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1 Cor 13 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V12 V13
OET (OET-LV) When I_was an_infant, I_was_speaking like an_infant, I_was_thinking like an_infant, I_was_counting like an_infant, when I_have_become a_man, I_have_nullified the things of_the infant.
OET (OET-RV) When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child, but then when I became an adult, I set childish things aside.
In this section Paul talked about the importance of love. He described how a person who loves will behave toward others. He concluded that love is more important than any of the spiritual gifts. One day all the spiritual gifts will cease, but love will never cease.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Love
Paul urged believers to act in love
The way of love
When I was a child, I talked like a child,
When I was a child, I talked as a child talks.
When I was a child, my words were like the words of a child.
In 13:11 Paul used the analogy of a child growing up to teach about spiritual gifts. Just as childish thoughts are appropriate when one is young, but are left behind when one is an adult, so the spiritual gifts are appropriate for the church now, but will be left behind in the future.
When I was a child: Use the word for a child who is old enough to speak but cannot yet speak well.
Paul used himself as an example of any person. In some languages there is a pronoun to use in a general situation, such as:
When we/they/someone were children
I talked like a child: When he was young, Paul spoke with some errors or childlike pronunciation. Continue to use the pronoun that is natural in your language. For example:
we/they/someone used to talk like children
my words were like the words of a child
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
I thought as a child thinks. I reasoned as a child reasons.
I thought in a childish way. I understood things the way a child does.
I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child: The verb thought refers to the opinions and attitudes one holds. The verb reasoned refers to making logical arguments. The verbs thought and reasoned are very similar.
Here are some other ways to translate these two words:
I thought like a child. I understood like a child
I thought with the attitudes and logic of a child
I felt like a child feels. I thought like a child thinks
In some languages it may not be natural to repeat the phrase “like a child.” Instead, you could combine the phrases. For example:
When I was a child, I used to talk, think, and reason like a child.
When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.
When I became an adult, I stopped behaving like a child.
When I grew big, I rejected the ways of a child.
When I became a man: Once again Paul used himself as an example of any person.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
when we/they/someone grew up
when I became big/old/mature/adult
At the time he wrote, Paul was an adult. It may be natural to translate this as:
now that I have grown up
I set aside childish ways: The Greek word that the BSB translates as set aside is more literally “destroyed.” Paul stopped speaking, thinking, and reasoning like a child.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
I stopped acting in childish/childlike ways
I stopped speaking like a child speaks
I rejected/abandoned the ways of a child
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος; ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου
when (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ κατήργηκα τά τοῦ νηπίου)
Paul uses the first person I to describe himself as an example, but he implies that most people experience what he describes here. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express I with a form that provides a general example. Alternate translation: [When people were children, they spoke like children, they thought like children, they reasoned like children. When they became adults, they put away childish things]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος
˱I˲_˓was˒_speaking like ˓an˒_infant ˱I˲_˓was˒_thinking like ˓an˒_infant ˱I˲_˓was˒_reckoning like ˓an˒_infant
Paul repeats like a child and the same structure in three consecutive clauses. This was worded powerfully in his culture. If it would be helpful in your language, and if it would not be worded powerfully in your culture, you could indicate why Paul repeats words and structure by eliminate some or all of the repetition and by making the statements powerful in another way. Alternate translation: [I did everything like a child] or [I spoke, thought, and reasoned like a child]
γέγονα ἀνήρ
˱I˲_˓have˒_become ˓a˒_man
Alternate translation: [I became an adult]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου
˱I˲_˓have˒_nullified (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ κατήργηκα τά τοῦ νηπίου)
Here Paul speaks as if he took the things of the child and put them away in a box or a closet. He means that he stopped doing the things of the child, such as “speaking,” “thinking,” or “reasoning” like a child. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this figure of speech with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [I got rid of childish things] or [I stopped doing childish things]
13:1-13 Paul interrupts his discussion of spiritual gifts (resumed in ch 14) to emphasize that love is more important than any spiritual gift (cp. 8:1-3). The most important thing for Christians is to become deeply and consistently loving people.
OET (OET-LV) When I_was an_infant, I_was_speaking like an_infant, I_was_thinking like an_infant, I_was_counting like an_infant, when I_have_become a_man, I_have_nullified the things of_the infant.
OET (OET-RV) When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child, but then when I became an adult, I set childish things aside.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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