Now indicates that Paul is moving on to a new point, though one that is closely related to the examples of the previous verses. This verse draws a moral from the series of Old Testament examples in verses 1-5. It is therefore similar to verse 11, which draws a moral from the second series of Old Testament examples. Translators should consider the two verses together.
These things, literally “these,” refers to the Old Testament examples given in verses 1-5, and especially to the fact that many of the Israelites died in the desert. Good News Bible‘s “all this” is an adaptation to English style. This may be why Good News Bible changes the plural warnings into the singular “an example … to warn us.” Most translations, however, keep a plural, “these events.” The point is that Paul is making a gradual transition from the positive example in verses 1-4, via the negative conclusion in verse 5, to the negative examples in verses 6-10 (see introduction to this section). Verse 6 thus combines a positive or at least neutral element, “examples,” with a negative element, “not to desire evil things.” Good News Bible naturally makes the negative element clearer by adding “to warn us”; similarly Revised English Bible, “as warnings to us.”
The wider context, particularly the use of “supernatural” (“spiritual”) three times in verses 3-4 and also in verse 11, may suggest that God intended to set up a similarity between events at the time of the exodus and the events in Paul’s time. For this reason New English Bible translates “These events happened as symbols” (but Revised English Bible “warnings”) and in verse 11 has “All these things that happened to them were symbolic.” Barclay has “symbolic warnings.” A translator would therefore be justified to render this sentence in a similar way; for example, “Now, all these things happened as symbolic examples to warn us….”
The point of the illustration in this verse is that Paul wants his readers to be like the group of Israelites who pleased God, rather than the ones who were destroyed. Verses 11-13 will make this clear.
The latter part of this verse sounds weak in most translations. Paul used an unusual word for “desirers of evil,” echoing Num 11.34, which has “craving.” Moffatt brings this meaning out by translating “to keep us from craving for evil as they craved.” His italics indicate a reference to the Old Testament. Translators may use “crave” or “desire very strongly,” or similar words.
They before did is emphatic, meaning “those people,” namely the ancestors of the exodus generation.
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 .