UTN uW Translation Notes:

1 Corinthians 16 General Notes

Structure and Formatting

10. On the collection and visits (16:1–12) * The collection (16:1–4) * Travel plans (16:5–12)11. Closing: final commands and greetings (16:13–24) * Final commands (16:13–18) * Greetings and closing (16:19–24)

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Letter writing and sending

In this culture, someone who wanted to send a letter often spoke what they wanted to say, and a scribe would write it down for them. Then, they would send the letter with a messenger, who would read the letter to the person or people to whom it was addressed. In this chapter, Paul mentions that he writes the final greeting or the last few verses “in my own hand” (16:21). This is because the rest of the letter was written by a scribe, who wrote down what Paul dictated. Paul writes the last greeting as a personal touch and to prove that he was indeed the author.

The collection

In 16:1–4, Paul refers to a “collection” that he will take or send to Jerusalem. He speaks at greater length about this “collection” in (Romans 15:22–32) and (2 Corinthians 8–9). His plan was to collect money from churches that were mostly Gentile and give that money to the church in Jerusalem that was mostly Jewish. In this way, the poorer believers in Jerusalem would receive support and Jewish and Gentile believers would be more connected. In these verses, Paul assumes that the Corinthians already know about this plan. He gives them instructions on how to help him carry it out. Make sure that you translate these verses in such a way that it is clear what Paul is talking about: collecting money to give to believers in Jerusalem.

Travel plans

In this chapter, Paul includes travel plans for himself (16:5–9) and for Timothy and Apollos (16:10–12). Paul and Apollos are in Ephesus, and Timothy has left Ephesus and is traveling to Corinth (in “Achaia”) when Paul writes this letter. When people traveled from Corinth to Ephesus or vice versa, they could go by boat through the Mediterranean Sea, or they could travel on land through what is now Northern Greece (“Macedonia”) and Western Turkey (“Asia”). Paul states that he plans to travel by land; it is not clear how Timothy or others traveled. Use words that are appropriate for these kinds of movements in your language. (See: figs-go)

Greetings

In this culture, it was common for those who sent letters to include greetings to and from others in their letter. In this way, many people could greet each other but only send one letter. In 16:19–21 Paul includes greetings to and from people whom he and the Corinthians know. Express these greetings in a natural form in your language.