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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 1 V1 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31
OET (OET-LV) to_the assembly of_ the _god, having_been_sanctified in chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous, which being in Korinthos, called holy ones, with all the ones calling on_the name of_the master of_us, Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah, in every place, of_them and of_us:
OET (OET-RV) It’s written to God’s assembly there in Corinth—to those believers in Messiah Yeshua who’ve been declared guiltless and who’ve been called to live holy lives, along with all those who appeal to the power of our and their master Yeshua Messiah, everywhere.
Paul began his letter to the Corinthian believers by greeting them. Then he thanked God for helping them.
In this paragraph, Paul, along with Sosthenes, sent greetings to the church in Corinth. In the Greek text, as in the BSB, 1:1–3 is a single long sentence. You may want to translate it in shorter sentences with three main topics:
The writer was Paul.
Paul wrote to the members of the church in Corinth.
Paul prayed that God would bless them.
See the Display on 1:1–3 for suggestions.
To the church of God in Corinth,
I send this letter to you(plur) who meet together to worship God in Corinth.
We(excl) greet you, the people in the city of Corinth who belong to God.
To the church of God in Corinth: The word church refers here to a group of people who believe in Jesus Christ and meet together to worship God. Here the term refers specifically to the believers in Corinth. It does not refer to a building. Therefore the phrase the church of God can be translated as:
the group of people in Corinth who belong to God
the people in Corinth who meet together to worship God
to those sanctified in Christ Jesus
God has set you apart for himself by making you one with Christ Jesus.
God has set you apart for himself by joining you together with Christ Jesus.
to those sanctified in Christ Jesus: This is the first of two phrases describing the believers in Corinth, the people who together formed the church. The Greek word that the BSB translates as sanctified means “ones having been made holy.” It indicates that those people have been dedicated to or set apart for God.
This clause is passive. Some ways to translate it are:
Use a passive verb. For example:
to those dedicated to him in Christ Jesus,
Use an active verb. The implied subject is “God.” For example:
to those whom God has set apart as his own people since you are united with Christ Jesus
in Christ Jesus: The phrase in Christ Jesus indicates both when and how God causes people to belong completely to himself. That takes place when they are united to Christ Jesus. God sanctified the Corinthians in Christ Jesus when he made them his own people by uniting them to Christ Jesus. For example:
in union with Christ Jesus, (GNT)
and called to be holy,
He has called you to be his people,
He has summoned/chosen you to be his holy people.
called to be holy: This is the second phrase that describes the Corinthian believers. The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as called to be holy is literally “the called saints.” Some English versions use “saints.” For example:
called to be saints (RSV)
The members of the Corinthian church were called to be holy people or saints because they belonged to God. They were set apart for God as his own special people to reflect his holy character. God had called or chosen them for this purpose.
Some other ways to translate this are:
who God called to be his people
who God has called to be his own holy people
This clause is passive. Some ways to translate it are:
Use a passive verb. For example:
You were called to be God’s holy people… (NCV)
Use an active verb. The implied subject is God. For example:
whom God has called to be his holy people
In verse 1:2a Paul addressed the church as a whole, so he used the singular noun “church.” In 1:2b-c he addressed all the individual believers in the church, so there he used plural forms. In some languages it is not natural to make this shift. It may not be clear that this verse is still talking about the same people. You may need to make that clear by saying:
to the believers in Corinth, whom he made holy in union with Christ Jesus and whom he called to belong to him
together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
along with believers everywhere who worship our(incl) Lord Jesus Christ.
He has also chosen believers/those from everywhere who pray to our(incl) Master Jesus Christ.
together with all those everywhere: This phrase refers to a second group of people. Besides the Corinthian believers, there were believers in other places. There are two different interpretations of this phrase:
It is connected to the phrase “called to be holy,” and perhaps “sanctified in Christ Jesus” also. God has set apart all believers for himself. For example:
called to be saints together with all those who in every place… (RSV) (RSV, ESV, NET, NLT, CEV, NCV)
It is connected to the phrase “to the church of God in Corinth.” Paul was writing his letter to other believers, not only to the Corinthians. For example:
and to people everywhere (GW) (GNT, GW)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) since it seems to have stronger support in the English versions.
who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: The phrase call on the name of…Jesus Christ indicates that these people all worshiped Jesus Christ. They called on his name in the sense that they worshiped him and trusted him to help them. This is a reference to Joel 2:32. See Romans 10:13 and Acts 2:21. Some other ways to translate this are:
who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (NCV)
as we and all others do who call him Lord (CEV)
all who invoke the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (REB)
our Lord: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Lord means “master, chief.” In the passage in Joel, Lord was a reference to God. However, in this context it is a title for Jesus Christ. Jesus was the master whom the Corinthian believers, Paul and Sosthenes all obeyed. Some other ways to translate this are:
Master
Leader
their Lord and ours:
He is their Lord and our(incl) Lord also.
They worship/serve him as their Lord, and so do we(incl).
their Lord and ours: This verse part adds to the information of the previous verse part. Jesus was not only the Lord whom Paul and the Corinthian believers obeyed. He was also their Lord, that is, the Lord of all believers everywhere. In some languages it may be more natural to make this phrase into a separate sentence. For example:
He is their Lord and is also our Lord.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ & τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ
˱to˲_the assembly ¬the ˱of˲_God & ¬which being in Corinth
In this culture, after giving their own names, letter writers would name those to whom they sent the letter, referring to them in the third person. If that is confusing in your language, you could use the second person here. Or if your language has a particular way of introducing the recipient of a letter, and if it would be helpful to your readers, you could use it here. Alternate translation: [This letter is for you who are members of the church of God at Corinth]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ & κλητοῖς ἁγίοις
˓having_been˒_sanctified in Christ Jesus & called holy_‹ones›
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on those who are sanctified and called rather than focusing on the person doing the “sanctifying” and “calling.” If you must state who does the actions, Paul implies that “God” does them. Alternate translation: [whom God has sanctified in Christ Jesus, and whom God has called to be saints]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
in Christ Jesus
Paul uses the spatial metaphor in Christ Jesus to describe the union of believers with Christ. In this case, being in Christ Jesus, or united to Christ, could explain: (1) the means by which God has sanctified the Corinthians. Alternate translation: [by means of your union with Christ Jesus] (2) the reason why God has sanctified the Corinthians. Alternate translation: [because of your union with Christ Jesus]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ
in in in (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ κλητοῖς ἁγίοις σύν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τό ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντί τόπῳ αὐτῶν καί ἡμῶν)
Here Paul describes all believers as if they were in every place. He speaks this way to emphasize that believers can be found in many countries, towns, and villages. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate in every place to indicate that believers are found in many places around the world. Alternate translation: [in many places]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐπικαλουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν
calling (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ κλητοῖς ἁγίοις σύν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τό ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντί τόπῳ αὐτῶν καί ἡμῶν)
The calling on the name of someone is an idiom that refers to worshiping and praying to that person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this phrase with a comparable idiom or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [who pray to and venerate our Lord]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
αὐτῶν καὶ ἡμῶν
˱of˲_them (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ κλητοῖς ἁγίοις σύν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τό ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντί τόπῳ αὐτῶν καί ἡμῶν)
In the phrase theirs and ours Paul has left out words that may be needed in some languages to make a complete thought. If you cannot leave out these words in your language, you could supply words such as “who is” and “Lord” to make a complete thought. Alternate translation: [who is Lord over them and us]
1:2 The church is comprised of those who are called by God to be his own holy people, those who belong to him and are dedicated to him. They have been made holy by means of Christ Jesus—God has set them apart for himself through the saving work of his Son and their faith relationship to him.
OET (OET-LV) to_the assembly of_ the _god, having_been_sanctified in chosen_one/messiah Yaʸsous, which being in Korinthos, called holy ones, with all the ones calling on_the name of_the master of_us, Yaʸsous chosen_one/messiah, in every place, of_them and of_us:
OET (OET-RV) It’s written to God’s assembly there in Corinth—to those believers in Messiah Yeshua who’ve been declared guiltless and who’ve been called to live holy lives, along with all those who appeal to the power of our and their master Yeshua Messiah, everywhere.
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.