It is not certain how this verse is linked to verse 9. Some manuscripts have “But,” others “For” (see Good News Bible footnote). The manuscript evidence is equally divided, and editions of the Greek New Testament, translations, and commentaries disagree. “But” makes good sense if the structure that we have outlined in Table 1|fig:Table_1CO2-5.jpg is correct. The only slight difficulty is that Paul repeats the “but” of verse 9, using a less strong Greek word after the parenthesis of the quotation.

Paul states in the first part of this verse, with greater emphasis than before, that God has now revealed his “mystery,” and that this revelation takes place by means of the (Holy) Spirit. Good News Bible‘s “his” before “Spirit” is not in the Greek, but is added to make the meaning clear. “Secret” in “his secret” is taken by Good News Bible to refer to the “wisdom” that is mentioned in verses 7-8. If the translator follows this interpretation, it will be helpful to say “his secret wisdom” in this verse.

In the phrase through the Spirit it will be necessary in many languages to make the underlying causative action clear. One could restructure this first sentence as “God caused his Spirit to make known to us his secret wisdom.”

Most translations, like Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible, put a period or full stop after the first part of verse 10; New Revised Standard Version changes this to a semicolon. Many omit the For that follows, expecting the reader to see for himself that the second half of the verse explains and develops the first half.

The words that are translated searches (see Rom 8.27) and depths (see Rom 8.39; Eph 3.18) may have been borrowed by Paul from language used by his opponents. It may be appropriate, then, to translate these rather unusual words by terms that are unusual in one’s own language, to suggest that they may have a special meaning. Moffatt, along with An American Translation and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, extends the metaphor of depths to include searches also: “the Spirit fathoms everything, even the depths of God.” The idea is that of searching to the bottom of deep water.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .