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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
1 Cor C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
1 Cor 3 V1 V2 V3 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23
OET (OET-LV) For/Because whenever may_be_saying someone:
I on_one_hand am of_Paulos, on_the_other_hand another I am of_Apollōs, not humans you_all_are?
OET (OET-RV) Yes, when one person says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another person says, ‘I follow Apollos’, doesn’t that show that you’re just worldly?
In this section Paul told the believers in Corinth that they had not become spiritually mature. That was why they were dividing into separate groups and arguing with one another about teachers. They needed to learn about God’s plan for Christian workers and leaders. Christian workers and leaders all belong to God and are all building God’s church together.
Other possible section headings include:
Paul and all the other apostles were the Lord’s servants
All believers belong to the Lord and should remain united
Paul introduced the problem by pointing out to the Corinthians that they were not acting like people controlled by God’s Holy Spirit. They were quarreling among themselves and being jealous of one another. They were behaving just like unbelievers.
For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,”
For if one of you says, “I listen to Paul,”
When some people say that they are following my/Paul’s teaching,
I say that because some of you say, “As for us(excl), Paul is our teacher,”
and another, “I follow Apollos,”
while another of you says, “I listen to Apollos,”
and other people say that they are following Apollos’s teaching,
but others of you are saying, “As for us(excl), Apollos is our teacher.”
For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces Paul’s reason for saying that the Corinthians were walking in the way of man. Some English versions such as the GNT do not explicitly translate this conjunction.
one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”: Paul again referred to what some people from Chloe’s household had reported to him. See 1:11–12 and the notes on 1:12b and 1:12c. It is recommended that you translate this sentence in a way that is similar to the way that you translated 1:12.
The phrase one of you says does not mean that just one person said this. Similarly, the phrase and another does not refer to just one person. Paul was talking about these people as representatives of two groups. And these two groups were just examples of some of the groups in the Corinthian church. In some languages it may be better to translate the phrases one of you says and another with plural forms. For example:
Some of you say…and some others say….
Consider whether it is natural in your language to translate what the Corinthians were saying as a direct quote, as the BSB does, or as indirect quotes as in this example:
Some of you say that you follow me. Others say that you follow Apollos.
I follow Paul…I follow Apollos: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as I follow Paul literally says “I am of Paul.” The speaker was saying that he belonged to a group that admired Paul and followed his teachings. Other people were saying that they looked to Apollos as their spiritual leader and teacher. Other ways to translate these clauses include:
I belong to Paul…I belong to Apollos (RSV)
I am on Paul’s side…I am on Apollos’s side.
Paul is the teacher that I/we like…Apollos is the teacher that I/we like.
Paul: Paul was referring to himself. In some languages it may therefore be necessary to use the first-person pronoun “me” when using indirect speech:
some of you say that you follow me
are you not mere men?
are you not just like the rest of the world?
you are behaving like people who do not know God.
That behavior/talk of yours shows that you are no different from the people of this world.
are you not mere men?: This is a third rhetorical question. It means approximately the same thing as “Are you not walking in the way of man?” in 3:3d. Paul used this question to emphasize what he was saying: the Corinthians were behaving like unbelievers. Again, there are at least two ways to translate this question:
as a question. For example:
isn’t this how ordinary people behave? (CEV)
as a statement. For example:
you are acting like people of the world (NCV)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases
γὰρ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
Here, For introduces further evidence for Paul’s argument that the Corinthians are acting in merely humans ways. If it would be helpful in your language, you could leave For untranslated or express the idea using a word or phrase that introduces more evidence or examples. Alternate translation: [Indeed,]
Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns
λέγῃ τις & ἕτερος
˓may_be˒_saying (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
Here Paul uses the pronouns one and another to give two examples of some people in the Corinthian church who are saying these kinds of things. He does not mean that only two people are saying these things. He also does not mean that these are the only things that people in the church are saying. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this form with words that introduce examples of a larger pattern, and you could add a phrase that indicates that the words I am of Paul and I am of Apollos are two examples of the kinds of things that they are saying. Alternate translation: [some people among you say things like … other people among you say things like]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotations
ἐγὼ & εἰμι Παύλου & ἐγὼ Ἀπολλῶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
If you cannot use this form in your language, you could translate these statements as indirect quotes instead of as direct quotes. Alternate translation: [that he or she is of Paul … that he or she is of Apollos]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
ἐγὼ & εἰμι Παύλου & ἐγὼ Ἀπολλῶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
Just as in [1:12](../01/12.md), Paul uses the possessive form to indicate that people are claiming to be part of a specific leader’s group. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form with a word such as “belong” or “follow.” Alternate translation: [“I follow Paul” … “I follow Apollos”]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐκ ἄνθρωποί ἐστε?
not (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
Paul does not ask this question because he is looking for information or for agreement or disagreement. Rather, he asks it to involve the Corinthians in what he is arguing. The question assumes that the answer is “yes.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this question with a statement that draws a conclusion from what Paul says the Corinthians are saying. Alternate translation: [you are men] or [this shows that you are men]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἄνθρωποί
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
When Paul says that the Corinthians are men, he means that they are “only” or “merely” men. He is not identifying them as humans. Rather, he means that they are acting and speaking from “merely human” perspective rather than from God’s perspective, a perspective they can share if they have God’s Spirit. If it would be helpful in your language, you could add a word or phrase that clarifies that men refers to a “merely human” view of the world. Alternate translation: [merely men] or [speaking from a human perspective]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
ἄνθρωποί
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὅταν Γάρ λέγῃ τὶς Ἐγώ μέν Εἰμί Παύλου ἕτερος δέ Ἐγώ Ἀπολλῶ οὐκ ἄνθρωποι ἐστέ)
Although men is masculine, Paul is using it to refer to anyone, whether man or woman. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express men with a non-gendered word or refer to both genders. Alternate translation: [humans] or [men and women]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because whenever may_be_saying someone:
I on_one_hand am of_Paulos, on_the_other_hand another I am of_Apollōs, not humans you_all_are?
OET (OET-RV) Yes, when one person says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another person says, ‘I follow Apollos’, doesn’t that show that you’re just worldly?
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.