1 Corinthians 4:8 — Greek interlinear

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 4:6–13

In this paragraph Paul rebuked the Corinthians for talking proudly about their abilities. Since all their abilities came from God, they had no reason to talk proudly about them. Paul talked about Apollos and himself to contrast the suffering that true workers of Christ were enduring with the proud, boastful attitudes of the Corinthians.

4:8a-c

Paul continued to rebuke the Corinthians because they felt satisfied, rich, and powerful. They thought of themselves as spiritually successful. In this verse Paul rebuked them in three short sentences. There are two ways to interpret the form of the Greek sentences:

They are ironic statements. Irony is a figure of speech that involves saying the opposite of what one means in order to criticize or rebuke others. For example:
Already you are satisfied! Already you are rich! You have become kings without us! (NET) (BSB, NIV, RSV, NJB, NCV, KJV, NASB, REB, GW, NET, NLT, ESV)
They are rhetorical questions. For example:
Are you already satisfied? Are you now rich? Have you become kings while we are still nobodies? (CEV) (GNT, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This has the strongest support among the English versions. Paul was using irony to rebuke the Corinthians. He wanted them to change their proud thoughts about themselves. They thought of themselves as successful, as wise and rich and powerful in spiritual things. But actually, in the way God looked at things, their pride and lack of maturity were causing them to be foolish, poor, and weak.

In your translation, you will want to be sure that your readers do not understand these statements literally. There are several ways to translate them:

using irony or sarcasm. Consider how it might be natural to show this. One way in English is by the use of exaggerated or emphatic language and an exclamation point. For example:
You are already full to the brim! Already multi-millionaires! Already reigning without us!
How comfortable you are! How wealthy! How royal! You are not like us!
as statements implying rebuke. For example:
You think you already have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. (NCV)
as direct rebukes. For example:
You are wrong to act/think as though you already have all you need. You are not rich yet! You are (unlike us) already kings!

4:8a

Already you have all you want.

You are already so satisfied!
You seem to have everything you could desire.
You act as though you had everything you needed.

Already you have all you want: The Greek words that the BSB translates as you have all you want are more literally “you are filled,” as in the RSV. This refers to eating and drinking so much that a person does not want anything more to eat or drink. This is a figure of speech. Paul meant that the Corinthian believers thought that they were not lacking anything spiritually. They did not think that they needed any help or instruction from him. So there are several ways of translating this verse part:

with a metaphor. For example:
You have had enough to eat.
with a simile that is explained:
Just like people who have eaten so much that they feel satisfied, you act as if you know all you need to know.
without a figure of speech. For example:
You act as if you already have all you need spiritually.
You apparently think you have already learned all you need to know about God’s ways.

Translate this figure of speech in a way that is natural in your language. If possible, use language that can refer both to feeling content after having had enough to eat and to feeling content after having enough of something else. For example:

You are already satisfied/content.

4:8b

Already you have become rich.

You are already so wealthy/well-off!
You seem to have all the blessings there are!
You act as though you had every spiritual blessings.

Already you have become rich: Here Paul used a second figure of speech. It means almost the same as that in 4:8a. Paul was using the word rich as a metaphor for having many spiritual blessings, gifts, and abilities from the Holy Spirit. The Corinthians seemed to think that they had received all the spiritual blessings possible. So there are several ways to translate this figure of speech:

using a metaphor. For example:
you have come into your fortune already! (REB)
using and explaining a metaphor or simile. For example:
You are like rich men—you don’t need anything from anyone!
with no figure of speech. For example:
You already have all the spiritual blessings there are to have!

As in the previous verse part, it may be possible to use language that has both a figurative and a non-figurative meaning. For example:

You are indeed very successful/well-off!

You already have all there is to have!

4:8c

Without us, you have become kings.

You are reigning already! But you are reigning without us.
We^(excl) are not yet kings, but you act as if you were kings already!
Apparently you think that you are already as strong/prosperous/powerful as kings. But we^(excl) evangelists/apostles are not yet in that position.

Without us: There are two ways to interpret the phrase Without us:

It means “and we are not kings like you.” For example:
even though we are not (GNT) (GNT, CEV)
It means “apart from our help.” For example:
without any help from us (NJB) (NJB, probably the NRSV)

Many English versions are ambiguous (BSB, NIV, RSV, NET, REB, NLT, NCV, GW, NASB, KJV, ESV). It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This fits better with the context of 4:8e.

you have become kings: This is another figure of speech. The Corinthians felt themselves to be as prosperous, strong, and powerful as kings. There are two ways to translate this metaphor:

using a metaphor. For example:
you have come into your kingdom (REB)
you are already reigning!
explaining the metaphor. For example:
you are as prosperous/powerful as kings!

In this verse part, it is not recommended that you remove the metaphor altogether. The New Testament frequently uses this metaphor to speak of the spiritual blessings Christians will enjoy after Christ returns. See, for example, 2 Timothy 2:12.

kings: A king is a legal, hereditary ruler. If kings are not common in your area, it may be natural to use a more general word for leaders, such as “rulers.”

General Comment on 4:8c

In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of these phrases. For example:

You have become kings—and that without us! (NIV)

4:8d

How I wish you really were kings,

I wish that you really had begun to reign
I would be happy if you really were as strong/prosperous/powerful as kings.

How I wish you really were kings: This is a wish for something to be true that was not true. Paul wished the time for the Corinthians to reign as kings were already here. But the Corinthians were not already kings. They were not as prosperous and powerful as they supposed they were.

Other ways to translate this include:

How I wish you had indeed come into your kingdom. (REB)

Well, I wish you were kings. (NJB)

I wish you really were on your thrones already. (NLT)

4:8e

so that we might be kings with you!

so that we^(excl) also could be ruling/reigning with you.
That way we^(excl) could be spiritually powerful/prosperous along with you.

so that we might be kings with you: This verse part indicates Paul’s purpose for wishing that the Corinthians were already kings. If the Corinthians were already enjoying the spiritual blessing of reigning with Christ, then so would he and the other apostles.

Other ways to translate this:

so that we could reign with you (NET)

so we^(excl) could be on our thrones as well

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / irony

ἤδη κεκορεσμένοι ἐστέ, ἤδη ἐπλουτήσατε, χωρὶς ἡμῶν ἐβασιλεύσατε

already (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἤδη κεκορεσμένοι ἐστέ ἤδη ἐπλουτήσατε χωρίς ἡμῶν ἐβασιλεύσατε καί ὄφελον γέ ἐβασιλεύσατε ἵνα καί ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν συμβασιλεύσωμεν)

With these statements, Paul is stating what he thinks the Corinthians would say about themselves. He does not mean that he believes that these things are true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could include some words that clarify that Paul is speaking from the Corinthians’s perspective, such as “it is as if” or “you say.” Alternate translation: [Already it is as if you are satisfied! Already it is as if you have become rich! It is as if you began to reign apart from us] or [Already you say that you are satisfied! Already you say that you have become rich! You say that you have begun to reign apart from us]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

κεκορεσμένοι ἐστέ

˓having_been˒_satiated ˱you_all˲_are

Here Paul speaks as if the Corinthians have had more than enough food to eat and beverages to drink. By this, he means that (they think that) they have so many spiritual blessings that there are no more that they can receive. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning of satisfied with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [you are stuffed with blessings] or [you have every spiritual gift]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἐπλουτήσατε

˱you_all˲_became_rich

Here Paul speaks as if the Corinthians have become wealthy people. He speaks in this way to again emphasize that (they think that) they have more spiritual blessings than they need. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the meaning of become rich with a comparable metaphor or plainly. Alternate translation: [you have become fat] or [you have an excess of spiritual gifts]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

ἡμῶν & ἡμεῖς

us & we

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

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 4:8

SR Greek word order

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

Paragraph 4:6–13

4:8a-c

4:8a

4:8b

4:8c

General Comment on 4:8c

4:8d

4:8e

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

OET interlinear 1 COR 4:8

SR Greek word order

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

Paragraph 4:6–13

4:8a-c

4:8a

4:8b

4:8c

General Comment on 4:8c

4:8d

4:8e

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

OET interlinear 1 COR 4:8