the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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New King James Version
1 Corinthians 2:1
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Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I told you the secret truth of God. But I did not use fancy words or great wisdom.
When I came to you, brethren, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom.
And I brethren when I came to you came not in gloriousnes of wordes or of wysdome shewynge vnto you the testimony of God.
When I came to you, brothers, I didn't come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
When I came to you, brothers, I didn't come and tell you about God's secrettestimony">[fn] with rhetorical language or wisdom.1 Corinthians 1:4,6, 13,17; 2 Corinthians 10:10; 11:6;">[xr]
And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come as someone superior in speaking ability or wisdom, as I proclaimed to you the testimony of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God's secret with fancy words or a show of human wisdom.
And I, brothers, when I came to you, did not come with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellence of speech, or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
When I came to you, brothers, I didn't come with excellence of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God.
And as for myself, brethren, when I came to you, it was not with surpassing power of eloquence or earthly wisdom that I came, announcing to you that which God had commanded me to bear witness to.
And Y, britheren, whanne Y cam to you, cam not in the heiynesse of word, ethir of wisdom, tellynge to you the witnessyng of Crist.
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the mystery of God.
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise.
And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do];
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And when I came to you, my brothers, I did not come with wise words of knowledge, putting before you the secret of God.
As for me, brothers, when I arrived among you, it was not with surpassing eloquence or wisdom that I came announcing to you the previously concealed truth about God;
And *I*, when I came to you, brethren, came not in excellency of word, or wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God.
And I, my brethren, when I came to you, not with grandeur of speech, nor with wisdom, did I evangelize to you the mystery of Aloha.
And I, my Brethren, when I came to you, did not preach to you the mystery of God in magnificent speech, nor in wisdom.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellencie of speech, or of wisedome, declaring vnto you the testimony of God.
When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God's secret plan.
Christian brothers, when I came to you, I did not preach the secrets of God with big sounding words or make it sound as if I were so wise.
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellencie of woordes, or of wisedome, shewing vnto you the testimonie of God.
AND I, my brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellency of speech, nor did I preach to you with learning the mystery of God.
I, therefore, brethren, when I came unto you, came, not with excellency of discourse or wisdom, declaring unto you the mystery of God;
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of Christ.
And I brethren, when I came to you, came not in gloriousnesse of wordes, or of wisedome, shewing vnto you the testimonie of God.
When I came to you, my friends, to preach God's secret truth, I did not use big words and great learning.
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with excellency of word or wisdom, declaring to you the Testimony of God.
And I, having come unto you, brethren, came -- not in superiority of discourse or wisdom -- declaring to you the testimony of God,
And I brethre, wha I came vnto you came not wt hye wordes or hye wyssdome, to shewe vnto you the preachinge of Christ.
As for me, my brethren, when I appear'd among you, it was not to represent to you the divine mystery in sublime language, and with human literature.
You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God.
When I rode into town, I didn't use riddles and fancy speeches to reveal God's secret plan.
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
And when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with superiority of word or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the witness of God.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
when: Acts 18:1-4
with: 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 2:13, 1 Corinthians 1:17, Exodus 4:10, Jeremiah 1:6, Jeremiah 1:7, Romans 16:18, 2 Corinthians 10:10, 2 Corinthians 11:6
the testimony: 1 Corinthians 1:6, Isaiah 8:20, Acts 20:21, Acts 22:18, 2 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Timothy 1:11, 2 Timothy 1:8, 1 John 4:14, 1 John 5:11-13, Revelation 1:2, Revelation 1:9, Revelation 19:10
Reciprocal: Acts 18:24 - an Acts 24:1 - orator 1 Corinthians 2:6 - not 2 Corinthians 6:6 - knowledge 2 Timothy 4:3 - having 2 Peter 1:16 - we have Revelation 7:5 - tribe of Juda Revelation 12:17 - and have
Cross-References
Genesis 2:4-9; Job 38:4-11; John 1:1-5">[xr] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
This is the history [fn] of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground;
The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."'
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And I, brethren, when I came to you,.... This account the apostle gives of himself is occasioned, either by what he had said in the latter part of the preceding chapter, concerning the choice God has made of the foolish, weak, base, and despicable things of the world, and of his calling them by his grace both to fellowship with the saints in common, and therefore he accommodated his ministry unto them, and in particular to the ministry of the word, of which he himself was a like instance and an example; or else by what he had declared in 1 Corinthians 1:17 of the same chapter, that he was sent to preach the Gospel,
not with wisdom of words; which he here reassumes, and affirms agreeably, that when he first came to Corinth, he
came not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom; for though he was not only versed in Jewish learning, being brought up at the feet of Gamaliel; but had also a good share of Grecian literature, and was capable, upon proper occasions, to cite the Greek poets, as he does Aratus, Acts 17:28 and Menander, Titus 1:12 and so could, had he thought fit, have adorned his discourses with pompous language, with the flowers of rhetoric, and the eloquence of the Grecians; yet he chose not such a high and florid style, and which savoured so much of human wisdom and art; for the subject he treated of required no such dress, nor any great swelling words of vanity, or a bombast style to set it off, and gain the applause and assent of men: for what he delivered were plain matters of fact, attested by God himself,
declaring unto you the testimony of God; that is, the Gospel, which bears a testimony to the love, grace, and mercy of God, his kindness and good will to the sons of men, in giving and sending his only begotten Son to be the Saviour and Redeemer of them; and in which God bears a testimony of his Son, of his sonship, deity, mediation, incarnation, obedience, sufferings, and death, of his resurrection, ascension to heaven, session at his right hand, intercession for his people, and his second coming to judgment, and of eternal life and salvation by him. All which being matter of fact, and depending upon the witness of God, which is greater than that of men, needed no art nor oratory of men to recommend it: it was enough in plain words, and easy language, to declare it, with the evidence by which it was supported. The Alexandrian copy, and some others, read, "the mystery" of God: and so the Syriac version
רזא דאלהא, "the mystery of God" one of Stephens's copies reads, "the mystery of Christ"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "the testimony of Christ".
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And I, brethren - Keeping up the tender and affectionate style of address.
When I came unto you - When I came at first to preach the gospel at Corinth. Acts 18:1 ff.
Came not with excellency of speech - Came not with graceful and attractive eloquence. The apostle here evidently alludes to that nice ant studied choice of language; to those gracefully formed sentences, and to that skill of arrangement in discourse and argument which was so much an object of regard with the Greek rhetoricians. It is probable that Paul was never much distinguished for these (compare 2 Corinthians 10:10), and it is certain he never made them an object of intense study and solicitude. Compare 1Co 2:4, 1 Corinthians 2:13.
Or of wisdom - Of the wisdom of this world; of that kind of wisdom which was sought and cultivated in Greece.
The testimony of God - The testimony or the witnessing which God has borne to the gospel of Christ by miracles, and by attending it everywhere with his presence and blessing. In 1 Corinthians 2:6, the gospel is called “the testimony of Christ;” and here it may either mean the witness which the gospel bears to the true character and plans of God; or the witnessing which God had borne to the gospel by miracles, etc. The gospel contains the testimony of God in regard to his own character and plans; especially in regard to the great plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. Several mss. instead of “testimony of God,” here read “the mystery of God.” This would accord well with the scope of the argument; but the present reading is probably the correct one. See Mill. The Syriac version has also “mystery.”
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
CHAPTER II.
The apostle makes an apology for his manner of preaching, 1.
And gives the reason why he adopted that manner, 2-5.
He shows that this preaching, notwithstanding it was not with
excellence of human speech or wisdom, yet was the mysterious
wisdom of God, which the princes of this world did not know,
and which the Spirit of God alone could reveal, 6-10.
It is the Spirit of God only that can reveal the things of God,
11.
The apostles of Christ know the things of God by the Spirit of
God, and teach them, not in the words of man's wisdom, but in
the words of that Spirit, 12, 13.
The natural man cannot discern the things of the Spirit, 14.
But the spiritual man can discern and teach them, because he
has the mind of Christ, 15, 16.
NOTES ON CHAP. II.
Verse 1 Corinthians 2:1. When I came to you — Acting suitably to my mission, which was to preach the Gospel, but not with human eloquence, 1 Corinthians 1:17. I declared to you the testimony, the Gospel, of God, not with excellency of speech, not with arts of rhetoric, used by your own philosophers, where the excellence of the speech recommends the matter, and compensates for the want of solidity and truth: on the contrary, the testimony concerning Christ and his salvation is so supremely excellent, as to dignify any kind of language by which it may be conveyed. See the Introduction, sect. ii.
