Paul, ^acalled as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ by ^bthe will of God, and our ^cbrother ^1dSosthenes,

2 To ^athe church of God in ^bCorinth, to those sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Christ Jesus, who are selected and ^ccalled as saints (God’s people) , together with all those who in every place ^dcall on and honor the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

3 ^aGrace to you and peace inner calm and spiritual well-being from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 ^aI thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 so that in everything you were exceedingly ^aenriched in Him, in all ^bspeech empowered by the spiritual gifts and in ^call knowledge with insight into the faith. 6 In this way our ^atestimony about Christ was confirmed and established in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift which comes from the Holy Spirit, as you ^aeagerly wait with confident trust for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. 8 ^aAnd He will also confirm you to the end keeping you strong and free of any accusation, so that you will be blameless and beyond reproach in ^bthe day of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ^aGod is faithful He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on, and through Him you were ^bcalled into ^cfellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 But ^aI urge you, ^bbelievers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no ^cdivisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in ^dyour way of thinking and in your judgment about matters of the faith. 11 For I have been informed about you, my brothers and sisters, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are quarrels and factions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that ^aeach one of you says, “I am a disciple of Paul,” or “I am a disciple of ^bApollos,” or “I am a disciple of ^cCephas (Peter) ,” or “I am a disciple of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided into different parts? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^abaptized into the name of Paul? Certainly not! 14 I thank God that I ^adid not baptize any of you except ^bCrispus and ^cGaius, Acts 18:8; Rom 16:23 15 so that no one would say that you were baptized into my name. 16 Now I also baptized the ^ahousehold of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 ^aFor Christ did not send me as an apostle to baptize, but commissioned and empowered me to preach the good news of salvation—^bnot with clever and eloquent speech as an orator, so that the cross of Christ would not be ¹made ineffective deprived of its saving power.

18 For the message of the cross is ^afoolishness absurd and illogical to ^bthose who are perishing and spiritually dead because they reject it, but to us who are being saved by God’s grace it is the manifestation of ^cthe power of God. 19 For it is written and forever remains written,“^aI 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.” Is 29:14 20 ^aWhere is the wise man (philosopher) ? Where is the scribe (scholar) ? Where is the debater (logician, orator) of ^bthis age? Has God not ^cexposed the foolishness of ^dthis world’s wisdom? 21 For since ^athe world through all its earthly wisdom failed to recognize God, ^bGod in His wisdom was well-pleased through the ^1cfoolishness of the message preached regarding salvation to ^dsave those who believe in Christ and welcome Him as Savior. 22 For ^aJews demand signs (attesting miracles) , and Greeks pursue worldly wisdom and philosophy, 23 but we preach ^aChrist crucified, a message which is ^bto Jews a stumbling block that provokes their opposition, and to Gentiles ^cfoolishness just utter nonsense, 24 but to those who are ^athe called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) , Christ is ^bthe power of God and ^cthe wisdom of God. Rom 8:28 25 This is because the ^afoolishness of God is not foolishness at all and is wiser than men far beyond human comprehension, and ^bthe weakness of God is stronger than men far beyond the limits of human effort.

26 Just look at your own ^acalling, believers; ^bnot many of you were considered wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. 27 But ^aGod has selected for His purpose the foolish things of ^bthe world to shame the wise revealing their ignorance, and God has selected for His purpose the weak things of ^cthe world to shame the things which are strong revealing their frailty. 28 God has selected for His purpose the insignificant (base) things of ^athe world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, even ^bthe things that are nothing, so that He might ^creduce to nothing the things that are, 29 so that ^ano one may be able to boast in the presence of God. 30 But it is from Him that you are in ^aChrist Jesus, who became to us ^bwisdom from God revealing His plan of salvation, and ^crighteousness making us acceptable to God, and ^dsanctification making us holy and setting us apart for God, and ^eredemption providing our ransom from the penalty for sin, 31 so then, as it is written in Scripture, “^aHE WHO BOASTS and GLORIES, LET HIM BOAST and GLORY IN THE LORD.” Jer 9:24

Paul, ^acalled as an apostle of Jesus Christ ¹by ^bthe will of God, and ^cSosthenes our ^dbrother,

2 To ^athe church of God which is at ^bCorinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^ccalled as ¹saints, with all who in every place ^dcall on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

3 ^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 ^aI thank ¹my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were ^aenriched in Him, in all ^bword and ^call knowledge, 6 even as ^athe witness about Christ was confirmed ¹in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, ^aeagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 ^awho will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in ^bthe day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ^aGod is faithful, through whom you were ^bcalled into ^cfellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 Now ^aI exhort you, ^bbrothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ¹agree and that there be no ^2cdivisions among you, but that you be ³made complete in ^dthe same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that ^aeach one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of ^bApollos,” and “I of ^cCephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 ¹Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^abaptized ²in the name of Paul? 14 ¹I thank God that I ^abaptized none of you except ^bCrispus and ^cGaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized ¹in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the ^ahousehold of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 ^aFor Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, ^bnot in wisdom of word, so that the cross of Christ will not be made empty.

18 For the word of the cross is ^afoolishness to ^bthose who ¹are perishing, but to us who ²are being saved, it is ^cthe power of God. 19 For it is written,“^aI WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” 20 ^aWhere is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of ^bthis age? Has not God ^cmade foolish the wisdom of ^dthe world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, ^athe world through its wisdom did not come to know God, ^bGod was well-pleased, through the ^cfoolishness of the ¹message preached, to ^dsave those who believe. 22 For indeed ^aJews ask for ¹signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach ^1aChrist crucified, ^bto Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles ^cfoolishness, 24 but to those who are ^athe called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^bthe power of God and ^cthe wisdom of God. 25 Because the ^afoolishness of God is wiser than men, and ^bthe weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For ¹consider your ^acalling, brothers, that there were ^bnot many wise according to ²the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. 27 But ^aGod has chosen the foolish things of ^bthe world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^cthe world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of ^athe world and the despised God has chosen, ^bthe things that are not, so that He may ^cabolish the things that are, 29 so that ^ano flesh may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in ^aChrist Jesus, who became to us ^bwisdom from God, ¹and ^crighteousness and ^dsanctification, and ^eredemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “^aLET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE ¹LORD.”

Paul, ^acalled as an apostle of Jesus Christ ¹by ^bthe will of God, and our ^cbrother ^dSosthenes,

2 To ^athe church of God which is in ^bCorinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ¹saints ^cby calling, with all who in every place ^dcall on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

3 ^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 ^aI thank ¹my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were ^aenriched in Him, in all ^bspeech and ^call knowledge, 6 just as ^athe testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ¹in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly ^aawait the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 ^awho will also ¹confirm you to the end, blameless on ^bthe day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ^aGod is faithful, through whom you were ^bcalled into ^cfellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 Now ^aI urge you, ^bbrothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ¹agree and that there be no ^2cdivisions among you, but that you be ³made complete in ^dthe same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that ^aeach one of you is saying, “I am ¹with Paul,” ²or “I am ³with ^bApollos,” ⁴or “I am ⁵with ^6cCephas,” ⁷or “I am ⁸with Christ.” 13 ¹Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you ^abaptized ²in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I ^abaptized none of you except ^bCrispus and ^cGaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized ¹in my name! 16 But I did baptize the ^ahousehold of Stephanas also; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 ^aFor Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^bnot with ¹cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of no effect.

18 For the word of the cross is ^afoolishness to ^bthose who ¹are perishing, but to us who ²are being saved it is ^cthe power of God. 19 For it is written:“^aI WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE WHO HAVE UNDERSTANDING, I WILL CONFOUND.” 20 ^aWhere is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of ^bthis age? Has God not ^cmade foolish the wisdom of ^dthe world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God ^athe world through its wisdom did not come to know God, ^bGod ¹was pleased through the ^cfoolishness of the ²message preached to ^dsave those who believe. 22 For indeed ^aJews ask for ¹signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach ^1aChrist crucified, ^bto Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles ^cfoolishness, 24 but to those who are ^athe called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^bthe power of God and ^cthe wisdom of God. 25 For the ^afoolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and ^bthe weakness of God is stronger than mankind.

26 For ¹consider your ^acalling, brothers and sisters, that there were ^bnot many wise according to ²the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but ^aGod has chosen the foolish things of ^bthe world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of ^cthe world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the ¹insignificant things of ^athe world and the despised God has chosen, ^bthe things that are not, so that He may ^cnullify the things that are, 29 so that ^ano ¹human may boast before God. 30 But it is ¹due to Him that you are in ^aChrist Jesus, who became to us ^bwisdom from God, ²and ^crighteousness and ^dsanctification, and ^eredemption, 31 so that, just as it is written: “^aLET THE ONE WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”