1 Corinthians 1:19

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will confuse the understanding of the intelligent."

Revised Standard Version
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For it is written: I will destroye the wysdome of the wyse and will cast awaye the vnderstondinge of the prudet.

Hebrew Names Version
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing."

International Standard Version
For it is written,Job 1:5:12-13; Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 8:9;">[xr] "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject."Isaiah 29:14">[fn]

New American Standard Bible
For it is written: "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE WHO HAVE UNDERSTANDING, I WILL CONFOUND."

New Century Version
It is written in the Scriptures: "I will cause the wise to lose their wisdom; I will make the wise unable to understand." Isaiah 29:14

Update Bible Version
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning I will bring to nothing.

Webster's Bible Translation
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

English Standard Version
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

World English Bible
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and abolish the understanding of the prudent.

Weymouth's New Testament
For so it stands written, "I will exhibit the nothingness of the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nought."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For it is writun, Y schal distruye the wisdom of wise men, and Y schal reproue the prudence of prudent men.

English Revised Version
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the prudence of the prudent will I reject.

Berean Standard Bible
For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

Contemporary English Version
As God says in the Scriptures, "I will destroy the wisdom of all who claim to be wise. I will confuse those who think they know so much."

Amplified Bible
For it is written and forever remains written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE [the philosophy of the philosophers], AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER [who do not know Me] I WILL NULLIFY."

American Standard Version
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the discernment of the discerning will I bring to nought.

Bible in Basic English
As it says in the holy Writings, I will put an end to the wisdom of the wise, and will put on one side the designs of those who have knowledge.

Complete Jewish Bible
Indeed, the Tanakh says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent."

Darby Translation
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and set aside the understanding of the understanding ones.

Etheridge Translation
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And I will take away the understanding of the prudent.

Murdock Translation
For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; and I will dissipate the intelligence of the sagacious.

King James Version (1611)
For it is written, I will destroy the wisedome of the wise, and wil bring to nothing the vnderstanding of the prudent.

New Living Translation
As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent."

New Life Bible
The Holy Writings say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise people. I will put aside the learning of those who think they know a lot."

New Revised Standard
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

Geneva Bible (1587)
For it is written, I will destroy the wisedome of the wise, and will cast away the vnderstanding of the prudent.

George Lamsa Translation
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will do away with the understanding of the prudent.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For it is written - I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and, the discernment of the discerning, will I set aside.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise: and the prudence of the prudent I will reject.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For it is written, I wyll destroye the wisedome of the wyse, and wyll cast away the vnderstandyng of the prudent.

Good News Translation
The scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars."

Christian Standard Bible®
For it is written,

King James Version
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Lexham English Bible
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will confound."

Literal Translation
For it has been written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the understanding ones." Isa. 29:14

Young's Literal Translation
for it hath been written, `I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will bring to nought;'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For it is wrytte: I wyl destroye the wyssdome of the wyse, & wil cast away the vnderstondinge of ye prudet.

Mace New Testament (1729)
for it is written , "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

New English Translation
For it is written, " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise , and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent ."

New King James Version
For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." Isaiah 29:14 ">[fn]

Simplified Cowboy Version
Even the Good Books says, "I'll show the wise what wisdom really looks like; the know-it-alls will become know-nothings."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE."

Legacy Standard Bible
For it is written,"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside."

Contextual Overview

¹⁷ God didn't send me out to collect a following for myself, but to preach the Message of what he has done, collecting a following for him. And he didn't send me to do it with a lot of fancy rhetoric of my own, lest the powerful action at the center—Christ on the Cross—be trivialized into mere words. ¹⁸The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written, I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head, I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots. So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation. ²²While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't begin to compete with God's "weakness." ²⁶Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don't see many of "the brightest and the best" among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow pretensions of the "somebodies"? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That's why we have the saying, "If you're going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

1 Corinthians 3:19, Job 5:12, Job 5:13, Isaiah 19:3, Isaiah 19:11, Isaiah 29:14, Jeremiah 8:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:8 - but there Numbers 22:28 - the Lord opened Judges 4:21 - took 2 Samuel 17:14 - to defeat 1 Kings 12:27 - and they shall 2 Kings 3:3 - he departed Job 12:17 - General Job 28:12 - General Job 32:13 - We Psalms 94:11 - General Proverbs 2:7 - layeth Isaiah 47:10 - Thy wisdom Jeremiah 9:23 - wise Jeremiah 10:7 - among Jeremiah 51:17 - Every Ezekiel 28:12 - full Ezekiel 28:17 - thou hast Luke 11:35 - General Romans 1:14 - both to Romans 1:22 - General 1 Corinthians 1:20 - hath 1 Corinthians 2:6 - not 2 Corinthians 10:5 - down Ephesians 1:8 - in Colossians 2:8 - philosophy 1 Timothy 6:20 - oppositions James 3:15 - but

Gill's Notes on the Bible

As it is written,.... The passage referred to is in

Isaiah 29:14 where it is read, "the wisdom of their wise men shall perish; and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid"; and is rendered by the Septuagint, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will hide the understanding of the prudent": which is much the same with the apostle's version of it: and the sense of the prophecy is, that in the times of the Messiah, under the Gospel dispensation, the mysteries of grace should be hid from the wise rabbins among the Jews, the Scribes and Pharisees, who, with all their sagacity, parts, and learning, would not be able to comprehend the doctrines of the Gospel; by these their wisdom and understanding would be nonplussed, so that they would reject them as foolishness, because their carnal reason could not reach them; which shows what an infatuation they were given up to: and if this should be the case, as it was with the wise and learned philosophers among the Gentiles, it need not be wondered at; it was what was foretold in prophecy concerning the Jews, who had the oracles of God, and the advantage of a divine revelation; and therefore it need not be stumbling to them that are saved, that the Gospel should meet with so much scorn and contempt among them that perish in the Gentile world. These words are very pertinently cited by the apostle, since they are acknowledged by the Jews themselves to signify the departure of wisdom from the wise men of Israel, in the times of the destruction of the temple, as Jarchi on the place observes.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For it is written - This passage is quoted from Isaiah 29:14. The Hebrew of the passage, as rendered in the English version is, “the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” The version of the Septuagint is, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent I will hide” κρύψω krupsō, corresponding substantially with the quotation by Paul. The sense in the Hebrew is not materially different. The meaning of the passage as used by Isaiah is, that such was the iniquity and stupidity of “Ariel” Isaiah 29:1, that is, Jerusalem, that God would so execute his judgments as to confound their wise men, and overwhelm those who boasted of their understanding. Those in whom they had confided, and on whom they relied, should appear to be bereft of their wisdom; and they should be made conscious of their own lack of counsel to meet and remove the impending calamities. The apostle does not affirm that this passage in Isaiah refers to the times of the gospel. The contrary is manifestly true. But it expresses a general principle of the divine administration - “that the coming forth of God is often such as to confound human prudence; in a manner which human wisdom would not have devised; and in such a way as to show that he is not dependent on the wisdom of man.” As such, the sentiment is applicable to the gospel; and expresses just the idea which the apostle wished to convey - that the wisdom of the wise should be confounded by the plan of God; and the schemes of human devising be set at naught.

I will destroy - That is, I will abolish; or will not be dependent on it; or will show that my plans are not derived from the counsels of people.

The wisdom of the wise - The professed wisdom of philosophers.

And will bring to nothing - Will show it to be of no value in this matter.

The prudent - The people professing understanding; the sages of the world. We may remark:

(1) That the plan of salvation was not the contrivance of human wisdom.

(2) It is “unlike” what people have themselves devised as systems of religion. It did not occur to the ancient philosophers; nor has it occurred to the modern.

(3) It may be expected to excite the opposition, the contempt, and the scorn of the wise people of this world; and the gospel makes its way usually, not with their friendship, but in the face of their opposition.

(4) Its success is such as to confound and perplex them. They despise it, and they see not its secret power; they witness its effects, but are unable to account for them. It has always been a question with philosophers why the gospel met with such success; and the various accounts which have been given of it by its enemies, show how much they have been embarrassed. The most elaborate part of Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” is contained in his attempt to state the causes of the early propagation of Christianity, in 1 Corinthians 15:16; and the obvious failure of the account shows how much the mind of the philosophic sceptic was embarrassed by the fact of the spread of Christianity.

(5) The reception of the gospel demands an humble mind; Mark 10:15. People of good sense, of humble hearts, of childlike temper, embrace it; and they see its beauty, and are won by its loveliness, and controlled by its power. They give themselves to it; and find that it is suited to save their souls.

(6) In this, Christianity is like all science. The discoveries in science are such as to confound the wise in their own conceits, and overthrow the opinions of the prudent, just as much as the gospel does, and thus show that both are from the same God - the God who delights to pour such a flood of truth on the mind as to overwhelm it in admiration of himself, and with the conviction of its own littleness. The profoundest theories in science, and the most subtle speculations of people of genius, in regard to the causes of things, are often overthrown by a few simple discoveries - and discoveries which are at first despised as much as the gospel is. The invention of the telescope by Galileo was to the theories of philosophers and astronomers, what the revelation of the gospel was to the systems of ancient learning, and the deductions of human wisdom. The one confounded the world as much as the other; and both were at first equally the object of opposition or contempt.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 19. For it is written — The place referred to is Isaiah 29:14.

I will destroy the wisdom of the wise — των σοφων, Of wise men-of the philosophers who in their investigations seek nothing less than God, and whose highest discoveries amount to nothing in comparison of the grand truths relative to God, the invisible world, and the true end of man, which the Gospel has brought to light. Let me add, that the very discoveries which are really useful have been made by men who feared God, and conscientiously credited Divine revelation: witness Newton, Boyle, Pascal, and many others. But all the skeptics and deists, by their schemes of natural religion and morality, have not been able to save one soul! No sinner has ever been converted from the error of his ways by their preaching or writings.