1 Corinthians 1:26

1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, ¹  brothers and sisters. ²  Not many were wise by human standards, ³  not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. ⁴ 

1 Corinthians 2:4

2:4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1 Corinthians 4:4

4:4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted because of this. The one who judges me is the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:16

6:16 Or do you not know that anyone who is united with ⁵  a prostitute is one body with her? ⁶  For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” ⁷ 

1 Corinthians 9:16-17

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! 9:17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if I do it unwillingly, I am entrusted with a responsibility.

1 Corinthians 10:4

10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:1

The Way of Love

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

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 13:5

13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful.

1 Corinthians 14:12

14:12 It is the same with you. Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, ⁹  seek to abound in order to strengthen the church.

1 Corinthians 14:37

14:37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command.

[1:26]  ¹ 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.”

[1:26]  ² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[1:26]  ³ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

[1:26]  ⁴ 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.

[6:16]  ⁵ tn Or “is in relationship with.”

[6:16]  ⁶ tn Grk “is one body,” implying the association “with her.”

[6:16]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Gen 2:24.

[13:3]  ⁹ 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.

[14:12]  ¹³ tn Grk “eager for spirits.” The plural is probably a shorthand for the Spirit’s gifts, especially in this context, tongues.