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Contemporary English Version

1 Corinthians 3:20

The Scriptures also say, "The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God Continued...;   Heart;   Quotations and Allusions;   Vanity;   Wisdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - God's;   Knowledge;   Knowledge, Divine;   Knowledge-Ignorance;   Wisdom, Worldly;   Wisdom-Folly;   Worldly;   The Topic Concordance - Glory;   Knowledge;   Vanity;   Wisdom;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Vanity;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Apollos;   Philosophy;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Wisdom;   Holman Bible Dictionary - 1 Corinthians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Vanity;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Fool;   Quotations;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Apollos ;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Again;   Foreknow;   Papyrus;   Text and Manuscripts of the New Testament;   Thought;   Wisdom;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Apollos;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are futile.
King James Version (1611)
And againe, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vaine.
King James Version
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
English Standard Version
and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
New American Standard Bible
and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE THOUGHTS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE useless."
New Century Version
It is also written in the Scriptures, "The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind."
Amplified Bible
and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE THOUGHTS of the [humanly] wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS."
Legacy Standard Bible
and again, "The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless."
Berean Standard Bible
And again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."
Complete Jewish Bible
and again, " Adonai knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless ."
Darby Translation
And again, [The] Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain.
Easy-to-Read Version
The Scriptures also say, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise. He knows that their thoughts are worth nothing."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And againe, The Lord knoweth that the thoughtes of the wise be vaine.
George Lamsa Translation
And again, The LORD knows that the thoughts of the wise are vain.
Good News Translation
and another scripture says, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless."
Lexham English Bible
and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
Literal Translation
And again, "The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are worthless." LXX-Psa. 93:11; MT-Psa. 94:11
American Standard Version
and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
Bible in Basic English
And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.
Hebrew Names Version
And again, "The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless."
International Standard Version
and again,Psalm 94:11;">[xr] "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless."Psalm 94:11">[fn]
Etheridge Translation
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
Murdock Translation
And again: The Lord knoweth the devices of the wise, that they are vain.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And agayne The Lorde knoweth the thoughtes of the wyse, that they be vayne.
English Revised Version
and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
World English Bible
And again, "The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless."
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
Weymouth's New Testament
And again, "The Lord takes knowledge of the reasonings of the wise--how useless they are."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and eft, The Lord knowith the thouytis of wise men, for tho ben veyn.
Update Bible Version
and again, The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain.
Webster's Bible Translation
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
New English Translation
And again, " The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile ."
New King James Version
and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." Psalms 94:11">[fn]
New Living Translation
And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless."
New Life Bible
They also say, "The Lord knows how the wise man thinks. His thinking is worth nothing."
New Revised Standard
and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And again - The Lord taketh note of the speculations of the wise, that they are vain.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And again: The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
Revised Standard Version
and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And agayne God knoweth the thoughtes of the wyse that they be vayne.
Young's Literal Translation
and again, `The Lord doth know the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And agayne: The LORDE knoweth the thoughtes of the wyse, that they are vayne.
Mace New Testament (1729)
and again, "the Lord knows, that the thoughts of the wise are vain."
Simplified Cowboy Version
and another time when it says, "The Boss knows the thoughts of the wise and laughs at their stupidity."

Contextual Overview

18 Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. 19 This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, "God catches the wise when they try to outsmart him." 20 The Scriptures also say, "The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the lord: Psalms 94:11

that: Job 11:11, Job 11:12, Psalms 2:1, Romans 1:21, Colossians 2:8

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 16:23 - all the counsel Nehemiah 4:15 - God Ecclesiastes 7:16 - neither Isaiah 19:3 - and I Isaiah 44:25 - turneth Isaiah 66:18 - their thoughts Jeremiah 4:14 - How long Obadiah 1:8 - even Matthew 2:8 - go 1 Peter 1:18 - vain

Cross-References

Genesis 2:23
and the man exclaimed, "Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!"
Genesis 5:29
Lamech said, "I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the Lord has put under a curse."
Genesis 35:18
Rachel was at the point of death, and right before dying, she said, "I'll name him Benoni." But Jacob called him Benjamin.
Exodus 2:10
And when he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said, "I pulled him out of the water."
1 Samuel 1:20
with a son. She named him Samuel because she had asked the Lord for him.
Matthew 1:21
Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:23
"A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."
Acts 17:26
From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And again,.... Not in the same place, nor in the same book, but in the Psalms, in Psalms 94:11. This form of citing Scriptures answers to ועוד and moreover, used by the Jewish doctors when the matter does not so clearly appear from the first proof, and therefore they produce another q: and so here the apostle, for the further confirmation and illustration of this point, that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, to the testimony of Eliphaz, adds this of David,

the Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain; in the Psalms it is, "the Lord knoweth the thoughts of men, that they are vanity"; which the apostle not only cites, but explains and teaches; as that by men is meant men of wisdom and knowledge, of the greatest capacities, whose thoughts, reasonings, schemes, and devices, the omniscient God not only knows, but makes known, and discovers them, sooner or later, to be vain and fruitless, yea, vanity itself; and notwithstanding all their machinations and contrivances, his counsel shall stand, his Gospel shall be maintained, his truths shall prevail, and his ordinances shall be continued, and his work go on.

q Vid. Surenhusii Biblos Katallages, p. 11, 531.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And again, - Psalms 94:11.

The Lord knoweth - God searches the heart. The particular thing which it is here said that he knows, is, that the thoughts of man are vain. They have this quality; and this is that which the psalmist here says that God sees. The affirmation is not one respecting the omniscience of God, but with respect to what God sees of the nature of the thoughts of the wise.

The thoughts of the wise - Their plans, purposes, designs.

That they are vain - That they lack real wisdom; they are foolish; they shall not be accomplished as they expect; or be seen to have that wisdom which they now suppose they possess.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise — They are always full of schemes and plans for earthly good; and God knows that all this is vain, empty, and unsatisfactory; and will stand them in no stead when he comes to take away their souls. This is a quotation from Psalms 94:11. What is here said of the vanity of human knowledge is true of every kind of wisdom that leads not immediately to God himself.


 
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