OET interlinear 1 COR 1:8

1:8a

He: The Greek word that the BSB translates as He is more literally “who.” There are two ways to interpret who this pronoun refers to here:

1. It refers to God. This is not explicitly stated but is probably implied. For example:

   God will keep you strong

2. It refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. For example:

   Jesus will keep you strong (NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). God is the implied actor of most of the verbs in this paragraph. It is God whom Paul called “faithful” in the following verse.

will sustain you: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as will sustain you is literally “will also confirm you.” The Greek verb meaning “will confirm” is from the same verb as “was confirmed” in 1:6. The word “also” indicates that this is a second confirming action that God performed.

However, the meaning of “confirm” is a little different in this verse. Here in 1:8, it probably indicates that God will keep the believers firm and steadfast in their faith. He will help them to continue trusting him. Some other ways to translate this are:

will also strengthen you (NRSV)

will also keep you firm (GNT)

to the end: There are two ways to interpret of the phrase to the end here:

1. It refers to the time when Jesus returns to earth again. Jesus’ return was talked about in both the previous and the following verse parts. This verse may be reordered if that is more natural. For example:

   And until the day Christ does return, he will keep you completely innocent. (CEV)

2. It refers to the time when the believers die, the end of their time on earth

It refers to the time when the believers die, the end of their time on earth. It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Paul probably referred to Jesus Christ’s return, and the judgment which will take place then. Therefore the two phrases the end (1:8a) and “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8b) form a doublet. A doublet is two ways of saying the same thing. A doublet is used in order to emphasize something. See the General Comment at the end of 1:8.

1:8b

so that you will be blameless: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as so that you will be blameless is literally blameless. The BSB clause can be understood as either a purpose clause or as a result clause. It may be more natural to translate blameless as a verb clause in your language. If that is true, it is probably better to use a result clause. For example;

so that no one can accuse you… (GW)

God will keep believers strong and faithful. As a result, they will be found blameless on the day that he returns.

blameless: The Greek word that the BSB translates as blameless means “irreproachable” or “faultless.” It describes someone who cannot justly be accused of wrongdoing. When Christ returns, believers will not be found guilty of any wrong or sin. This is true because they trust in Christ alone. Some other ways to translate this are:

completely innocent (CEV)

there will be no wrong in you (NCV)

on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ: The word day here does not mean a literal day of twenty-four hours. It means the time in the future that God has chosen. Two things will happen then: the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth, and he will judge all people. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this implied information explicit. For example:

on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again (NCV)

Sometimes the phrase “the Lord’s day” is used to refer to Sunday. Paul was not saying that believers will be or should be blameless only on Sundays. If you decide to translate this phrase literally, check that readers do not think it means the Sabbath or Sunday.