1 COR 4:1 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 4:1–21: The Corinthians should respect Paul as a servant of Christ

Paul continued to talk about how the Corinthian believers should think about their Christian leaders, especially himself. He said that Christian leaders are servants of Christ and should be judged only by Christ. Some Corinthian believers were saying that they did not have to listen to Paul’s teaching. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to respect and obey him as their spiritual father.

Other possible section headings include:

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to respect him and Apollos

Paul and Apollos deserved respect as Christ’s servants

Paragraph 4:1–5

Paul explained that he was a worker whom Christ had sent to teach and work for him. Christ alone was the one to decide whether or not Paul had done his work well.

4:1a

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ

¶ As for us^(excl) teachers/evangelists, you should think about us^(excl) like this: We^(excl) are Christ’s helpers/servants,
¶ You should consider us^(excl) Christian workers to be merely people who serve Christ.

So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ: There are two ways of understanding the Greek word that the BSB translates So then:

It means “in this way” and refers forward. For example:
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ… (NRSV) (KJV, RSV, NASB, NET)
It refers back and introduces a conclusion to what Paul had just said. For example:
So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ (NLT) (BSB, NIV, NLT)

Many English versions do not explicitly translate this conjunction. In English this would be a natural way of translating interpretation (1) rather than interpretation (2). It is therefore recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

men ought to regard us as servants of Christ: This verse part indicates the way in which believers should view or think about Christian workers. Other ways to translate this include:

People should think of us as servants of Christ (NCV)

People should consider us to be Christ’s servants.

This functions as a command to the Corinthians to regard Christian workers as servants of Christ. In some languages it may be natural to translate this command using the second person (“you”). For example:

You^(plur) should regard us as Christ’s servants.

Think of us as servants of Christ. (CEV)

us: The pronoun us here refers to Paul and his fellow workers. If you need to make this explicit, you could say:

As for us^(excl) teachers/evangelists, here is how you should think about us^(excl).

servants of Christ: The Greek word that the BSB translates as servants refers to people who work for others. The phrase servants of Christ refers to people who work for Christ. They belong to him and serve him. The Greek word for servants is different from the one in 3:5, but the meaning is similar. You may translate this using the same word or expression as you used in 3:5.

4:1b

and stewards of the mysteries of God.

and God has made us^(excl) guardians/trustees of the things/matters that previously he did not make known to anyone.
God has sent us^(excl) to tell people his plans/teachings that he has never told anyone before.

stewards of the mysteries of God: This phrase indicates that Paul and his fellow workers had been given responsibility for God’s hidden truths. Their job was to proclaim and teach these truths correctly. In many languages it may be necessary to make this explicit:

stewards entrusted with proclaiming/declaring the mysteries of God

stewards: The Greek word that the BSB translates as stewards is more literally “household-managers, administrators.”The Greek word oikonomoi means “stewards, house-managers, administrators.” In Bible times a rich man with many servants and much land usually had one special servant who was called a steward. He was the one in charge of the household and fields. His job was to oversee the other servants as they did the work. By using that word here, Paul meant that Christ had made him and his fellow workers responsible for telling God’s people all about the good things God had prepared for them and for teaching God’s people to follow his ways. This is a metaphor. Paul was indicating that he and his fellow workers were like managers of someone’s important possessions. Christ had given them an important work to do for God and they were responsible to him for doing it faithfully.

There are several ways of translating this metaphor:

keep the metaphor and use a word referring to someone who manages or organizes another person’s goods or wealth. For example:
we^(excl) are managers/trustees
as a simile. For example:
we^(excl) are like administrators/stewards
explain the meaning of the metaphor. Some possible ways to explain the metaphor include:
we^(excl) have been given the responsibility/duty
God has put us^(excl) in charge of

the mysteries of God: For the Greek word that the BSB translates as mysteries, see the notes on 2:1c and 2:7a. The mysteries of God are the truths that God did not reveal clearly to anyone in the past, but that he has now revealed to all believers. God had not told anyone these mysteries until Christ came to earth, and now he has sent the apostles to tell everyone. Here is another way to translate this:

God’s secret truths (GNT)

General Comment on 4:1a-b

In the Greek text these verse parts are connected with a conjunction, which the BSB translates literally as “and.” This conjunction here introduces a further explanation of what Paul had said about himself and other Christian workers. They were servants in the sense that they were stewards of God’s mysteries. It was their task or duty to preach God’s secret truths. There are several other ways to translate this connection:

use a relative pronoun such as “who”:
Think of us as servants of Christ who have been given the work of explaining God’s mysterious ways (CEV)
You should think of us as Christ’s servants, who have been put in charge of God’s secret truths. (GNT)
omit the conjunction and use a comma:
People should think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God. (NJB)
People should think of us as servants of Christ, the ones God has trusted with his secrets. (NCV)
start a new sentence:
You should consider us Christian workers to be merely people who serve Christ. God has given us the responsibility/duty of proclaiming truths he has not previously revealed.

Connect 4:1a and b in whichever way is natural in your language.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo

οὕτως ἡμᾶς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος ὡς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως ἡμάς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος ὡς ὑπηρέτας Χριστοῦ καί οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ)

If the form In this manner let a man regard us: as would be redundant in your language, you could express the idea without the redundant words. Alternate translation: [Let a man regard us as]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p

ἡμᾶς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως ἡμάς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος ὡς ὑπηρέτας Χριστοῦ καί οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ)

Here Paul uses a third-person imperative. If you have third-person imperatives in your language, you could use one here. If you do not have third-person imperatives, you could express the idea using a word such as “should.” Alternate translation: [a man should regard us]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ἄνθρωπος

˓a˒_person

Although man 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 man with a non gendered word or refer to both genders. Alternate translation: [man or woman] or [human]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

ἄνθρωπος

˓a˒_person

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: [everybody] or [any person]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμᾶς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως ἡμάς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος ὡς ὑπηρέτας Χριστοῦ καί οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ)

Here, us refers to Paul, Apollos, and others who proclaim the gospel. It does not include the Corinthians.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

οἰκονόμους μυστηρίων Θεοῦ

managers ˱of˲_˓the˒_mysteries ˱of˲_God

Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe stewards who are in charge of the mysteries of God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form by using a verb such as “manage” or “oversee.” Alternate translation: [stewards who manage the mysteries of God] or [stewards who oversee the mysteries of God]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

μυστηρίων Θεοῦ

˱of˲_˓the˒_mysteries ˱of˲_God

Here Paul uses the possessive form to describe mysteries that are: (1) revealed by God. Alternate translation: [of the mysteries given by God] or [of the mysteries from God] (2) about God. Alternate translation: [of the mysteries about God] or [of the mysteries concerning God]

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

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.

OET interlinear 1 COR 4:1

SR Greek word order

Section 4:1–21: The Corinthians should respect Paul as a servant of Christ

Paragraph 4:1–5

4:1a

4:1b

General Comment on 4:1a-b

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

OET interlinear 1 COR 4:1

SR Greek word order

Section 4:1–21: The Corinthians should respect Paul as a servant of Christ

Paragraph 4:1–5

4:1a

4:1b

General Comment on 4:1a-b

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

OET interlinear 1 COR 4:1