1 Corinthians 13:11

THE MESSAGE

When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways.

Revised Standard Version
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
When I was a chylde I spake as a chylde I vnderstode as a childe I ymagened as a chylde. But assone as I was a man I put awaye childesshnes.

Hebrew Names Version
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

International Standard Version
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up my childish ways.

New American Standard Bible
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

New Century Version
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways.

Update Bible Version
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

Webster's Bible Translation
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

English Standard Version
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.

World English Bible
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
When I was a child, I talked as a child, I understood as a child, I reasoned as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Weymouth's New Testament
When I was a child, I talked like a child, felt like a child, reasoned like a child: when I became a man, I put from me childish ways.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whanne Y was a litil child, Y spak as a litil child, Y vndurstood as a litil child, Y thouyte as a litil child; but whanne Y was maad a man, Y auoidide tho thingis that weren of a litil child.

English Revised Version
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.

Berean Standard Bible
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside childish ways.

Contemporary English Version
When we were children, we thought and reasoned as children do. But when we grew up, we quit our childish ways.

Amplified Bible
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

American Standard Version
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things.

Bible in Basic English
When I was a child, I made use of a child's language, I had a child's feelings and a child's thoughts: now that I am a man, I have put away the things of a child.

Complete Jewish Bible
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, argued like a child; now that I have become a man, I have finished with childish ways.

Darby Translation
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I reasoned as a child; when I became a man, I had done with what belonged to the child.

Etheridge Translation
When I was a child, as a child I spake, and as a child I thought, and as a child I reasoned; but when I had become a man I abolished these things of childhood.

Murdock Translation
When I was a child, I talked as a child, and I reasoned as a child, and I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I laid aside the things of childhood.

King James Version (1611)
When I was a childe, I spake as a childe, I vnderstood as a childe, I thought as a childe: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

New Living Translation
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

New Life Bible
When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I understood like a child. Now I am a man. I do not act like a child anymore.

New Revised Standard
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

Geneva Bible (1587)
When I was a childe, I spake as a childe, I vnderstoode as a childe, I thought as a childe: but when I became a man, I put away childish thinges.

George Lamsa Translation
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, to prefer as child, to reason as a child: now I have become a man, I have laid aside the things of the child!

Douay-Rheims Bible
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
When I was a chylde, I spake as a childe, I vnderstode as a childe, I imagined as a chylde: But assoone as I was a man, I put away chyldishnesse.

Good News Translation
When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways.

Christian Standard Bible®
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

King James Version
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Lexham English Bible
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I set aside the things of a child.

Literal Translation
When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I thought as an infant, I reasoned as an infant. But when I became a man, I caused to cease the things of the infant.

Young's Literal Translation
When I was a babe, as a babe I was speaking, as a babe I was thinking, as a babe I was reasoning, and when I have become a man, I have made useless the things of the babe;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whan I was a childe, I spake as a childe, I vnderstode as a childe, I ymagined as a childe. But as soone as I was a man, I put awaye childishnes.

Mace New Testament (1729)
when I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I reasoned as a child: but when I became a man, I laid aside my childish ways.

New English Translation
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways.

New King James Version
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Simplified Cowboy Version
When I was just a little tike, I acted like a little tike. But when I grew up, I quit acting like a child.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

Legacy Standard Bible
When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I became a man, I did away with childish things.

Contextual Overview

⁸Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. ¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. ¹² We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! ¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I spake: 1 Corinthians 3:1, 1 Corinthians 3:2, 1 Corinthians 14:20, Ecclesiastes 11:10, Galatians 4:1

thought: or, reasoned

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 3:8 - the third 2 Corinthians 5:17 - old Hebrews 5:13 - he

Cross-References

Genesis 13:14
After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I'll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you."

Psalms 16:3
And these God-chosen lives all around— what splendid friends they make!

Proverbs 27:10
Don't leave your friends or your parents' friends and run home to your family when things get rough; Better a nearby friend than a distant family.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When I was a child I spake as a child,.... That cannot speak plain, aims at words rather than expresses them, delivers them in a lisping or stammering manner: hereby the apostle illustrates the then present gift of speaking with divers tongues, which was an extraordinary gift of the Spirit, was peculiar to some persons, and what many were very fond of; and yet this, in its highest degree and exercise, was but like the lisping of a child, in comparison of what will be known and expressed by saints, when they come to be perfect men in heaven:

I understood as a child; and so does he that understands all mysteries, in comparison of the enlightened and enlarged understandings of glorified saints; the people of God, who are in the highest form and class of understanding, in the present state of things, are but children in understanding; it is in the other world, when they are arrived to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that they will in understanding be men:

I thought, or "reasoned",

as a child; whose thoughts are low and mean, and reasonings very weak; and so are the thoughts and reasonings of such as have all knowledge here below, in comparison of that perfect knowledge, those clear ideas, and strong reasonings of the spirits of just men above:

but when I became a man, I put away childish things; childish talk, childish affections, and childish thoughts and reasonings; so when the saints shall be grown to the full age of Christ, and are become perfect men in him, tongues shall cease, prophecies shall fail, and knowledge vanish away; and in the room thereof, such conversation, understanding, and knowledge take place, as will be entirely suited to the manly state in glory.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

When I was a child - The idea here is, that the knowledge which we now have, compared with that which we shall have in heaven, is like that which is possessed in infancy compared with that we have in manhood; and that as, when we advance in years, we lay aside, as unworthy of our attention, the views, feelings, and plans which we had in boyhood, and which we then esteemed to be of so great importance, so, when we reach heaven, we shall lay aside the views, feelings, and plans which we have in this life, and which we now esteem so wise and so valuable. The word “child” here (νήπιος nēpios) denotes properly a baby, an infant, though without any definable limitation of age. It refers to the first periods of existence; before the period which we denominate boyhood, or youth. Paul here refers to a period when he could “speak,” though evidently a period when his speech was scarcely intelligible - when he first began to articulate.

I spake as a child - Just beginning to articulate, in a broken and most imperfect manner. The idea here is, that our knowledge at present, compared with the knowledge of heaven, is like the broken and scarcely intelligible efforts of a child to speak compared with the power of utterance in manhood.

I understood as a child - My understanding was feeble and imperfect. I had narrow and imperfect views of things. I knew little. I fixed my attention on objects which I now see to be of little value. I acquired knowledge which has vanished, or which has sunk in the superior intelligence of riper years. “I was affected as a child. I was thrown into a transport of joy or grief on the slightest occasions, which manly reason taught me to despise” - Doddridge.

I thought as a child - Margin, “Reasoned.” The word may mean either. I thought, argued, reasoned in a weak and inconclusive manner. My thoughts, and plans, and argumentations were puerile, and such as I now see to be short-sighted and erroneous. Thus, it will be with our thoughts compared to heaven. There will be, doubtless, as much difference between our present knowledge, and plans, and views, and those which we shall have in heaven, as there is between the plans and views of a child and those of a man. Just before his death, Sir Isaac Newton made this remark: “I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself by now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me” - Brewster’s Life of Newton, pp. 300, 301. Ed. New York, 1832.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 13:11. When I was a child — This future state of blessedness is as far beyond the utmost perfection that can be attained in this world, as our adult state of Christianity is above our state of natural infancy, in which we understand only as children understand; speak only a few broken articulate words, and reason only as children reason; having few ideas, little knowledge but what may be called mere instinct, and that much less perfect than the instinct of the brute creation; and having no experience. But when we became men-adults, having gained much knowledge of men and things, we spoke and reasoned more correctly, having left off all the manners and habits of our childhood.