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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
1 Cor C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
1 Cor 15 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53 V55 V57
OET (OET-LV) But by_the_grace of_god, I_am what I_am, and the grace of_him which toward me, not vain was_become, but more_abundantly than them all I_laboured, not and I, but the grace the of_god with me.
OET (OET-RV) But I am what I am thanks to God’s grace, as his grace towards me hasn’t been wasted. Actually, I worked harder than all the others, although of course it wasn’t really me, but God’s grace with me.
In this section Paul reminded the Corinthian believers about the gospel and showed them that the resurrection from the dead was an important part of the gospel. First (15:1–11) he wrote about the evidence showing that God raised Christ from the dead. Then (15:12–34) he taught that God will raise believers from the dead. Finally (15:35–58) he taught about what the resurrection body will be like.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The resurrection
People who die will live again
Christ has risen and his people will rise also
In this paragraph Paul wrote how God chose him and made him an apostle. He emphasized that the gospel he preached and the gospel the other apostles preached was the same.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
But God in his grace/kindness made me an apostle
But because God was kind to me I have this work to do.
by the grace of God I am what I am: Paul said that he became an apostle because God was kind to him.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
It is because of God’s kindness that I am an apostle
I get to do this work because God was kind to me
by the grace of God: The phrase by the grace of God means “because God was kind to me.” God was kind to Paul in that he chose him to be an apostle. See grace in the Key Biblical Terms A.2.b.
and His grace to me was not in vain.
and his grace/kindness to me was not useless/wasted.
He was gracious/kind to me, and it had good results.
and His grace to me was not in vain: The phrase His grace to me was not in vain indicates that God’s kindness to Paul when he made him an apostle resulted in good things.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
his grace to me has not been in vain (NET)
that kindness was not wasted on me (GW)
was not in vain: The BSB, like the Greek, uses two negative terms (not and in vain). In some languages it may be natural to translate it in a positive way. For example:
was effective
had good results
bore fruit
No, I worked harder than all of them—
For I worked harder than any of the other apostles.
The result was, I worked harder at preaching the gospel than all the other apostles.
Paul demonstrated that God’s grace was not in vain or wasted.
No: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as No is literally “but.” It introduces a positive statement that confirms and explains the previous double negative statement.
Here are some other ways to translate this conjunction:
on the contrary (RSV, GNT)
in fact (NET)
instead (GW)
for (NLT)
If you have translated 15:10b as a positive statement, it will not be possible to translate this literally. Instead, you should use a word that is natural in your language. For example:
For
I worked harder than all of them: Paul said that he worked harder at preaching the gospel than any of the other apostles. It may be clearer to say this explicitly:
I made greater efforts to preach the gospel than any of the other apostles did.
yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
But it was not really I who was working, but God, who in his kindness was with me.
But it was not actually I who was working. It was God, who was being kind/gracious to me.
In verse 10d Paul added some extra information that changed the emphasis of what he said in 10c. The BSB connects 15:10c and 15:10d with a dash. Some English versions start a new sentence at 15:10d. Introduce this information in a way that is natural in your language.
yet not I: The phrase yet not I is a short way to say, “yet it was not really I who worked.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
it was not really my own doing (GNT)
Actually, it is not I who did this work
but the grace of God that was with me: The phrase but the grace of God that was with me is another short form. The full clause is:
instead, it was the grace of God that was with me that worked hard
This is a figure of speech. In some languages it may not be natural to say that grace or “kindness” can work or do something.
Here are some other ways to translate this figure of speech:
actually, I didn’t work by my own ability, but God was kind to me and helped me to work
it is not that I can do this kind of work, but because God showed me his grace, I am able to do it
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
χάριτι & Θεοῦ & ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμὲ & ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ
˱by˲_˓the˒_grace & ˱of˲_God & the grace ˱of˲_him ¬which toward (Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind grace, you can express the idea by using a verb such as “give” or an adjective such as “gracious.” Alternate translation: [because God acted graciously to me, … the fact that he acted graciously to me … God acted graciously] or [by what God gave me … what he gave me that was in me … what God gave to me]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὅ εἰμι
what (Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
Here Paul does not state what I am. However, the previous verse implies that he is an “apostle” ([15:9](../15/09.md)). If your readers would not make this inference, you could state it explicitly. Alternate translation: [what I am, that is, an apostle] or [an apostle]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / litotes
οὐ κενὴ ἐγενήθη, ἀλλὰ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
Here Paul uses a figure of speech that expresses a strong positive meaning by using a negative word together with a word that means the opposite of the intended meaning. If this is confusing in your language, you can express the meaning positively. If you do, you will need to change the contrast word Instead into a support word or phrase such as “in fact” or “indeed.” Alternate translation: [was effective. Indeed]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
κενὴ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
Here, in vain identifies a cause that does not have its intended effect. In this case, God’s grace would be in vain if it did not lead Paul to “labor” or if no one believed Paul’s message. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express in vain with a word or phrase that identifies a cause that does not have its intended effect. Alternate translation: [for nothing] or [to no purpose]
Note 5 topic: writing-pronouns
αὐτῶν πάντων
them all
Here, them refers back to the “apostles” that Paul mentions in the previous verse ([15:9](../15/09.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this reference by referring explicitly to “apostles” here. Alternate translation: [all of the apostles]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλὰ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σὺν ἐμοί
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
Here Paul omits some words that your language may require to make a complete thought. Paul omits these words because he stated them explicitly in the previous clause (I labored). If your language does need these words, you could supply them from that clause. Alternate translation: [yet it was not I who labored, but the grace of God labored with me]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure
οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλὰ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σὺν ἐμοί
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
If your language would not naturally state the negative before the positive, you could reverse the order of the not statement and the but statement. Alternate translation: [although it was really the grace of God with me, not I]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σὺν ἐμοί
the grace ¬which the grace ¬the ˱of˲_God (Some words not found in SR-GNT: χάριτι Δέ Θεοῦ εἰμί ὅ εἰμί καί ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμέ οὒ κενή ἐγενήθη ἀλλά περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα οὐκ ἐγώ δέ ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ σύν ἐμοί)
Here Paul describes God’s action in grace as simply the grace of God. If your readers would not understand that the grace of God identifies God himself acting in grace, you could express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [God in grace with me]
15:10 Paul’s awareness of God’s extraordinary special favor (literally grace) to him resulted in an extraordinary response on his part. But even that must be understood as an expression of God . . . working through me by his grace (see 2 Cor 4:7; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27).
OET (OET-LV) But by_the_grace of_god, I_am what I_am, and the grace of_him which toward me, not vain was_become, but more_abundantly than them all I_laboured, not and I, but the grace the of_god with me.
OET (OET-RV) But I am what I am thanks to God’s grace, as his grace towards me hasn’t been wasted. Actually, I worked harder than all the others, although of course it wasn’t really me, but God’s grace with me.
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.