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 1:27

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 Corinthians 4:3

4:3 So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

1 Corinthians 6:18

6:18 Flee sexual immorality! “Every sin a person commits is outside of the body” ²  – but the immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 7:18

7:18 Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. ³  Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

1 Corinthians 7:21

7:21 Were you called as a slave? ⁴  Do not worry about it. But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity.

1 Corinthians 7:40

7:40 But in my opinion, she will be happier if she remains as she is – and I think that I too have the Spirit of God!

1 Corinthians 9:16

9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

1 Corinthians 10:7

10:7 So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ⁵ 

1 Corinthians 11:2

Women’s Head Coverings

11:2 I praise you ⁶  because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I passed them on to you.

1 Corinthians 11:5

11:5 But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head.

1 Corinthians 12:23

12:23 and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, ⁷ 

1 Corinthians 13:3

13:3 If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, ⁸  but do not have love, I receive no benefit.

1 Corinthians 15:34

15:34 Sober up as you should, and stop sinning! For some have no knowledge of God – I say this to your shame!

1 Corinthians 15:39

15:39 All flesh is not the same: People have one flesh, animals have another, birds and fish another. ⁹ 

1 Corinthians 15:44

15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 16:10

16:10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I am too.

[1:20]  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.

[6:18]  ² sn It is debated whether this is a Corinthian slogan. If it is not, then Paul is essentially arguing that there are two types of sin, nonsexual sins which take place outside the body and sexual sins which are against a person’s very own body. If it is a Corinthian slogan, then it is a slogan used by the Corinthians to justify their immoral behavior. With it they are claiming that anything done in the body or through the body had no moral relevance. A decision here is very difficult, but the latter is to be preferred for two main reasons. (1) This is the most natural understanding of the statement as it is written. To construe it as a statement by Paul requires a substantial clarification in the sense (e.g., “All other sins…” [NIV]). (2) Theologically the former is more difficult: Why would Paul single out sexual sins as more intrinsically related to the body than other sins, such as gluttony or drunkenness? For these reasons, it is more likely that the phrase in quotation marks is indeed a Corinthian slogan which Paul turns against them in the course of his argument, although the decision must be regarded as tentative.

[7:18]  ³ tn Grk “Let him not pull over the foreskin,” that is, attempt to reverse the appearance of circumcision by a surgical procedure. This was sometimes done by Hellenistic Jews to hide the embarrassment of circumcision (1 Macc 1:15; Josephus, Ant. 12.5.1 [12.241]). Cf. BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπισπάω 3.

[7:21]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “servant” (KJV), though almost all modern translations render the word as “slave” here.

[10:7]  ⁵ tn The term “play” may refer to idolatrous, sexual play here, although that is determined by the context rather than the meaning of the word itself (cf. BDAG 750 s.v. παίζω).

[11:2]  ⁶ tc The Western and Byzantine texts, as well as one or two Alexandrian mss (D F G Ψ 33 Ï latt sy), combine in reading ἀδελφοί (adelfoi, “brothers”) here, while the Alexandrian witnesses (Ì⁴⁶ א A B C P 81 630 1175 1739 1881 2464 co) largely lack the address. The addition of ἀδελφοί is apparently a motivated reading, however, for scribes would have naturally wanted to add it to ἐπαινῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς (epainw de Juma", “now I praise you”), especially as this begins a new section. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer one. Thus, on both internal and external grounds, the shorter reading is strongly preferred.

[12:23]  ⁷ tn Grk “have greater propriety (or decorum, presentability).”

[13:3]  ⁸ tc The reading καυχήσωμαι (kauchswmai, “I might boast”) is well supported by Ì⁴⁶ א A B 048 33 1739* pc co Hier^mss. The competing reading, καυθήσομαι (kauqhsomai, “I will burn”), is found in C D F G L 81 1175 1881* al latt and a host of patristic writers. From this reading other variants were obviously derived: καυθήσωμαι (kauqhswmai), a future subjunctive (“I might burn”) read by the Byzantine text and a few others (Ψ 1739^c 1881^c Ï); and καυθῇ (kauqh, “it might be burned”) read by 1505 pc. On an external level, the Alexandrian reading is obviously superior, though the Western and Byzantine readings need to be accounted for. (The following discussion is derived largely from TCGNT 497-98). Internally, καυχήσωμαι is superior for the following reasons: (1) Once the Church started suffering persecution and martyrdom by fire, the v.l. naturally arose. Once there, it is difficult to see why any scribe would intentionally change it to καυχήσωμαι. (2) Involving as it does the change of just two letters (χ to θ [c to q], ω to ο [w to o]), this reading could be accomplished without much fanfare. Yet, it appears cumbersome in the context, both because of the passive voice and especially the retention of the first person (“If I give up my body that I may be burned”). A more logical word would have been the third person passive, καυθῇ, as read in 1505 (“If I give up my body that it may be burned”). (3) Although the connection between giving up one’s body and boasting is ambiguous, this very ambiguity has all the earmarks of being from Paul. It may have the force of giving up one’s body into slavery. In any event, it looks to be the harder reading. Incidentally, the Byzantine reading is impossible because the future subjunctive did not occur in Koine Greek. As the reading of the majority of Byzantine minuscules, its roots are clearly post-Koine and as such is a “grammatical monstrosity that cannot be attributed to Paul” (TCGNT 498). Cf. also the notes in BDF §28; MHT 2:219.

[15:39]  ⁹ tn Grk “all flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one (flesh) of people, but another flesh of animals and another flesh of birds and another of fish.”