Read the Bible

1 And I, my Brethren, could not talk with you, as with spiritual [fn] , but as with the carnal, as with babes in Messiah.

¹ And I coulde not speake vnto you brethren, as vnto spirituall, but as vnto carnall [eue] as vnto babes in Christe.

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.

¹ Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babes in Christ.

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ.

¹ And as for myself, brethren, I found it impossible to speak to you as spiritual men. It had to be as to worldlings--mere babes in Christ.

¹ And Y, britheren, myyte not speke to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleischli men;

¹ And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, [even] as to babes in Christ.

Immaturity and Self-deception

¹ So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.

Paul and Apollos, Servants of Christ

¹ Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to spiritual people.^[b] I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.

¹ Christian brothers, I could not speak to you as to full-grown Christians. I spoke to you as men who have not obeyed the things you have been taught. I spoke to you as if you were baby Christians.

On Divisions in the Corinthian Church

¹ And so, brothers and sisters,^[a] I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

¹ I, therefore, brethren, have not been able to speak unto you, as unto men of the Spirit, but as unto men of the flesh - as unto babes in Christ: -

¹ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. As unto little ones in Christ.

¹ But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ.

¹ And I coulde not speake vnto you brethre as vnto spretuall: but as vnto carnall even as it were vnto babes in Christ.

¹ And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly -- as to babes in Christ;

¹ And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly—as to babies in Christ;

¹ And I brethren, coulde not speake vnto you as vnto spirituall, but as vnto carnall, euen as vnto babes in Christ.

¹ However, I could not speak to you, my brethren, as to the spiritual, or as to the dispassionate, but as to novices in christianity. ^1-4 But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile?

¹ Listen cowboys and cowgirls, when I was with you, I had to talk to y'all like the greenhorns you were. You knew nothing of riding for God. You only knew how to ride for yourselves. You were like little kids. ² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, ² I haue fed you with milke, and not with meate: for hitherto yee were not able to beare it, neither yet now are ye able.

² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. ^2 (d)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^(e)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,² I gave you ^(C1)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(C2)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, ² The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food, because you were not able to take solid food. And even now you are not ready. ² I fed you with ^(C1)milk, not solid food; for you ^(C2)were not yet able to receive it. Even now you are still not ready.² I gave you ^(C1)milk to drink, not solid food; for you ^(C2)were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,² I gave you ^(C1)milk to drink, not solid food, for you ^(C2)were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are still not able,² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, ² So I had to treat you like babies and feed you milk. You could not take solid food, and you still cannot, ² I gave you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. But you aren't ready for it now either!

² I have given you milk to drink, not meat, for ye have not yet been able, nor indeed are ye yet able; ² And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready.² I gaue you milke to drinke, & not meat: for yee were not yet able to beare it, neither yet nowe are yee able.² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto you were unable to eat it, and even now you are not ready for it; ^2 (a)I had to feed you milk, not solid food, because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it, ² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to eat it. But now you are still not able, ² I gave you milk to drink, and not food, for you were not then able, for neither are you yet able now. ² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it: nay, not even now are ye able; ² I gave you milk and not meat, because you were, then, unable to take it, and even now you are not able;² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, ² I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you weren't ready for it. Why, you're still not ready for it![xr] ² 2 I have sustained you with milk, [fn] and have not given you meat; for as yet you could not, nor can you now, (bear it). ² I gave you milk, and did not give you solid food: for ye were not then able to receive it; and even now, ye are not able.² I gaue you mylke to drynke, and not meate: For ye then were not stronge, neither are ye as yet.² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able [to bear it]: nay, not even now are ye able; ² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, ² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it: nor are ye now able.² I fed you with milk and not with solid food, since for this you were not yet strong enough. And even now you are not strong enough:² as to litle children in Crist, Y yaf to you mylk drynke, not mete; for ye myyten not yit, nether ye moun now, for yit ye ben fleischli.² I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you were not yet able [to bear it]: no, not even now are you able;² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able. ² I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready, ² I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ² I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren't ready for anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, ² My teaching was as if I were giving you milk to drink. I could not give you meat because you were not ready for it. Even yet you are not able to have anything but milk. ² I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, ² With milk, have I fed you, not, with meat; for, not yet, have ye been able; - nay! not yeteven now, are ye able,² I gave you milk to drink, not meat: for you were not able as yet. But neither indeed are you now able: for you are yet carnal.² I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready,² I gave you mylke to drinke and not meate. For ye then were not stronge no nether yet are.² with milk I fed you, and not with meat, for ye were not yet able, but not even yet are ye now able,² with milk I fed you, and not with meat, for you were not yet able, but not even yet are you now able,² I gaue you mylke to drynke, and not meate, for ye mighte not then awaye withall, nether maye ye yet euen now, in so moch as ye are yet fleshlye.² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, nor have you yet sufficient strength. ² You couldn't handle anything more than a slow walk around the pasture being led every step. And the sad part is, you've still got both hands wrapped around the saddle horn like gunsels. You still aren't ready to walk by yourselves, much less ride. ³ because you are still worldly. For since there is envy^(C1) and strife^(F1)(C2) among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? ³ For ye are yet carnall: for whereas there is among you enuying, and strife, and diuisions, are ye not carnall, and walke as men?

³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^(f)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(C1)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(C2)like ordinary people? ³ You are still not spiritual, because there is jealousy and quarreling among you, and this shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. ³ You are still ^(F1)worldly controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity. For as long as there is ^(C1)jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not ^(F1)unspiritual, and are you not walking ^(C2)like ordinary men unchanged by faith?³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(C1)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(F1)(C2)like mere men?³ for you are still fleshly. For since there is ^(C1)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking ^(F1)(C2)like mere men?³ for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? ³ because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world. ³ For you are still worldly! Isn't it obvious from all the jealousy and quarrelling among you that you are worldly and living by merely human standards?

³ for ye are yet carnal. For whereas [there are] among you emulation and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk according to man? ³ You are still not following the Spirit. You are jealous of each other, and you are always arguing with each other. This shows that you are still following your own selfish desires. You are acting like ordinary people of the world.³ For yee are yet carnall: for whereas there is among you enuying, and strife, and diuisions, are ye not carnall, and walke as men?³ Because you are still worldly: for as long as there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are you not worldly and still following after the material things? ³ because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn't this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards? ³ for you are still fleshly. For where there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and do you not live like unregenerate people?^{[a] 3} For you are yet fleshly. For where among you is jealousy, and strife, and divisions, are you not fleshly and walk according to man? ³ for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men? ³ Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?³ for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walk in the ways of men? ³ That's because you are still worldly. As long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, you are worldly and living by human standards, aren't you?[xr] ³ For as yet you are in the flesh. For while there are among you envy and contentions and divisions, are you not carnal, and walking in the flesh ?³ For ye are still in the flesh. For, as there are among you envying, and contention, and parties, are ye not carnal, and walking in the flesh?³ For ye are carnal. Seing then, there is among you enuying, & stryfe, and sectes, are ye not carnall, and walke as men?³ for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk after the manner of men? ³ for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walk in the ways of men? ³ For ye are still carnal: for while there is among you emulation, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk according to man?³ you are still unspiritual. For so long as jealousy and strife continue among you, can it be denied that you are unspiritual and are living and acting like mere men of the world?³ For while strijf is among you, whether ye ben not fleischli, and ye gon aftir man?³ for you are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are you not carnal, and do you not walk after the manner of men?³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? ³ for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people? ³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? ³ for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren't you living like people of the world? ³ You still live as men who are not Christians. When you are jealous and fight with each other, you are still living in sin and acting like sinful men in the world. ³ for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? ³ For ye are yet fleshly. For, whereas there are, among you, jealousy and strife, are ye not, fleshly, and, after the manner of men, walking?³ For, whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal and walk you not according to man?³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving like ordinary men?³ For ye are yet carnall. As longe verely as ther is amoge you envyige stryfe and dissencio: are ye not carnall and walke after ye manner of me?³ for yet ye are fleshly, for where [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not fleshly, and in the manner of men do walk?³ for yet you are fleshly, for where [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are you not fleshly, and walk in the manner of men?³ For seynge there is enuyenge, stryfe, and discencion amonge you, are ye not fleshly, & walke after ye maner of men?³ for you are still subject to your passions. since envy, and strife, and divisions are among you, are you not actuated by the vices of the animal part? ³ Why? Because you are still being controlled by sin and emotions. You're all looking to one-up each other and you squabble like a pen full of squealin' mares. You see? You're acting just like the rest of the world does. ⁴ For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,”^(C1) are you not acting like mere humans?

⁴ For while one saieth, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollo, are ye not carnall?

⁴ For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? ⁴ For ^(g)when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," ^(h)are you not being merely human?⁴ For when ^(C1)one person says, "I am ^(F1)with Paul," and another, "I am ^(F1)with Apollos," are you not ordinary ^(C2)people?

⁴ One of you says, "I belong to Paul," and another says, "I belong to Apollos." When you say things like this, you are acting like people of the world.⁴ For when ^(C1)one of you says, "I am a disciple of Paul," and another, "I am a disciple of Apollos," are you not proving yourselves unchanged, just ordinary ^(C2)people?

⁴ For when ^(C1)one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere ^(C2)men?

⁴ For when ^(C1)one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere ^(C2)men?

⁴ For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

⁴ Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave? ⁴ For when one says, "I follow Sha'ul" and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you being merely human?

⁴ For when one says, *I* am of Paul, and another, *I* of Apollos, are ye not men? ⁴ One of you says, "I follow Paul," and someone else says, "I follow Apollos." When you say things like that, you are acting like people of the world.⁴ For when one sayeth, I am Pauls, and another, I am Apollos, are yee not carnall?⁴ For while one says, I am a follower of Paul; and another, I am a follower of Apollos; are you not worldly? ^4 (b)When one of you says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos"—aren't you acting like worldly people? ⁴ For whenever anyone says, "I am with Paul," and another, "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?⁴ For when one may say, Truly I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos; are you not fleshly? ⁴ For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men? ⁴ For when one says, I am of Paul; and another says, I am of Apollos; are you not talking like natural men?⁴ For when one says, "I follow Sha'ul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you fleshly? ⁴ For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," you are merely human, aren't you?[xr] ⁴ For while some of you say, I am of Paulos, and another, I am of Apollo, are you not carnal ?⁴ For, while one of you saith, I am of Paul; and another saith, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?⁴ For whyle one sayth, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollo, are ye not carnall?⁴ For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men? ⁴ For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you fleshly? ⁴ For while one saith, I am of Paul,⁴ For when some one says, "I belong to Paul," and another says, "I belong to Apollos," is not this the way men of the world speak?⁴ For whanne summe seith, Y am of Poul, another, But Y am of Apollo, whethir ye ben not men? What therfor is Apollo, and what Poul?⁴ For when one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not men?⁴ For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I [am] of Apollos; are ye not carnal? ⁴ For whenever someone says, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?⁴ For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? ⁴ When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I follow Apollos," aren't you acting just like people of the world? ⁴ When one says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I am a follower of Apollos," does not this sound like the talk of baby Christians? ⁴ For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human?⁴ For, as soon as one beginneth to say - I, indeed, am of Paul! and another - I, of Apollos! are ye not, men?⁴ For while one saith: I indeed am of Paul: and another: I am of Apollo: are you not men? What then is Apollo and what is Paul?⁴ For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apol'los," are you not merely men?⁴ As loge as one sayth I holde of Paul and another I am of Apollo are ye not carnall?⁴ for when one may say, `I, indeed, am of Paul;' and another, `I -- of Apollos;' are ye not fleshly?⁴ For when one may say, "I, indeed, am of Paul," and another, "I—of Apollos," are you not fleshly?⁴ For whan one sayeth: I holde of Paul: another, I holde of Apollo, are ye not the fleshlye?⁴ while one cries I am Paul's disciple, and another, I am Apollo's, are ye not vicious? ⁴ When y'all say things like, "I ride with Paul," and someone else shoots back, "Well, I ride with Apollos," can't you see y'all sound like gunsels?

The Role of God’s Servants

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given.

⁵ Who then is Paul? and who is Apollo? but ministers by whom ye beleeued, euen as the Lord gaue to euery man.

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ⁽ⁱ⁾Servants through whom you believed, ^(j)as the Lord assigned to each.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(C1)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(C2)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

⁵ Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just ^(C1)servants through whom you believed in Christ, even ^(C2)as the Lord appointed to each his task.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(C1)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(C2)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? ^(C1)Servants through whom you believed, even ^(C2)as the Lord gave to each one.

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. ⁵ Apollos and I are merely servants who helped you to have faith. It was the Lord who made it all happen. ⁵ After all, what is Apollos? What is Sha'ul? Only servants through whom you came to trust. Indeed, it was the Lord who brought you to trust through one of us or through another.

⁵ Who then is Apollos, and who Paul? Ministering servants, through whom ye have believed, and as the Lord has given to each.

⁵ Is Apollos so important? Is Paul so important? We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do.

⁵ Who is Paul then? and who is Apollos, but the ministers by whome yee beleeued, and as the Lord gaue to euery man?

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you were converted; each one is gifted according as the LORD gave to him.

⁵ After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:

⁵ Therefore, what is Apollos and what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave.

⁵ What then is Paul? And what Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave? ⁵ What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

⁵ What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.

⁵ Who then is Apollos, and who is Sha'ul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

⁵ What is Apollos anyhow? Or what is Paul? Mere servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.[xr]

⁵ For who is Paulos, or who Apollo, but ministers by whom you have believed and each as the Lord gave to him ?

⁵ For, who is Paul, or who is Apollos, but the ministers by whom ye believed, each one as the Lord gave to him?

⁵ What is Paul? what is Apollo? Only ministers are they by whom ye beleued, euen as the Lorde gaue to euery man.

⁵ What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

⁵ Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

⁵ and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are just God's servants, through whose efforts, and as the Lord granted power to each, you accepted the faith.

⁵ Thei ben mynystris of hym, to whom ye han bileuyd; and to ech man as God hath youun.

⁵ What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him.

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who [is] Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?

⁵ What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.

⁵ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?

⁵ After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God's servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. ⁵ Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only servants owned by God. He gave us gifts to preach His Word. And because of that, you put your trust in Christ.

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.

⁵ What then is Apollos? and, what is Paul? ministers through whom ye believed, and, each, as the Lord, gave to him.

⁵ The ministers of him whom you have believed: and to every one as the Lord hath given.

⁵ What then is Apol'los? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

⁵ What is Paul? What thinge is Apollo? Only miministers are they by who ye beleved even as the Lorde gave every ma grace.

⁵ Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave?

⁵ Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but servants through whom you believed, and to each as the LORD gave?

⁵ What is Paul? What is Apollo? Eue mynisters are they, by whom ye are come to the beleue, and the same, acordinge as the LORDE hath geuen vnto euery man.

⁵ who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye have received faith according to the divine gifts imparted to each of them? ^5-9 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us—servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working.

^9-15 Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely.

^16-17 You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. God's temple is sacred—and you, remember, are the temple.

^18-20 Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture,

^21-23 I don't want to hear any of you bragging about yourself or anyone else. Everything is already yours as a gift—Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, the future—all of it is yours, and you are privileged to be in union with Christ, who is in union with God.

⁵ Besides, who is Apollos? Who is this Paul you speak of? We're just cowboys who had the job of telling y'all the good news. We ain't special. We were just doing what the Good Lord told us to. ⁶ I planted,^(C1) Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁶ I haue planted, Apollo watered: but God gaue the encrease.

⁶ I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. ^6 (k)I planted, ^(l)Apollos watered, ^(m)but God gave the growth.^6 (C1)I planted, ^(C2)Apollos watered, but ^(C3)God was causing the growth. ⁶ I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made it grow. ^6 (C1)I planted, ^(C2)Apollos watered, but ^(C3)God all the while was causing the growth.^6 (C1)I planted, ^(C2)Apollos watered, but ^(C3)God was causing the growth.^6 (C1)I planted, ^(C2)Apollos watered, but ^(C3)God was causing the growth.⁶ I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ⁶ I planted the seeds, Apollos watered them, but God made them sprout and grow. ⁶ I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

⁶ *I* have planted; Apollos watered; but God has given the increase.