1 Corinthians 1:20

1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? ¹  Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?

1 Corinthians 1:28

1:28 God chose ²  what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something,

1 Corinthians 2:12

2:12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.

1 Corinthians 3:19

3:19 For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” ³ 

1 Corinthians 4:9

4:9 For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to die, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people.

1 Corinthians 8:4

8:4 With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.” ⁴ 

¹ tn Grk “the scribe.” The traditional rendering of γραμματεύς (grammateu") as “scribe” does not communicate much to the modern English reader, for whom the term might mean “professional copyist,” if it means anything at all. The people referred to here were recognized experts in the law of Moses and in traditional laws and regulations. Thus “expert in the Mosaic law” comes closer to the meaning for the modern reader.

² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

³ sn A quotation from Job 5:13.

⁴ sn “An idol in this world is nothing” and “There is no God but one.” Here and in v. 1 Paul cites certain slogans the Corinthians apparently used to justify their behavior (cf. 6:12-13; 7:1; 10:23). Paul agrees with the slogans in part, but corrects them to show how the Corinthians have misused these ideas.