1 Corinthians 2

Modern

Literal

Paul’s Message by the Spirit’s Power

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

¹And I, having come to you, brothers, did not come according to excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

²For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him having been crucified.

³I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

³And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

⁴My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

⁴And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

⁵so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

⁵so that your faith may not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

Spiritual Wisdom

⁶Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

⁶But we speak wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

⁷No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God,^a which He destined for our glory before time began.

⁷But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery having been hidden away, which God predestined before the ages for our glory,

⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁸which none of the rulers of this age has known. For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹Rather, as it is written:

“No eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no heart has imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love Him.”^a

⁹But as it has been written: “What no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and has not gone up upon the heart of man—as much as God prepared for those loving Him.”

¹⁰But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

¹⁰For God revealed it to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

¹¹For who of men knows the things of the man except the spirit of the man that is in him? So also, no one has known the things of God except the Spirit of God.

¹²We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

¹²Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things having been graciously given to us by God,

¹³And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.^a

¹³which also we speak, not in words taught of human wisdom, but in those taught of the Spirit, expressing spiritual things by spiritual means.

¹⁴The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹⁴But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

¹⁵The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.

¹⁵But the spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is judged by no one.

¹⁶“For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?”^a But we have the mind of Christ.

¹⁶For “who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.