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OET (OET-RV) but spiritual people can discern all these things, even though others can’t correctly discern about them.
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 contrasted two types of people. They are the people who have the Spirit of God, and those people who do not have the Spirit of God. People who do not have the Spirit of God cannot understand or accept spiritual things (2:14). People who have God’s Spirit can understand spiritual things, because they are able to think like Christ Jesus (2:15–16).
The spiritual man judges all things,
A person who has the Spirit is able to judge/examine/evaluate everything.
On the other hand, people who have received the Holy Spirit can understand/examine everything.
In the Greek text this verse part includes a conjunction that indicates a contrast. The contrast is between the person without the Spirit and the man who has the spirit. For example:
But he who is spiritual appraises all things, (NASB)
Whoever has the Spirit, however, is able… (GNT)
If it is natural in your language, you may wish to indicate this contrast as in the examples above.
The spiritual man judges all things: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as judges is a form of the same verb that is translated as “discerned” in 2:14d. The man in whom God’s Spirit lives is able to evaluate and learn all about God’s plan of salvation. Other ways to translate this are:
Whoever has the Spirit…is able to judge the value of everything (GNT)
Spiritual people evaluate everything (GW)
all things: Paul did not explain what he meant by all things. Some scholars suggest that he was referring to all things that are from the Holy Spirit. Others suggest that he meant all sorts of things in general. It is recommended that you translate this literally, as do most English versions.
but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
But people who do not have the Spirit cannot judge/evaluate the people who do have the Spirit.
And yet the ways/thoughts of a person who has the Holy Spirit cannot be judged or evaluated by anyone else.
And yet no unbeliever can judge the ways/thoughts of a person who has the Holy Spirit and decide whether what he/she is doing or thinking is right or wrong.
he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as subject to…judgment is a passive. It is a form of the same verb that is used in 2:15a and 2:14d. Paul was saying that a person without the Spirit is not able to examine and evaluate a person in whom the Spirit lives.Paul does not mean that a man in whom God’s Spirit lives does not need discipline and advice from his spiritual leaders and that he does not need to obey God’s moral laws. But he does mean that the person who is trusting his own clever thoughts is not able to examine and make judgments about the person who listens to and obeys the Spirit. A person who listens to God’s Spirit does not need to fear criticism from unbelievers or immature believers who do not listen to God’s Spirit (compare 3:3). Evidently some believers among the Corinthians were acting like unbelievers and were finding fault with Paul and did not want to follow his teachings. He will not evaluate such a person correctly, nor be able to appreciate his spiritual value. Other ways to translate this clause are:
no one can judge him (NCV)
they cannot be judged by others (CEV)
Spiritual people…are subject to no one’s evaluation. (GW)
Note 1 topic: translate-unknown
ὁ & πνευματικὸς
the & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Here Paul uses the spiritual one as the opposite of “the natural person” in [2:14](../02/14.md). The phrase the spiritual one describes a person who does have God’s Spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the meaning of this phrase by using a word or phrase that describes someone who has received God’s Spirit. Alternate translation: [the person with the Spirit]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
ὁ & πνευματικὸς ἀνακρίνει & αὐτὸς & ἀνακρίνεται
the & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Paul uses the words spiritual one and he himself to speak of people in general, not one specific man. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning of these words with a form that indicates people in general. Alternate translation: [any spiritual person discerns … he himself or she herself] or [spiritual people discern … they themselves are discerned]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
τὰ πάντα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Here Paul uses all things as an exaggeration that the Corinthians would have understood to emphasize that the spiritual one can discern God’s gifts and the message of the gospel. Paul does not mean that every spiritual person is able to discern everything there is to know. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this exaggeration by using a phrase such as “many things,” and express the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [many things indeed]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
αὐτὸς & ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς ἀνακρίνεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on he who is discerned rather than the person doing the “discerning.” Alternate translation: [no one discerns him himself]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
αὐτὸς & ἀνακρίνεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Here, the words translated he himself are written in masculine form, but they refer to anyone, no matter what their gender might be. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind he himselfby using a word that does not have gender, or you could use both genders. Alternate translation: [that person is discerned] or [he himself or she herself is discerned]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
αὐτὸς & ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς ἀνακρίνεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Here Paul wishes to say that it is impossible for someone without the Spirit to properly understand or make judgments about the person who does have the Spirit. If this implication would be missed by your readers, you could make it more explicit that Paul is speaking about the impossibility of someone without the Spirit “discerning” someone with the Spirit. Alternate translation: [he himself cannot be discerned by anyone who is not spiritual]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / rpronouns
αὐτὸς & ἀνακρίνεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ πνευματικός ἀνακρίνει τά παντᾶ αὐτός δέ ὑπʼ οὐδενός ἀνακρίνεται)
Here, himself focuses attention on the spiritual one. If himself would not draw attention in this way in your language, you could express the attention or focus in another way. Alternate translation: [he is discerned] or [he indeed is discerned]
2:15 Those who are spiritual: People who have the Spirit have a true understanding of divine revelation.
OET (OET-RV) but spiritual people can discern all these things, even though others can’t correctly discern about them.
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.