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OET (OET-LV) Because the foolish of_ the _god, wiser than the humans is, and the weak of_ the _god, stronger than the humans.
OET (OET-RV) because God’s foolishness is better than humankind’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is greater than humankind’s strength.
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.
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.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom,
For although God appears to have done something foolish, he is wiser than any human being,
For although people might think God was foolish, he was wise. God’s plan was, in fact, wiser than any human wisdom.
Even though God’s plan to redeem humans from sin seems like nonsense to unbelievers, it is wise. God’s plan is wiser than anything human beings could plan.
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For here introduces the basis for what Paul wrote in 1:24. Christ is the power and wisdom of God (1:24b-c) since the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men (1:25a-b). The message of the cross that appears foolish and weak to unbelievers is actually wise and strong.
the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom: The phrase the foolishness of God here refers to what God did when he sent Jesus to die on the cross. Paul did not really mean that God did something foolish when he sent Christ to die on a cross. Paul was speaking ironically. Even though unbelievers think that the message about Christ is foolish, God is much wiser than all people. Some other ways to translate this are:
what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom (GNT)
even when God appears to be acting foolishly, he is still more wise than any man
the foolishness of God: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the foolishness of God is more literally “the foolish thing of God.” It refers to the thing that God did that people think is foolish. God sent his Son to die on the cross. This was something that people considered foolish.
is wiser than man’s wisdom: This phrase in the Greek is more literally “is wiser than people/men.” The BSB has added the word wisdom for stylistic reasons. In some languages it may be more natural to omit it. For example:
is wiser than men (RSV)
is wiser than people are
is wiser than any human being
and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
and when God appears to be weak, he is still more powerful than any human being.
Although unbelievers think that God was weak when he allowed Christ to die, he wasn’t. God is much more powerful than the most powerful person.
Even though unbelievers think that God was weak when he allowed Christ to be crucified. God showed/demonstrated his power which is greater/stronger than that of human beings.
the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength: In the Greek this clause is more literally “the weak thing of God is stronger than people.” This clause also refers to how God allowed/sent Christ to die on the cross to save mankind. This is another use of irony. Paul did not actually mean that God was weak.
It appeared that God was not powerful enough to prevent the soldiers from killing Jesus. However, what God did was more powerful than anything people could do. It was powerful enough to break the power of sin and death in order to save people. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength (GNT)
when God appears to be weak, he is still stronger than any man
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
ὅτι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τό μωρόν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν καί τό ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων)
Here, For introduces the reason why the seemingly foolish message about Christ is power and wisdom ([1:24](../01/24.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this connection with a word that introduces a reason or a short phrase that connects this verse to the previous verse or verses. Alternate translation: [God works through foolishness because]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / irony
τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ & τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τό μωρόν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν καί τό ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων)
Paul describes God as having foolishness and weakness. He does not actually think that God is weak and foolish, but he is speaking of them from the perspective of the world and its wisdom. From the perspective of the world, Paul’s God is indeed foolish and weak. What Paul means to say is that what the world sees as foolishness and weakness is still wiser and stronger than anything that humans have to offer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this way of speaking with an expression that indicates that Paul is using irony or speaking from another person’s perspective. Alternate translation: [the apparent foolishness of God … the apparent weakness of God]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
(Occurrence -1) τῶν ἀνθρώπων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τό μωρόν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν καί τό ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων)
The words translated men in both places in this verse do not refer just to male people. Rather, Paul means any human of any sex. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate men to refer to both genders or use a gender-neutral word. Alternate translation: [women and men … women and men]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ & ἐστίν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τό μωρόν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν καί τό ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων)
Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe foolishness that comes from God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form with a phrase that indicates that God does foolishness. Alternate translation: [the foolish things that God does are]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν
wiser_‹than› ¬the humans is
Paul does not include all the words that are needed in many languages to make a complete comparison. If you do need these words in your language, you could add whatever is needed to make the comparison complete, such “the wisdom.” Alternate translation: [is wiser than the wisdom of men]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ὅτι τό μωρόν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν καί τό ἀσθενές τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων)
Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe weakness that comes from God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this form by translating this idea with a phrase that indicates that God does weakness. Alternate translation: [the weak things that God does are]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων
stronger_‹than› ¬the humans
Paul does not include all the words that are needed in many languages to make a complete comparison. If you do need these words in your language, you could add whatever is needed to make the comparison complete, such “the strength.” Alternate translation: [stronger than the strength of men]
OET (OET-LV) Because the foolish of_ the _god, wiser than the humans is, and the weak of_ the _god, stronger than the humans.
OET (OET-RV) because God’s foolishness is better than humankind’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is greater than humankind’s strength.
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.