New American Standard Bible 1995

New Living Translation

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

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 which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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 thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which 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 everything 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 concerning Christ was confirmed in you,

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

7so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation 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 also confirm you to the end, blameless 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, through whom you were called into fellowship with 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

10Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in 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 I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you.

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

12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of 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.”

13Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? 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 would say you were baptized in my name.

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

16Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.

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, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

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 foolishness 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 CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE."

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

20Where is the wise man? 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 through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached 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 indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for 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, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,

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 the 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.

25Because 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, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

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 has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are 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.

28and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the 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 man may boast before God.

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

30But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and 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, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

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

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