what is proclaimed,' not 'the foolishness of the act of proclaiming.'

Translator Notes

1. Paul identifies two cultural orientations: the Jewish demand for miraculous validation (sēmeia, 'signs') and the Greek pursuit of philosophical insight (sophia, 'wisdom'). Both are legitimate desires misdirected — God does give signs and does offer wisdom, but not in the forms these cultures expect.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The phrase Christon estaurōmenon ('Christ crucified') uses the perfect passive participle — Christ remains permanently 'the crucified one.' This is not merely a past event but an abiding identity. The word skandalon ('stumbling block, snare, offense') gives us 'scandal' — a crucified Messiah was an oxymoron in Jewish expectation, since Deuteronomy 21:23 declares anyone hung on a tree to be under God's curse. For Greeks, the idea that ultimate wisdom would manifest in an executed criminal was simply mōria ('stupidity').
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] References Deuteronomy 21:23 — the TCR OT rendering of that text provides the Hebrew source and explains the translation decisions involved.

Translator Notes

1. The 'called' (kletois) — the same word from verses 1-2 — now transcend ethnic and cultural categories. What Jews sought in signs (power) and Greeks sought in philosophy (wisdom), both find in the crucified Christ. The sentence structure is compressed: 'Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God' — no verb in the Greek, creating a declarative force.

Translator Notes

1. Paul uses the neuter substantive adjectives to mōron ('the foolish thing') and to asthenes ('the weak thing') of God — not attributes God actually possesses, but what human beings perceive as foolish and weak in God's actions. The comparative forms (sophōteron, ischyroteron) create an understatement: God's apparent foolishness exceeds all human wisdom, and God's apparent weakness exceeds all human strength.

Translator Notes

1. The verb blepete ('look at, consider') invites the Corinthians to examine the sociological evidence of their own congregation. Paul does not say 'none' (oudeis) but 'not many' (ou polloi) — there were some wealthy and educated members (like Erastus, the city treasurer, Romans 16:23), but the majority were from lower social strata. The phrase kata sarka ('according to the flesh') means 'by worldly standards.'

Translator Notes

1. The verb exelexato ('chose') is the aorist middle of eklegomai — God's deliberate, purposeful selection. The repetition of 'God chose' emphasizes divine initiative. The verb kataischynē ('to put to shame, to humiliate') is stronger than 'confound' — God's choices actively embarrass worldly power structures.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek ta agenē ('the low-born, the insignificant') and ta exouthenēmena ('the despised, the things counted as nothing') escalate the social inversion. The climax is ta mē onta ('the things that are not') — God chose what has no existence or standing in the world's eyes. This echoes God's creation from nothing (creatio ex nihilo) and His calling of Abraham from obscurity. The verb katargēsē ('to render inoperative, to nullify, to abolish') is one of Paul's favorite words for describing how God dismantles existing power structures.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek pasa sarx ('all flesh') is rendered 'no human being' (with the negative) for natural English. The verb kauchēsētai ('to boast, to glory') is a key term in Paul's theology — the human impulse to claim credit is the root of the problem. The entire argument from verses 26-29 builds to this single purpose clause: God's method of salvation is designed to eliminate human boasting.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The phrase ex autou ('from him') places the origin of the believers' union with Christ entirely in God's initiative. Christ himself is identified as sophia ('wisdom') from God, directly countering the Corinthians' pursuit of worldly wisdom. The three terms that follow — dikaiosynē ('righteousness'), hagiasmos ('sanctification'), and apolytrōsis ('redemption') — may be appositional to 'wisdom,' explaining what God's true wisdom looks like in practice.

Translator Notes

1. Paul paraphrases Jeremiah 9:23-24 (via the Septuagint), where the prophet contrasts boasting in wisdom, strength, and riches with boasting in knowing the LORD who practices steadfast love (chesed), justice, and righteousness. The allusion perfectly caps the chapter: the only legitimate boast is in what God has done, not in human achievement, rhetorical skill, or factional loyalty.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes Jeremiah 9:24. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.