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Amplified Bible

1 Corinthians 12:2

You know that when you were pagans, you were led off after speechless idols; however you were led off [whether by impulse or habit].

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Gentiles;   Idolatry;   Scofield Reference Index - Churches;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Gods, False;   Idolatry;   Images;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   The Topic Concordance - Giving and Gifts;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Gentiles;   Idolatry;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gifts;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gentile;   Gifts of the spirit;   Holy spirit;   Tongues;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Worship;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Holy Ghost;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Corinth;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Baptism of the Holy Spirit;   Muteness;   1 Corinthians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Corinth;   Corinthians, First Epistle to the;   Inspiration;   Spiritual Gifts;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Anathema;   Apollos;   Gentiles;   Paul (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Fruit;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Carry;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Corinth;   Dumb;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Apollos;  

Parallel Translations

Simplified Cowboy Version
There was a time, before you were one of God's cowboys, that you followed your own desires and worshiped rocks and sticks and other people.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
Legacy Standard Bible
You know that when you were pagans, you were being led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
Bible in Basic English
You are conscious that when you were Gentiles, in whatever way you were guided, you went after images without voice or power.
Darby Translation
Ye know that when ye were [of the] nations [ye were] led away to dumb idols, in whatever way ye might be led.
Christian Standard Bible®
You know that when you were pagans, you used to be led off to the idols that could not speak.
World English Bible
You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Ye know that when ye were heathens, ye were carried away after dumb idols, as ye were led.
Weymouth's New Testament
You know that when you were heathens you went astray after dumb idols, wherever you happened to be led.
King James Version (1611)
Yee know that yee were Gentiles, caryed away vnto these dumbe idoles, euen as ye were led.
Literal Translation
You know that being led away, you nations were led to voiceless idols.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Ye knowe that ye were Heythe and wente youre wayes vnto dome Idols, eue as ye were led.
Mace New Testament (1729)
when you were Gentiles, you know how you were seduced by your leaders, to the worship of dumb idols.
American Standard Version
Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led.
Revised Standard Version
You know that when you were heathen, you were led astray to dumb idols, however you may have been moved.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
Ye knowe that ye were gentyls and went youre wayes vnto domme ydoles even as ye were ledde.
Update Bible Version
You know that when you were Gentiles [you were] led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
Webster's Bible Translation
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
Young's Literal Translation
ye have known that ye were nations, unto the dumb idols -- as ye were led -- being carried away;
New Century Version
You know the way you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that could not speak.
New English Translation
You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.
Berean Standard Bible
You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
Contemporary English Version
I want you to remember that before you became followers of the Lord, you were led in all the wrong ways by idols that cannot even talk.
Complete Jewish Bible
You know that when you were pagans, no matter how you felt you were being led, you were being led astray to idols, which can't speak at all.
English Standard Version
You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, and were caried away vnto the dumme Idoles, as ye were led.
George Lamsa Translation
That once you were pagans, and without exception you were carried away by dumb idols.
Hebrew Names Version
You know that when you were heathen, you were led away to those mute idols, however you might be led.
International Standard Version
You know that when you were Gentiles, you were enticed and led away to idols that couldn't even speak.Psalm 115:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 2:11-12; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 4:3;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
that you were Heathens, and unto idols which have no voice you were led without discernment .
Murdock Translation
that ye have been pagans; and have been, without distinction, led away after idols, in which there is no speech.
New King James Version
You know that [fn] you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.
New Living Translation
You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.
New Life Bible
You know that before you were Christians you were led to worship false gods. None of these gods could speak.
English Revised Version
Ye know that when ye were Gentiles [ye were] led away unto those dumb idols, howsoever ye might be led.
New Revised Standard
You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Ye know that, when ye were of the nations, unto the dumb idols, howsoever ye were being led, ye were seduced.
Douay-Rheims Bible
You know that when you were heathens, you went to dumb idols, according as you were led.
King James Version
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
Lexham English Bible
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the speechless idols, however you were led.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Ye knowe yt ye were gentiles, and caryed away vnto dumbe idols, as ye were led.
Easy-to-Read Version
You remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that have no life.
New American Standard Bible
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.
Good News Translation
You know that while you were still heathen, you were led astray in many ways to the worship of lifeless idols.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For ye witen, that whanne ye weren hethene men, hou ye weren led goynge to doumbe maumetis.

Contextual Overview

1Now about the spiritual gifts [the special endowments given by the Holy Spirit], brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans, you were led off after speechless idols; however you were led off [whether by impulse or habit].3Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the [power and influence of the] Spirit of God can say, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is [my] Lord," except by [the power and influence of] the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants them and empowers believers]. 5And there are [distinctive] varieties of ministries and service, but it is the same Lord [who is served]. 6And there are [distinctive] ways of working [to accomplish things], but it is the same God who produces all things in all believers [inspiring, energizing, and empowering them]. 7But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit [the spiritual illumination and the enabling of the Holy Spirit] for the common good. 8To one is given through the [Holy] Spirit [the power to speak] the message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] the word of knowledge and understanding according to the same Spirit; 9to another [wonder-working] faith [is given] by the same [Holy] Spirit, and to another the [extraordinary] gifts of healings by the one Spirit; 10and to another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], and to another discernment of spirits [the ability to distinguish sound, godly doctrine from the deceptive doctrine of man-made religions and cults], to another various kinds of [unknown] tongues, and to another interpretation of tongues.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: 1 Corinthians 6:11, Galatians 4:8, Ephesians 2:11, Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 4:17, Ephesians 4:18, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Titus 3:3, 1 Peter 4:3

dumb: Psalms 115:5, Psalms 115:7, Psalms 135:16, Habakkuk 2:18, Habakkuk 2:19

even: Matthew 15:14, 1 Peter 1:18

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 18:26 - no voice Psalms 68:13 - ye have Jeremiah 10:5 - speak Acts 19:26 - that they Romans 1:23 - an image Romans 10:19 - foolish Galatians 2:13 - carried Ephesians 4:14 - carried 2 Timothy 3:6 - led 1 John 2:22 - he that

Cross-References

Genesis 12:3
And I will bless (do good for, benefit) those who bless you, And I will curse [that is, subject to My wrath and judgment] the one who curses (despises, dishonors, has contempt for) you. And in you all the families (nations) of the earth will be blessed."
Genesis 12:4
So Abram departed [in faithful obedience] as the LORD had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the [great] terebinth (oak) tree of Moreh. Now the Canaanites were in the land at that time.
Genesis 12:8
Then he moved on from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].
Genesis 12:9
Then Abram journeyed on, continuing toward the Negev (the South country of Judah).
Genesis 12:10
Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive and severe.
Genesis 12:14
And when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was very beautiful.
Genesis 12:16
Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.
Genesis 12:17
But the LORD punished Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
Genesis 12:18
Then Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Ye know that ye were Gentiles,.... That is, by religion; hence the Syriac version renders it חנפא, "profane" persons, given up to wickedness, bigotry, and superstition; for by nation they were Gentiles still; and which must be understood of one part of this church only; for some of them were Jews, as is clear from many passages in the epistle to this church, and practices referred to. This the apostle observes to humble them, by putting them in mind of what they had been formerly; they were born and brought up in the Heathen religion, when they knew not the true God, much less had any knowledge of Christ, and still less of the Spirit of God; and therefore if they were favoured with any of his gifts, these must be owing to his grace, and not to their deserts, and therefore they ought not to glory: he adds, with the same view,

carried away unto these dumb idols; to idols that were nothing in the world, had no divinity in them, as he had before asserted; to dumb ones, that had mouths, but could not speak, the oracles that were delivered from them, being spoken not by them, but were either satanical delusions, or the jugglings of a priest; to these they were carried by the power of Satan, the influence of their priests, and the orders of their magistrates, to consult them as oracles, to pay their devotions to them, and do them service:

even as ye were led; that is, to these dumb idols; the Syriac adds,

דלא פורשן, "without any difference", not being able to distinguish between these and the true God; and to whom they were led as brute beasts were, that were sacrificed unto them, or as blind men are led by the blind, as they were by their blind and ignorant priests; and therefore, if they had now received the Spirit, and his gifts, they ought to ascribe the whole to the free grace of God, and be humble under a sense of their unworthiness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye know ... - This verse is regarded by many as a parenthesis. But it is not necessary to suppose that it is so, or that it does not cohere with that which follows. The design seems to be to remind them of their former miserable condition as idolaters, in order to make them more sensible of their advantages as Christians, and that they might be led more highly to appreciate their present condition. Paul often refers Christians to their former condition, to excite in them gratitude for the mercies that God has conferred on them in the gospel; see the note at 1 Corinthians 6:11, compare Romans 6:17; Ephesians 2:11-12; Titus 3:3.

That ye were Gentiles - Heathen; worshippers of idols. The idea is, that they were pagans; that they had no knowledge of the true God, but were sunk in miserable superstition and idolatry.

Carried away - Led along; that is, deluded by your passions, deluded by your priests, deluded by your vain and splendid rites of worship. The whole system made an appeal to the senses, and “bore along” its votaries as if by a foreign and irresistible impulse. The word which is used ἀπαγόμενοι apagomenoi conveys properly the idea of being carried into bondage, or being led to punishment, and refers here doubtless to the strong means which had been used by crafty politicians and priests in their former state to delude and deceive them.

Unto these dumb idols - These idols which could not speak - an attribute which is often given to them, to show the folly of worshipping them; Psalms 115:5; Psalms 135:15; Habakkuk 2:18-19. The ancient priests and politicians deluded the people with the notion that oracles were uttered by the idols whom they worshipped, and thus they maintained the belief in their divinity. The idea of Patti here seems to be:

(1) That their idols never could have uttered the oracles which were ascribed to them, and consequently that they had been deluded.

(2) That these idols could never have endowed them with such spiritual privileges as they now had, and consequently that their present state was far preferable to their former condition.

Even as ye were led - Were led by the priests in the temples of the idols. They were under strong delusions and the arts of cunning and unprincipled people. The idea is, that they had been under a strong infatuation, and were entirely at the control of their spiritual leaders - a description remarkably applicable now to all forms of imposture in the world, No system of paganism consults the freedom and independence of the mind of man; but it is everywhere characterized as a system of “power,” and not of “thought;” and all its arrangements are made to secure that power without an intelligent assent of the understanding and the heart.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 12:2. Ye were Gentiles — Previously to your conversion to the Christian faith; ye were heathens, carried away, not guided by reason or truth, but hurried by your passions into a senseless worship, the chief part of which was calculated only to excite and gratify animal propensities.

Dumb idols — Though often supplicated, could never return an answer; so that not only the image could not speak, but the god or demon pretended to be represented by it could not speak: a full proof that an idol was nothing in the world.


 
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