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1 Cor C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16

1 Cor 1 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V28 V29 V30 V31

OET interlinear 1 COR 1:27

← 1 COR 1:27 ↓ → ► ║ ©

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

    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. Ἀλλά
    2. alla
    3. But
    4. but
    5. 2350
    6. C·······
    7. but
    8. but
    9. S
    10. Y59
    11. 113472
    1. τά
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113473
    1. μωρά
    2. mōros
    3. foolish things
    4. foolish
    5. 34740
    6. S····ANP
    7. foolish ‹things›
    8. foolish ‹things›
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113474
    1. τοῦ
    2. ho
    3. of the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113475
    1. κόσμου
    2. kosmos
    3. world
    4. -
    5. 28890
    6. N····GMS
    7. world
    8. world
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113476
    1. ἐξελέξατο
    2. eklegō
    3. chose
    4. -
    5. 15860
    6. VIAM3··S
    7. chose
    8. chose
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113477
    1. ὁ
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····NMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113478
    1. Θεός
    2. theos
    3. god
    4. God
    5. 23160
    6. N····NMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y59; Person=God
    11. 113479
    1. ἵνα
    2. hina
    3. in order that
    4. -
    5. 24430
    6. C·······
    7. in_order_that
    8. in_order_that
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113480
    1. καταισχύνῃ
    2. kataisχunō
    3. he may be disgracing
    4. -
    5. 26170
    6. VSPA3··S
    7. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    8. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113481
    1. τούς
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····AMP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113482
    1. σοφούς
    2. sofos
    3. wise
    4. -
    5. 46800
    6. S····AMP
    7. wise
    8. wise
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113483
    1. καταισχύνῃ
    2. kataisχunō
    3. -
    4. -
    5. 26170
    6. VSPA3··S
    7. ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    8. ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    9. -
    10. -
    11. 113484
    1. καί
    2. kai
    3. and
    4. -
    5. 25320
    6. C·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113485
    1. τά
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113486
    1. ἀσθενῆ
    2. asthenēs
    3. weak things
    4. -
    5. 7720
    6. S····ANP
    7. weak ‹things›
    8. weak ‹things›
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113487
    1. τοῦ
    2. ho
    3. of the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113488
    1. κόσμου
    2. kosmos
    3. world
    4. -
    5. 28890
    6. N····GMS
    7. world
    8. world
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113489
    1. ἐξελέξατο
    2. eklegō
    3. chose
    4. -
    5. 15860
    6. VIAM3··S
    7. chose
    8. chose
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113490
    1. ὁ
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····NMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113491
    1. Θεός
    2. theos
    3. god
    4. -
    5. 23160
    6. N····NMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y59; Person=God
    11. 113492
    1. ἵνα
    2. hina
    3. in order that
    4. -
    5. 24430
    6. C·······
    7. in_order_that
    8. in_order_that
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113493
    1. καταισχύνῃ
    2. kataisχunō
    3. he may be disgracing
    4. -
    5. 26170
    6. VSPA3··S
    7. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    8. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113494
    1. τά
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113495
    1. ἰσχυρά
    2. isχuros
    3. strong
    4. strong
    5. 24780
    6. S····ANP
    7. strong
    8. strong
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113496

OET (OET-LV) But the foolish things of_the world chose the god, in_order_that he_may_be_disgracing the wise, and the weak things of_the world chose the god, in_order_that he_may_be_disgracing the strong,

OET (OET-RV) but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame those considered to be wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame those considered to be strong.

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 1:26–31

In this paragraph Paul reminded the Corinthians that God did not choose them because they were wise or important. Instead, he deliberately chose people of no importance in this world. So the Corinthians had nothing to boast about, except what Christ had done for them.

1:27–28

the foolish things of the world…the weak things of the world…the lowly things of the world: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as of the world occurs three times in verses 27 and 28. There are two different ways to interpret the phrase of the world here:

  1. It means “as the people of the world think, by worldly standards.”See Ellingworth and Hatton p. 38, and Garland p, 76; Barrett p. 58. For example:

    what the world considers nonsense… (GNT) (GNT, NJB, NET, REB, GW, NLT)

  2. It means “that part of the world that is characterized by the following quality.”Thiselton p. 184. For example:

    what is foolish in the world… (RSV) (RSV, BSB, NIV, KJV, NASB, ESV, CEV, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) for each of the three places where this phrase occurs. This is consistent with the negative use of the word world in this paragraph.

1:27a

But God chose the foolish things of the world

But God chose: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as But indicates a strong contrast here. One would humanly expect God to choose wise, influential and noble people to follow Christ. Instead, he chose the weak and uneducated people. This conjunction can also be translated using other words that indicate contrast. For example:

Instead, God chose… (NLT)

Yet…God has chosen… (REB)

Translate this in a way that is natural for your language so that this contrast is clear.

foolish things: This phrase has a general meaning. It can include foolish people as well as foolish thoughts/plans and objects. Therefore it can include plans, such as God’s plan of salvation, and also objects, such as the cross of Christ. These seem foolish to unbelievers.

Try to use an expression that can include uneducated, unsophisticated, simple people, as well as objects or ideas. If you must choose between referring to people or to things/objects, it is recommended that you refer to people. This best fits the context of this verse.

1:27b

to shame the wise;

to shame the wise: This is a purpose clause. God chose the so-called foolish things and people, in order to shame the wise. The phrase to shame the wise here means to show that the wise people are wrong.

Wise people may proudly think that God chooses or prefers them because they are wise. However, God instead chose people who are not wise. He chose those not wise so that wise people could not proudly say, “God chose me because I am wise.” Other ways to translate this clause are:

to put to shame the wise (CEV)

to put wise people to shame (GW)

the wise: The phrase the wise here refers to people who are wise and clever in their own eyes. They may also be wise in the eyes of the world. These may be people who view themselves as wise intellectuals. Another way to translate this is:

those who think they are wise (NLT)

1:27c

God chose the weak things of the world

the weak things: The phrase that the BSB translated as weak things here refers to both things and people that appear to be powerless. It is the opposite of “powerful” in 1:26c. It means people who are not in important positions. However, it does not refer to people who are physically weak.

Paul does not mean that the people God chose are really physically weak. He means that “God chose people whom most people in the world consider to be unimportant.” In other words, he means those “…whom most people in the world do not consider to be leaders/prominent.”

See how you translated weak in 1:25b.

1:27d

to shame the strong.

to shame the strong: The phrase the strong here refers to strong people. In other words, those who are influential, prominent people, leaders in the community (1:26c). Paul was not referring to people who are physically strong. As in 1:27b, the verb shame here means to show that someone is in the wrong.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἀλλὰ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Here Paul uses But to introduce a contrast. He is contrasting God chose the foolish things with what a person might expect about how God would treat foolish and weak people like the Corinthians. He is not contrasting how God chose the foolish things with the statements in the previous verse about the foolishness and weakness of the Corinthians. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this contrast by clarifying that Paul writes But to contrast this statement with what a person might expect about God. Alternate translation: [Despite what might be expected,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς; καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Here Paul makes two very similar statements in which foolish goes with weak and wise goes with strong. These two statements are almost synonymous, and Paul repeats himself to emphasize the point. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine the two sentences into one. Alternate translation: [God chose the unimportant things of the world in order that he might shame the important things] or [God chose the foolish and weak things of the world in order that he might shame the wise and strong]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου & τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Paul uses the possessive form twice to clarify that the foolish things and weak things are only foolish and weak from the perspective of the world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form with a phrase such as “according to the world.” Alternate translation: [things that are foolish according to the world … things that are weak according to the world]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

(Occurrence -1) τοῦ κόσμου

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

When Paul uses the world in this context, he is not referring primarily to everything that God has made. Rather, he uses the world to refer to human beings. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the world with an expression that refers to human beings in general. Alternate translation: [of people … of people]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

(Occurrence -1) ἵνα

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Here, in order that could introduce: (1) the purpose for which God chose the foolish things of the world and the weak things of the world. Alternate translation: [so that … so that] (2) what happened when God chose the foolish things of the world and the weak things of the world. Alternate translation: [with the result that … with the result that]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

τοὺς σοφούς & τὰ ἰσχυρά

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Paul uses the adjective wise to describe a group of people, and he uses the adjective strong to describe a group of people and things. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate these two adjectives with noun phrases. Alternate translation: [people who are wise … people and things which are strong]

TSN Tyndale Study Notes:

1:18-31 Paul contrasts eloquence and human wisdom, which were highly valued by some of the Corinthians, with the foolish message of the cross—the expression of God’s wisdom. The followers of Apollos, in particular (see 1:12), were probably attracted by his rhetorical abilities and intellectual approach to ministry (see Acts 18:24-28). In contrast, Paul emphasizes that the real power lies in the simple message of the cross of Christ.

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

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Greek word
    5. Greek lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. But
    2. but
    3. 2350
    4. S
    5. alla
    6. C-·······
    7. but
    8. but
    9. S
    10. Y59
    11. 113472
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113473
    1. foolish things
    2. foolish
    3. 34740
    5. mōros
    6. S-····ANP
    7. foolish ‹things›
    8. foolish ‹things›
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113474
    1. of the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113475
    1. world
    2. -
    3. 28890
    5. kosmos
    6. N-····GMS
    7. world
    8. world
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113476
    1. chose
    2. -
    3. 15860
    5. eklegō
    6. V-IAM3··S
    7. chose
    8. chose
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113477
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····NMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113478
    1. god
    2. God
    3. 23160
    4. GN
    5. theos
    6. N-····NMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y59; Person=God
    11. 113479
    1. in order that
    2. -
    3. 24430
    5. hina
    6. C-·······
    7. in_order_that
    8. in_order_that
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113480
    1. he may be disgracing
    2. -
    3. 26170
    5. kataisχunō
    6. V-SPA3··S
    7. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    8. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113481
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····AMP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113482
    1. wise
    2. -
    3. 46800
    5. sofos
    6. S-····AMP
    7. wise
    8. wise
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113483
    1. and
    2. -
    3. 25320
    5. kai
    6. C-·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113485
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113486
    1. weak things
    2. -
    3. 7720
    5. asthenēs
    6. S-····ANP
    7. weak ‹things›
    8. weak ‹things›
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113487
    1. of the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····GMS
    7. ˱of˲ the
    8. ˱of˲ the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113488
    1. world
    2. -
    3. 28890
    5. kosmos
    6. N-····GMS
    7. world
    8. world
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113489
    1. chose
    2. -
    3. 15860
    5. eklegō
    6. V-IAM3··S
    7. chose
    8. chose
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113490
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····NMS
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113491
    1. god
    2. -
    3. 23160
    4. GN
    5. theos
    6. N-····NMS
    7. god
    8. God
    9. GN
    10. Y59; Person=God
    11. 113492
    1. in order that
    2. -
    3. 24430
    5. hina
    6. C-·······
    7. in_order_that
    8. in_order_that
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113493
    1. he may be disgracing
    2. -
    3. 26170
    5. kataisχunō
    6. V-SPA3··S
    7. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    8. ˱he˲ ˓may_be˒ disgracing
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113494
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····ANP
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113495
    1. strong
    2. strong
    3. 24780
    5. isχuros
    6. S-····ANP
    7. strong
    8. strong
    9. -
    10. Y59
    11. 113496

OET (OET-LV) But the foolish things of_the world chose the god, in_order_that he_may_be_disgracing the wise, and the weak things of_the world chose the god, in_order_that he_may_be_disgracing the strong,

OET (OET-RV) but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame those considered to be wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame those considered to be strong.

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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← 1 COR 1:27 ↑ → ► ║ ©