OET interlinear 1COR 2:11

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τίς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ?

who for /has/_known ˱among˲_people the_‹things› ˱of˲_the person except ¬not/lest the spirit ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him

Here Paul uses a question because he thinks that everyone will agree with him, for this information is common knowledge in his culture. He does not use a question because he is not sure about the answer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this question by using a form that presents information that everyone knows and agrees with. Alternate translation: “For it is a well-known fact that no one among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man that is within him.”

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

τίς γὰρ οἶδεν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, εἰ μὴ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ? οὕτως καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδεὶς ἔγνωκεν, εἰ μὴ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ.

who for /has/_known ˱among˲_people the_‹things› ˱of˲_the person except ¬not/lest the spirit ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him thus also the_‹things› ¬the ˱of˲_God no_one /has/_known except ¬not/lest the Spirit ¬the ˱of˲_God

In both parts of this verse, Paul makes a negative claim and then offers an exception to that claim. If it would appear in your language that Paul is contradicting himself, you could use a different structure that also singles out one possibility and negates all other possibilities. Alternate translation: “For the spirit of the man that is within him is the only one among men that knows the things of a man, right? So also, the Spirit of God is the only one that knows the things of God”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἀνθρώπων & ἀνθρώπου & τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ

˱among˲_people & person & ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him

Although the words translated men, man, and him are masculine, Paul is using them to refer to anyone, whether man or woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express these masculine words with non gendered words or refer to both genders. Alternate translation: “among people … of a person … of the person that is within that person”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

ἀνθρώπου & τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ

person & ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him

Paul uses the word man to speak of people in general, not one specific person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express man with a form that indicates people in general in your language. Alternate translation: “of a certain man … of that certain man that is within him” or “of men … of men that is within them”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τίς & ἀνθρώπων

who & ˱among˲_people

The phrase who among men is a way of asking about people or things that belong to a specific category. Paul means to ask if there are any men who can know the things of a man. He uses this phrase because God also knows the things of a man, so he must limit his question to only men. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form by using a phrase that asks about people or things, but only those that belong in a specific category. Alternate translation: “which man” or “out of all men, who”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου & τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ

the_‹things› ˱of˲_the person & the_‹things› ¬the ˱of˲_God

Here Paul uses the phrases the things of a man and the things of God to refer to everything that makes up the person, including personality, thoughts, actions, desires, possessions, and many more similar categories. Paul is intentionally general and does not narrow down which of these categories he has in mind. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this form with an expression that refers to all the aspects of a person that makes that person unique. Alternate translation: “all the details about a man … all the details about God”

Note 7 topic: translate-unknown

τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ

the spirit ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him

Here, the word translated spirit is the same word that Paul uses for the Holy Spirit. It refers to the interior life of a person, to the part of them that people cannot see, including their thoughts and desires. If possible, use the same word here that you will use later in the verse for the Spirit, since Paul is drawing an analogy between the human spirit and God’s Spirit. If you cannot use the word for God’s Spirit to describe a human being, you could: (1) refer simply to a human without specifying which part of the human knows. Alternate translation: “the man himself” (2) use an expression that refers to the interior life of a human. Alternate translation: “the consciousness of the man that is within him”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ἐν αὐτῷ

the spirit ˱of˲_the person which_‹is› in him

In this culture, people would speak of the nonphysical part of a human being as if it were inside the physical part of a human being. Here Paul speaks in this way when he says that the spirit of the man is within him. By using within him, Paul is identifying the spirit as the one that belongs to the man. It is not some other man’s spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate within him by: (1) using a word or phrase that identifies that the spirit belongs to the man only. Alternate translation: “that man’s own spirit” (2) expressing the idea by using a phrase that describes where a human being’s nonphysical part would be in your culture. Alternate translation: “the spirit of the man that permeates him” or “the spirit of the man that suffuses him”