1 COR 1:22 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Ἐπειδή
2. epeidē
3. Since
4. -
5. 18940
6. C·······
7. since
8. since
9. S
10. Y59
11. 113394
1. καί
2. kai
3. both
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. both
8. both
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113395
1. Ἰουδαῖοι
2. ioudaios
3. +the Youdaiōns
4. -
5. 24530
6. S····NMP
7. ˓the˒ Youdaiōns
8. ˓the˒ Jews
9. U
10. Y59
11. 113396
1. σημεῖα
2. sēmeion
3. signs
4. signs
5. 45920
6. N····ANP
7. signs
8. signs
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113397
1. σημεῖον
2. sēmeion
3. -
4. -
5. 45920
6. N····ANS
7. sign
8. sign
9. -
10. -
11. 113398
1. αἰτοῦσιν
2. aiteō
3. are requesting
4. -
5. 1540
6. VIPA3··P
7. ˓are˒ requesting
8. ˓are˒ requesting
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113399
1. οἱ
2. ho
3. -
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NMP
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. -
11. 113400
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. and
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113401
1. Ἕλληνες
2. Hellēn
3. +the Hellaʸns
4. Greeks
5. 16720
6. N····NMP
7. ˓the˒ Hellaʸns
8. ˓the˒ Greeks
9. U
10. Y59
11. 113402
1. σοφίαν
2. sofia
3. wisdom
4. wisdom
5. 46780
6. N····AFS
7. wisdom
8. wisdom
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113403
1. ἐπιζητοῦσιν
2. epizēteō
3. -
4. -
5. 19340
6. VIPA3··P
7. ˓are˒ seeking_after
8. ˓are˒ seeking_after
9. -
10. -
11. 113404
1. ζητοῦσιν
2. zēteō
3. are seeking
4. -
5. 22120
6. VIPA3··P
7. ˓are˒ seeking
8. ˓are˒ seeking
9. -
10. Y59
11. 113405

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:10–2:16: Believers should not divide up into competing factions. They should be united by true wisdom, the message of the cross.

In this section Paul wrote about a serious problem in the Corinthian church. The Corinthian believers were dividing up into competing groups. They were following whichever human leader they admired the most. Paul tried to solve this problem by reminding the Corinthians of the message of the cross. He wanted them to stop following human wisdom and to follow God’s wisdom.

Paragraph 1:20–25

In this paragraph Paul talked more about foolishness and wisdom. The gospel message expresses God’s power and wisdom. For different reasons, both Jewish people and Greek people may reject it. However, to those who believe the message/gospel, it brings salvation from sin and death.

1:22

In 1:21 Paul talked about “the world.” In 1:22 he started writing about two different groups of the people in “the world”: the Jewish people and the Greek people. Paul said “Greeks” to refer to Gentiles, all people who were not Jewish. Both the Jewish people and the Gentiles rejected Paul’s message, but for different reasons.

1:22a

Jews demand signs

Jews demand to see miracles.
Jewish people demand that we^(excl) prove the gospel is true by doing acts of God’s power.

In the Greek verse 1:22 begins with a conjunction that can mean either “for,” “since,” or “because.” The BSB does not explicitly translate this word, but some English versions do translate it. For example:

For Jews demand… (RSV)

Paul used this connector to introduce an explanation. He wanted to explain why the Jewish people and the Greeks thought that the gospel was foolish. You may need to make that implied information explicit. For example:

God’s way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true. (NLT96)

Jews demand signs: This clause means “The Jewish people ask/want us^(excl) to do miracles.” The Jewish people asked Paul and the other apostles to do miracles to prove that their message was true. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

The Jews ask for miracles, (NCV)

Jews want miracles for proof, (GNT)

The Jewish people refuse to believe our^(excl) message unless they see miracles to prove it.

Jews: When Paul said “Jews demand signs,” he did not mean that all Jewish people wanted signs. Rather, he meant that Jewish people typically/usually wanted proof. He meant that many of the Jewish people he had preached to wanted proof that the message was true.

The word Jews refers to the ethnic group that is descended from the Old Testament figure Jacob, also named Israel. Today Jewish people may be of any nationality (Israeli, Russian, American, etc.). Therefore you should not translate this in a way that would imply it referred only to the citizens/inhabitants of the present day country of Israel.

signs: The Greek word that the BSB translates as signs is a word that is often used in the four Gospels and Acts. This word refers to miracles, that is, acts of God’s power. (See Matthew 12:38–39; 16:1–4.) This is the main word used in the Gospel of John for miracles.

The Jewish people believed that someone who could do miracles was sent by God. Therefore, they would believe what Paul/the apostles told them about Christ if they could do miracles to prove it.Again and again the Jewish people told Jesus they would not believe what he said unless he would show them a miracle. See Matthew 12:38–39; Luke 11:16; John 4:48; John 7:3. Here in 1 Corinthians 1:22, Paul says that they demanded the same thing of the apostles, Jesus Christ’s representatives. They wanted to judge God’s message for themselves, rather than let God’s message judge them for their sins. Jesus did many miracles, but they were not the kind the Jewish people wanted to see and therefore they did not accept them as proof that he was the one God had sent to help them.

1:22b

and Greeks search for wisdom,

And Greek people want wise thoughts.
Greek people want to hear what they think is a wise message.

Greeks search for wisdom: The clause Greeks search for wisdom here means that Greek people were only willing to believe things that were explained wisely. They did not want to believe things that were not presented to them in the language of Greek philosophy. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

the Greeks want wisdom (NCV)

it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom (NLT04)

Greeks: Here this word refers to people who spoke the Greek language. They also followed the Greek culture, as opposed to the Jewish culture. Paul was probably thinking of the Greeks as representatives of the Gentiles in general.The word “Greeks” is a translation of the Greek word “Helenes.” The word “Gentiles” is a translation of the Greek word “ethnos.” It is possible that Paul uses the word “Greeks” in 1:22 and 1:24 instead of “Gentiles” because Greeks were the people who loved philosophy and wisdom the most. Also, the city of Corinth was in the province of Achaia (Greece), and so most of the Corinthians believers may have been Greeks.Most English versions follow the Greek by using the word “Greeks” in 1:22 and 1:24, and “Gentiles” in 1:23. The KJV uses the word “Greeks” in all three verses, because it follows a different Greek text. Again, Paul did not mean that all Greeks followed human wisdom, but that most of them did.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

ἐπειδὴ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἐπειδή καί Ἰουδαῖοι σημεῖα αἰτοῦσιν καί Ἕλληνες σοφίαν ζητοῦσιν)

Here, For sets up the contrast between this verse and what Paul says in the next verse. If your language has a way to begin a contrast, you could use it here. Otherwise, you could leave the word untranslated. Alternate translation: [It is indeed true that Jews]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

Ἰουδαῖοι & Ἕλληνες

˓the˒_Jews & ˓the˒_Greeks

By using the words translated Jews and Greeks, Paul is not saying that every single Jewish and Greek person does these things. Instead, he is generalizing, identifying common patterns among people who are Jewish and Greek. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this form by clarifying that not all Jews and Greeks are meant. Alternate translation: [most Jews … most Greeks]

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

Ἕλληνες

˓the˒_Greeks

Here, Greeks does not refer only to people who are ethnically Greek. However, it also does not refer to everyone who is not a Jew. Rather, it refers to people who speak the Greek language and who value the philosophy and education that are part of Greek culture. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning of this word with a word or phrase that identifies these people by their interests and values more than by their ethnicity. Alternate translation: [people who value Greek philosophy] or [people who had a Greek education]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear 1 COR 1:22

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:10–2:16: Believers should not divide up into competing factions. They should be united by true wisdom, the message of the cross.

Paragraph 1:20–25

1:22

1:22a

1:22b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 COR 1:22

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 1:10–2:16: Believers should not divide up into competing factions. They should be united by true wisdom, the message of the cross.

Paragraph 1:20–25

1:22

1:22a

1:22b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

OET interlinear 1 COR 1:22