1 COR 1:27 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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

OET (OET-RV) but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame those considered to be wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame those considered to be strong.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 But God chose the foolish things of the world in order that he might shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world in order that he might shame the strong,

UST Rather, God decided to use what seems foolish to humans to humble those who think wisely. God decided to use what seems weak to humans to humble those people and things that act powerfully.

BLB But God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the strong;

AICNT But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; And God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong;

OEB but God chose what the world counts foolish to put its wise to shame, and God chose what the world counts weak to put its strong to shame,

WEBBE but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong.

LSV but God chose the foolish things of the world that He may put the wise to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world that He may put the strong to shame;

FBV Instead God chose the things the world considers foolish to humiliate those who think they are wise. He chose the things the world considers weak to humiliate those who think they are strong.

TCNT But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

T4T Instead, it was usually those whom unbelievers considered to be foolish whom God chose. He did that in order to shame/discredit those whom unbelievers consider [IRO] wise. It was usually those whom unbelievers considered [IRO] unimportant whom God chose, in order to shame/discredit those whom unbelievers consider important.

LEB But the foolish things of the world God chose in order that he might put to shame the wise, and the weak things of the world God chose in order that he might put to shame the strong,

BBE But God made selection of the foolish things of this world so that he might put the wise to shame; and the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong;

Moff No,
⇔ God has chosen what is foolish in the world
⇔ to shame the wise;
⇔ God has chosen what is mean and despised in the world-- to shame what is strong;

Wymth But God has chosen the things which the world regards as foolish, in order to put its wise men to shame; and God has chosen the things which the world regards as destitute of influence, in order to put its powerful things to shame;

ASV but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;

DRA But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise; and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong.

YLT but the foolish things of the world did God choose, that the wise He may put to shame; and the weak things of the world did God choose that He may put to shame the strong;

Drby But [fn]God has chosen the foolish things of the world, that he may put to shame the wise; and [fn]God has chosen the weak things of the world, that he may put to shame the strong things;

1.27 Elohim

RV but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;

SLT But the foolish things of the world, has God chosen that he might shame the wise; and the weak things of the world has God chosen that he might shame things strong;

Wbstr But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

KJB-1769 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
(But God hath/has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath/has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; )

KJB-1611 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to confound the wise: and God hath chosen the weake things of the world, to confound the things which are mighty:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps But God hath chosen the foolyshe thynges of the worlde, to confounde the wise: And God hath chosen the weake thynges of the worlde, to confounde thynges which are myghtie:
(But God hath/has chosen the foolyshe things of the world, to confound the wise: And God hath/has chosen the weak things of the world, to confound things which are mightie:)

Gnva But God hath chosen the foolish thinges of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weake thinges of the worlde, to confound the mightie things,
(But God hath/has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath/has chosen the weak things of the world, to confound the mighty things, )

Cvdl but that foolish is before the worlde, hath God chosen, that he mighte cofounde the wyse: And that weake is before ye worlde, hath God chosen, yt he mighte confounde the mightye.
(but that foolish is before the world, hath/has God chosen, that he might confound the wise: And that weak is before ye/you_all world, hath/has God chosen, it he might confound the mightye.)

TNT but God hath chosen the folysshe thinges of the worlde to confounde the wyse. And God hath chosyn the weake thinges of the worlde to confounde thinges which are mighty.
(but God hath/has chosen the folysshe things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath/has chosyn the weak things of the world to confound things which are mighty. )

Wycl But God chees tho thingis that ben fonned of the world, to confounde wise men;
(But God chose those things that been foolish of the world, to confound wise men;)

Luth sondern was töricht ist vor der Welt, das hat GOtt erwählet, daß er die Weisen zuschanden machte; und was schwach ist vor der Welt, das hat GOtt erwählet, daß er zuschanden machte, was stark ist;
(rather what/which foolish is before/in_front_of the/of_the world, the has God chosen, that he the ways/manners to_shame made/did; and what/which weak is before/in_front_of the/of_the world, the has God chosen, that he to_shame made/did, what/which stark is;)

ClVg sed quæ stulta sunt mundi elegit Deus, ut confundat sapientes: et infirma mundi elegit Deus, ut confundat fortia:[fn]
(but which stupid are world chose God, as confundat wise_people: and weak world chose God, as confundat bravea: )

1.27 Sed quæ stulta. Ecce contra ordinationem Dei faciunt aperte, quia sapientiam sæculi jactant, cum Deus humilitatem proponat. Venit enim humilis Deus quærens humiles, non altos. Qui etsi primum elegerit pauperes, indoctos, infirmos, non tamen relinquit sapientes, divites, nobiles, sed si eos primos eligeret, merito talium rerum sibi viderentur eligi; et ita in eis esset superbia qua homo cecidit. Nisi fideliter præcederet piscator, non humilis sequeretur orator. Unde Nathanæl doctus, in apostolum non est electus.

1.27 But which stupid. Behold on_the_contrary ordination of_God they_do openly, because wisdom of_the_world/of_the_ages they_boast, when/with God humility proponat. He_came because humble God seeking humbles, not/no highs. Who even_though first chose the_poor, indoctos, sick, not/no nevertheless leaves wise_people, rich, nobles, but when/but_if them at_firsts eligeret, deservedly of_such things to_himself they_would_seem eligi; and so/thus in/into/on to_them was pride which human fell. Unless faithfully proceed piscator, not/no humble followtur praysor. From_where/who Nathanæl doctus, in/into/on apostolum not/no it_is elected.

UGNT ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς; καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά;
(alla ta mōra tou kosmou exelexato ho Theos, hina kataisⱪunaʸ tous sofous; kai ta asthenaʸ tou kosmou exelexato ho Theos, hina kataisⱪunaʸ ta isⱪura;)

SBL-GNT ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα ⸂καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς⸃, καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά,
(alla ta mōra tou kosmou exelexato ho theos, hina ⸂kataisⱪunaʸ tous sofous⸃, kai ta asthenaʸ tou kosmou exelexato ho theos, hina kataisⱪunaʸ ta isⱪura,)

RP-GNT ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα τοὺς σοφοὺς καταισχύνῃ· καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά·
(alla ta mōra tou kosmou exelexato ho theos, hina tous sofous kataisⱪunaʸ; kai ta asthenaʸ tou kosmou exelexato ho theos, hina kataisⱪunaʸ ta isⱪura;)

TC-GNT ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα [fn]τοὺς σοφοὺς καταισχύνῃ· καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά·
(alla ta mōra tou kosmou exelexato ho Theos, hina tous sofous kataisⱪunaʸ; kai ta asthenaʸ tou kosmou exelexato ho Theos, hina kataisⱪunaʸ ta isⱪura; )

1:27 τους σοφους καταισχυνη ¦ καταισχυνη τους σοφους CT

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 1:26–31

In this paragraph Paul reminded the Corinthians that God did not choose them because they were wise or important. Instead, he deliberately chose people of no importance in this world. So the Corinthians had nothing to boast about, except what Christ had done for them.

1:27–28

the foolish things of the world…the weak things of the world…the lowly things of the world: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as of the world occurs three times in verses 27 and 28. There are two different ways to interpret the phrase of the world here:

It means “as the people of the world think, by worldly standards.”See Ellingworth and Hatton p. 38, and Garland p, 76; Barrett p. 58. For example:
what the world considers nonsense… (GNT) (GNT, NJB, NET, REB, GW, NLT)
It means “that part of the world that is characterized by the following quality.”Thiselton p. 184. For example:
what is foolish in the world… (RSV) (RSV, BSB, NIV, KJV, NASB, ESV, CEV, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) for each of the three places where this phrase occurs. This is consistent with the negative use of the word world in this paragraph.

1:27a

But God chose the foolish things of the world

But God chose what people of this world think of as foolish
On the contrary, God chose what seems foolish in the opinion of this world’s people.
Instead, God chose what seems to be nonsense according to the people/human standards of this world.

But God chose: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as But indicates a strong contrast here. One would humanly expect God to choose wise, influential and noble people to follow Christ. Instead, he chose the weak and uneducated people. This conjunction can also be translated using other words that indicate contrast. For example:

Instead, God chose… (NLT)

Yet…God has chosen… (REB)

Translate this in a way that is natural for your language so that this contrast is clear.

foolish things: This phrase has a general meaning. It can include foolish people as well as foolish thoughts/plans and objects. Therefore it can include plans, such as God’s plan of salvation, and also objects, such as the cross of Christ. These seem foolish to unbelievers.

Try to use an expression that can include uneducated, unsophisticated, simple people, as well as objects or ideas. If you must choose between referring to people or to things/objects, it is recommended that you refer to people. This best fits the context of this verse.

1:27b

to shame the wise;

in order to humiliate wise people.
He used foolishness to dishonor/disgrace the wise people of the world.
God’s purposely used foolish things in order to show everyone that those wise people do not have true wisdom.

to shame the wise: This is a purpose clause. God chose the so-called foolish things and people, in order to shame the wise. The phrase to shame the wise here means to show that the wise people are wrong.

Wise people may proudly think that God chooses or prefers them because they are wise. However, God instead chose people who are not wise. He chose those not wise so that wise people could not proudly say, “God chose me because I am wise.” Other ways to translate this clause are:

to put to shame the wise (CEV)

to put wise people to shame (GW)

the wise: The phrase the wise here refers to people who are wise and clever in their own eyes. They may also be wise in the eyes of the world. These may be people who view themselves as wise intellectuals. Another way to translate this is:

those who think they are wise (NLT)

1:27c

God chose the weak things of the world

God chose what this world’s people think of as weak
God chose what seems powerless, unimportant according to our human standards.

the weak things: The phrase that the BSB translated as weak things here refers to both things and people that appear to be powerless. It is the opposite of “powerful” in 1:26c. It means people who are not in important positions. However, it does not refer to people who are physically weak.

Paul does not mean that the people God chose are really physically weak. He means that “God chose people whom most people in the world consider to be unimportant.” In other words, he means those “…whom most people in the world do not consider to be leaders/prominent.”

See how you translated weak in 1:25b.

1:27d

to shame the strong.

in order to shame people who are powerful.
His purpose was to show that strong/powerful people do not have true strength/power.

to shame the strong: The phrase the strong here refers to strong people. In other words, those who are influential, prominent people, leaders in the community (1:26c). Paul was not referring to people who are physically strong. As in 1:27b, the verb shame here means to show that someone is in the wrong.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-contrast

ἀλλὰ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἀλλά τά μωρά τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τούς σοφούς καί τά ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τά ἰσχυρά)

Here Paul uses But to introduce a contrast. He is contrasting God chose the foolish things with what a person might expect about how God would treat foolish and weak people like the Corinthians. He is not contrasting how God chose the foolish things with the statements in the previous verse about the foolishness and weakness of the Corinthians. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this contrast by clarifying that Paul writes But to contrast this statement with what a person might expect about God. Alternate translation: [Despite what might be expected,]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism

τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς; καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός, ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά

Here Paul makes two very similar statements in which foolish goes with weak and wise goes with strong. These two statements are almost synonymous, and Paul repeats himself to emphasize the point. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine the two sentences into one. Alternate translation: [God chose the unimportant things of the world in order that he might shame the important things] or [God chose the foolish and weak things of the world in order that he might shame the wise and strong]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου & τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου

Paul uses the possessive form twice to clarify that the foolish things and weak things are only foolish and weak from the perspective of the world. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this form with a phrase such as “according to the world.” Alternate translation: [things that are foolish according to the world … things that are weak according to the world]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

(Occurrence -1) τοῦ κόσμου

When Paul uses the world in this context, he is not referring primarily to everything that God has made. Rather, he uses the world to refer to human beings. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the world with an expression that refers to human beings in general. Alternate translation: [of people … of people]

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-logic-goal

(Occurrence -1) ἵνα

Here, in order that could introduce: (1) the purpose for which God chose the foolish things of the world and the weak things of the world. Alternate translation: [so that … so that] (2) what happened when God chose the foolish things of the world and the weak things of the world. Alternate translation: [with the result that … with the result that]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

τοὺς σοφούς & τὰ ἰσχυρά

Paul uses the adjective wise to describe a group of people, and he uses the adjective strong to describe a group of people and things. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate these two adjectives with noun phrases. Alternate translation: [people who are wise … people and things which are strong]

Parallel 1 COR 1:27