1 Corinthians 1:20-31

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? 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. 1:22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, 1:23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, ²  a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 1:24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, ³  and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. ⁴ 

1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, ⁵  brothers and sisters. ⁶  Not many were wise by human standards, ⁷  not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. ⁸  1:27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 1:28 God chose ⁹  what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 1:29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 1:30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, ¹⁰  who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 1:31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ¹¹ 

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 Or “Messiah”; Grk “preach Christ [Messiah] crucified,” giving the content of the message.

³ tn Grk “than men.”

⁴ tn Grk “than men.”

⁵ tn Grk “Think about your calling.” “Calling” in Paul’s writings usually refers to God’s work of drawing people to faith in Christ. The following verses show that “calling” here stands by metonymy for their circumstances when they became Christians, leading to the translation “the circumstances of your call.”

⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

⁷ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

⁸ tn The Greek word ευγενής (eugenh") refers to the status of being born into nobility, wealth, or power with an emphasis on the privileges and benefits that come with that position.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁰ tn Grk “of him you are in Christ Jesus.”

¹¹ sn A quotation from Jer 9:24. The themes of Jer 9 have influenced Paul’s presentation in vv. 26-31. Jeremiah calls upon the wise, the strong, and the wealthy not to trust in their resources but in their knowledge of the true God – and so to boast in the Lord. Paul addresses the same three areas of human pride.