English Standard Version

New Living Translation

1Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

1This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

2I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Paul Gives Thanks to God

4I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,

4I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

5that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—

5Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge.

6even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

6This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true.

7so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

7Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

8who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

8He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns.

9God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

9God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Divisions in the Church

10I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

10I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.

11For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

11For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters.

12What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

12Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter, ” or “I follow only Christ.”

13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

13Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!

14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

14I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

15so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name.

15for now no one can say they were baptized in my name.

16(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)

16(Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.)

17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

17For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power. The Wisdom of God

18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

18The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

19For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

19As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.

21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.

22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,

22It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.

23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,

23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

25This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

26Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.

27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

27Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

28God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

29As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.

31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

31Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.