OET interlinear 1 COR 4:7

4:7

In this verse Paul used three rhetorical questions to rebuke the Corinthians for the way they argued over teachers and talked proudly about themselves.. He wanted them to feel ashamed of themselves for talking proudly about one teacher and showing dishonor toward another. So there are two ways to translate these questions:

• As rhetorical questions. In some languages it is common to use questions like this to criticize or show anger. But make sure that people who read your translation understand these questions as rebukes, not as real questions. For example:

  My friend, who makes you so important? What do you possess that was not given you? And if you received it as a gift, why take the credit to yourself? (REB)

  Who says you are better than others? What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, why do you brag as if you did not receive it as a gift? (NCV)

• As emphatic statements that by implication rebuke or criticize the Corinthians. For example:

  You should not think that you are superior to others. All that you have was given to you. So there is no need to brag about it.

In all three of these questions, Paul used the singular pronoun for “you.” It is as though he were talking to only one person. But he was actually addressing anyone in the group who thought that he or she had the right to look at the work of the teachers and judge them (4:3). In many languages it may therefore be best to translate this verse using the plural “you.”

4:7a

For: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as For introduces a rhetorical question that indicates the basis for Paul’s statement; that is, the reason why the Corinthians should not be proud or puffed up. Some English versions, such as the GNT, do not explicitly translate this conjunction. You should introduce the following question in a way that is natural in your language.

who makes you so superior?: This is a rhetorical question. In Greek it is literally, “who judges you^(sing) to be superior?” The implied answer is “no one.” Paul was saying that anyone who was claiming to be superior and to have the right to judge Paul or another worker was wrong. No one had given him that right.

Paul used this rhetorical question to make an emphatic negative statement: no one had made the Corinthians superior to other believers. This statement implied a rebuke: the Corinthians should stop thinking and acting as though they were superior. There are therefore several ways to translate this verse part:

• as a rhetorical question. For example:

  Who made you superior to others? (GNT)

  Who says you are better than others? (NCV)

  Who made you so important? (NJB)

• as a question with the answer supplied. For example:

  Did someone/God declare you to be above everyone else? No!

• as an emphatic statement or exclamation. For example:

  No one has made you superior to others!

  You are wrong to think you are better than others.

Consider what is the most natural way to translate this as a rebuke in your language.

4:7b

What do you have that you did not receive?: This verse part has some implied information. The Corinthians had received everything from God. God gave the Corinthians their salvation, all their material possessions, and all the abilities they had. So it is also possible to translate this as:

What do you have that God hasn’t given you? (NLT)

Didn’t God give you everything you have? (GNT)

This is a rhetorical question. Paul used this question to make a strong negative statement. He meant “You have nothing that you did not receive.” In other words, “everything you have comes from God.” This implied a rebuke: the Corinthians should not act and speak proudly, because they were totally dependent on God. So there are several ways to translate this question:

• as a rhetorical question. For example:

  What do you have that was not given to you? (NCV)

• as a question with the answer supplied. For example;

  Do you have anything that was not given by God? No!

• as a strong statement. For example:

  Everything you have, you have received from God.

• as a rebuke. For example:

  You should remember that God gave you every good thing you have.

Translate this question in whichever way is natural in your language.

4:7c

And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And here introduces a third rhetorical question that functions as a concluding rebuke.

if you did receive it: Paul was implying that this condition was true. The Corinthians had received everything from God. This verse part gives the basis for the verse part that follows. So in this context the word if can be translated as “since”:

since you did receive it

4:7d

why do you boast as though you did not?: This is a third rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. Paul was telling the believers in Corinth that they should not be boasting in the way they were. It was foolish and wrong to boast about things they had been given. So there are least two ways to translate this question:

• as a rhetorical question. For example:

  why do you brag as if you did not receive it as a gift? (NCV)

• as a rebuke. For example:

  You should not boast as though you had not received it.

Translate this question in the way that is natural in your language for rebuking someone.

boast: The Greek word that the BSB translates as boast means to brag or talk arrogantly. The Corinthians had been thinking and talking as if the things God had given to them made them more important than other people.

as though you did not: The phrase as though you did not here means “as though you did not receive everything good you possess as a gift from God.” In some languages it may be more natural to leave this phrase implicit. For example, the CEV translates 4:7c-d as:

And if it was given to you, how can you brag? (CEV)