1 COR 1:17 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel—not with wise speech so that the cross of Christ would not be emptied.

UST The reason I baptized so few of you is that the Messiah did not commission me to baptize people. Rather, he commissioned me to proclaim the good news. I do this without using words that are wise by human standards. That way, I do not destroy the power of the message about the Messiah dying on the cross.

BSB For Christ {did} not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of [its] power.

BLB For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not in wisdom of discourse, so that the cross of the Christ should not be emptied of its power.

AICNT For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

OEB My mission from Christ was not to baptise, but to tell the good news; not, however, in the language of philosophy, in case the cross of the Christ should be robbed of its meaning.

WEBBE For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ wouldn’t be made void.

WMBB For Messiah sent me not to immerse, but to proclaim the Good News—not in wisdom of words, so that the cross of Messiah wouldn’t be made void.

NET For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel – and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.

LSV For Christ did not send me to immerse, but to proclaim good news, not in wisdom of discourse, that the Cross of the Christ may not be made of no effect;

FBV For Christ didn't send me out to baptize, but to spread the good news, and not with eloquent human wisdom, otherwise the cross of Christ would be made powerless.[fn]

1:17 Or “ineffectual.” Literally, “emptied.”

TCNT For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be deprived of its power.

T4T Christ sent me not primarily to baptize people but to preach the good message about him. When I do that, he does not want me to use words that human philosophers consider wise [IRO]. I do not want the message about what he accomplished when he was nailed to the cross [MTY] to lose its power.

LEB For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, not with _⌊clever speech_⌋[fn], lest the cross of Christ be emptied.

1:17 Literally “wisdom of word”

BBE For Christ sent me, not to give baptism, but to be a preacher of the good news: not with wise words, for fear that the cross of Christ might be made of no value.

Moff Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel.
¶  And to preach it with no fine rhetoric, lest the cross of Christ should lose its power!

Wymth Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words—lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.

ASV For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

DRA For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

YLT For Christ did not send me to baptize, but — to proclaim good news; not in wisdom of discourse, that the cross of the Christ may not be made of none effect;

Drby For Christ has not sent me to baptise, but to preach glad tidings; not in wisdom of word, that the cross of the Christ may not be made vain.

RV For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel: not in wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void. )

SLT For Christ sent me not to immerse, but to announce good news: not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ be made void.

Wbstr For Christ hath not sent me to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

KJB-1769 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. )

KJB-1611 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not with [fn]wisedome of words, lest the Crosse of Christ should be made of none effect.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and footnotes)

1:17 Or, speech.

Bshps For Christe sent me not to baptize, but to preache the Gospell: not with wisedome of wordes, lest ye crosse of Christ shoulde be made of none effect.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest ye/you_all cross of Christ should be made of none effect.)

Gnva For CHRIST sent me not to baptize, but to preache the Gospel, not with wisdome of wordes, lest the crosse of Christ should be made of none effect.
(For CHRIST sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. )

Cvdl For Christ sent me not to baptyse, but to preach the Gospell, not with wyssdome of wordes, lest ye crosse of Christ shulde haue bene made of none effecte.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest ye/you_all cross of Christ should have been made of none effect.)

TNT For Christ sent me not to baptyse but to preache the gospell not with wysdome of wordes lest the crosse of Christ shuld have bene made of none effecte.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise but to preach the gospel not with wisdom of words lest the cross of Christ should have been made of none effect. )

Wycl For Crist sente me not to baptise, but to preche the gospel; not in wisdom of word, that the cros of Crist be not voidid awei.
(For Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel; not in wisdom of word, that the cross of Christ be not voidid away.)

Luth Denn Christus hat mich nicht gesandt zu taufen, sondern das Evangelium zu predigen, nicht mit klugen Worten, auf daß nicht das Kreuz Christi zunichte werde.
(Because Christ has me not sent to/for baptise, rather the gospel to/for preaching, not with clever words, on/in/to that not the cross(n) Christi to_nothing become.)

ClVg Non enim misit me Christus baptizare, sed evangelizare: non in sapientia verbi, ut non evacuetur crux Christi.[fn]
(Not/No because he_sent me Christ/Messiah baptizare, but to_evangelise: not/no in/into/on wisdom words, as not/no evacuetur stake/cross Christi. )

1.17 Sed evangelizare. Perfecte enim baptizare etiam minus docti possunt. Perfecte autem evangelizare multo difficilius est et rarioris operis. Ideo doctor gentium pluribus excellentior, evangelizare se missum dicit, non baptizare. Hoc tamen necessitate instante interdum egit. Non in sapientia. Contra sapientiam sæculi. Non in sapientia verbi. Sapientiam dicit philosophorum quæ sic dicitur, etsi non sit: attamen illa est quæ verbosos facit, per quam crux, id est mors Christi, evacuatur; et impossibile secundum naturam judicatur, ut Deus immortalis moreretur. Verbi. Ibi compositio verborum quæritur, ubi teste virtute ipsa veritas se non commendat.

1.17 But to_evangelise. Perfecte because baptizare also minus learned they_can. Perfecte however to_evangelise much difficilius it_is and rarioris work. Therefore/For_that_reason doctor nations many excellentior, to_evangelise himself missum he_says, not/no baptizare. This nevertheless necessitate instante sometimes acted. Not/No in/into/on wisdom. Contra wisdom of_the_world/of_the_ages. Not/No in/into/on wisdom words. Wisdomm he_says philosophorum which so it_is_said, even_though not/no be: attamen that it_is which wordsos he_does, through how stake/cross, that it_is death Christi, evacuatur; and impossible after/second nature is_judged, as God immortalis would_die. Verbi. There compositio of_words is_wanted, where teste by_virtue herself the_truth himself not/no recommends.

UGNT οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέν με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν, ἀλλὰ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι; οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
(ou gar apesteilen me Ⱪristos baptizein, alla euangelizesthai; ouk en sofia logou, hina maʸ kenōthaʸ ho stauros tou Ⱪristou.)

SBL-GNT οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέν με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν ἀλλὰ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι, οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
(ou gar apesteilen me Ⱪristos baptizein alla euangelizesthai, ouk en sofia logou, hina maʸ kenōthaʸ ho stauros tou Ⱪristou.)

RP-GNT Οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέν με χριστὸς βαπτίζειν, ἀλλ' εὐαγγελίζεσθαι· οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ χριστοῦ.
(Ou gar apesteilen me ⱪristos baptizein, all' euangelizesthai; ouk en sofia logou, hina maʸ kenōthaʸ ho stauros tou ⱪristou.)

TC-GNT Οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλέ με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν, [fn]ἀλλ᾽ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι· οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου, ἵνα μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
(Ou gar apesteile me Ⱪristos baptizein, all euangelizesthai; ouk en sofia logou, hina maʸ kenōthaʸ ho stauros tou Ⱪristou. )

1:17 αλλ ¦ αλλα NA²⁷ SBL TH WH

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 1:10–2:16: Believers should not divide up into competing factions. They should be united by true wisdom, the message of the cross.

In this section Paul wrote about a serious problem in the Corinthian church. The Corinthian believers were dividing up into competing groups. They were following whichever human leader they admired the most. Paul tried to solve this problem by reminding the Corinthians of the message of the cross. He wanted them to stop following human wisdom and to follow God’s wisdom.

Paragraph 1:10–17

There were divisions among the believers at Corinth. They divided into groups according to which leader they thought was the best one to follow. Paul taught them that Christ was not divided, so neither should his church be divided. His message was that all believers are united in Christ.

1:17a

For Christ did not send me to baptize,

For the work that Christ sent me out to do is not baptizing believers.
I did not baptize many believers. That is because baptizing believers is not the main work that Christ gave me to do as his apostle.

For: The conjunction For introduces the reason why Paul had only baptized a few Corinthian believers.

Christ did not send me to baptize: Paul was thankful that he did not baptize a lot of people because baptizing people was not the main task that Christ gave him. He was not saying, however, that Christ had commanded him not to baptize people. It was just not his main responsibility.

send me: The focus of this clause is not on where Christ sent Paul but on what Christ send Paul to do. The Greek text does not say where Christ sent Paul.

In some languages it may be necessary to specify where God sent Paul. In some languages it may be possible to be general, using “out/around.” For example:

Christ did not send me out…

In other languages it may be necessary to be more specific. For example:

send me to Corinth/you

send me to faraway towns

send me to foreign places

1:17b

but to preach the gospel,

Rather, he sent me to preach the good news.
Instead, my main work as Christ’s apostle is to tell people God’s/the gospel message about Christ.

but: There is contrast here. The contrast is between what Christ did not send Paul to do and what Christ did send him to do. Some English versions do not use a conjunction here. For example:

Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the Good News (GNT)

to preach the gospel: The phrase preach the gospel indicates that Christ sent Paul out to do something special for him. He sent Paul out to preach the good news about salvation to people.

General Comment on 1:17

In 1:17a-b Paul makes a negative statement first, and then a positive statement:

Negative: For Christ did not send me to baptize,

Positive: but Christ did send me to preach the Gospel.

However, in other languages it may be more natural to structure this verse differently. For example:

^17aFor Christ sent me, not to baptize people, ^17bbut to preach the gospel.

In other languages it may be more natural to reorder the clauses. For example:

^17bChrist sent me to preach the gospel. ^17aHe did not send me to baptize people.

If you reorder the clauses, you need to be careful about how you translate 1:17c so that the verse will be natural in your language.

1:17c

not with words of wisdom,

I do not preach the Gospel using eloquent words of human wisdom,
I do not use the clever/persuasive speech of human wisdom to preach the Gospel.

not with words of wisdom: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as with words of wisdom is literally “in wisdom of speech/word.” There are two ways to interpret the phrase with words of wisdom here:

It means “wisdom which is expressed through speech.” This refers to the rhetoric and intellectual arguments of Greek philosophy.See Fee, p. 64, and Hodge pp. 17–18. For example:
eloquent wisdom (RSV) (RSV, NIV, GNT, NCV, ESV)
It means “wise speech”; that is, rhetorical skill, a clever way of talking.See Garland p. 56; Thiselton p. 143–45. For example:
clever speech (NET) (NASB, REB, NET, NLT, CEV, JBP)

In some languages there may not be much difference between these two interpretations. In some English versions it is difficult to be sure which interpretation is being followed (KJV, GW).

In some languages it is necessary to choose between the two interpretations. If that is true in your language, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It has slightly more support from commentaries and English versions. However, you may also use the interpretation that is followed by your own major language version.

wisdom: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wisdom is a key/important word in this section of 1 Corinthians (1:17–31). Here it refers to the philosophical arguments that the Greek people greatly admired.

1:17d

lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

so that the death of Christ on the cross would not lose its power/impact.
I do not want to rob the message about the cross of Christ of its power to save people/you.
I do not want to cause the message of Christ’s death on the cross to be ineffective/powerless/useless to those listening.

lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power: The Greek clause is literally “in order that the cross of Christ should not be emptied of its power.” The English word lest introduces a result that Paul wanted to avoid.

If Paul preached the gospel with words of human wisdom, the power/impact of the death of Christ on the cross would be less. Paul did not want people to believe the gospel message only because of words of human wisdom. He wanted to present the gospel fully and effectively. People should decide to follow Christ because of Christ’s death on the cross for them.

the cross of Christ: The phrase the cross of Christ literally refers to the wooden cross on which Christ died. However, in this context it is a figure of speech referring to Christ’s death for us. Another way to translate this phrase is:

Christ’s death on the cross… (GNT)

be emptied of its power: The phrase be emptied of its power here means “have its power taken away,” or “be made useless/powerless.” Another way to translate this phrase is:

is not robbed of its power (GNT)

This is a passive phrase. In some languages it may be more natural to translate it using an active verb. For example:

does not lose its power

does not become powerless

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὒ Γάρ ἀπέστειλεν μέ Χριστός βαπτίζειν ἀλλά εὐαγγελίζεσθαι οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου ἵνα μή κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρός τοῦ Χριστοῦ)

Here, For introduces an explanation for why Paul has baptized so few people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this connection with a word that introduces an explanation, and you could clarify that it explains how little he baptizes. Alternate translation: [I only baptized a few people, because]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

οὐ & ἀπέστειλέν με Χριστὸς βαπτίζειν, ἀλλὰ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι

If your language would not naturally put the negative statement before the positive statement, you could reverse them and introduce not with wise speech by repeating proclaim. Alternate translation: [Christ sent me to proclaim the gospel, not to baptize. I proclaim the gospel]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ἀλλὰ εὐαγγελίζεσθαι

In this clause, Paul has omitted some words that might be necessary to make a complete thought in your language. If you do need these words in your language, you could repeat the “sending” language. Alternate translation: [but he sent me to proclaim the gospel]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

οὐκ ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγου

not in wisdom ˱of˲_word

In this clause, Paul has omitted some words that might be necessary to make a complete thought in your language. If you do need these words in your language, you could repeat the “proclaiming” language. Alternate translation: [I do not proclaim it with wise speech]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

ἵνα

in_order_that

Here, so that introduces the purpose for which Paul does not use “wise speech.” Here, you could use a word or phrase that normally indicates purpose. Alternate translation: [in order that]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

μὴ κενωθῇ ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ

Here Paul speaks as if the cross of Christ were a container that was full of power and which he does not wish to empty of that power. By this, he means that he does not want to take away the power that the cross and the message about it have. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this phrase with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly, including the idea of power. Alternate translation: [the cross of Christ would not lose its power]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive