Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:25

Most of this verse is a free quotation of Psa 110.1: “Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.”

Translators in most languages should add the names “Christ” and “God” to this verse in order to make clear in each case who the word he refers to: “For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet” (Good News Bible). In the psalm God is speaking to a king of Israel. In the New Testament this verse is always understood to mean that God is speaking to the Messiah, that is, to Christ.

Must in this context suggests that Christ’s rule is part of God’s will or plan. The same word is used in the same sense in verse 53.

Reign is related in Greek to the word “kingdom” used in verse 24. Barrett translates “reign in his kingdom” to make this meaning clear. One may also say “rule as king.” The tense of the verb implies “Christ must go on ruling until….”

Until he has put all his enemies under his feet: There are ancient pictures of kings with their feet on the necks of defeated enemies. Translators should keep this metaphor if in their language it is clear that the meaning is “defeat his enemies.” However, in languages that do not speak in this way, Good News Bible‘s “God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet” is a clear translation.

The context, especially verse 26, suggests that the enemies are not only Christ’s but also ours. For this reason Good News Bible has “all enemies” instead of all his enemies. Greek manuscripts differ on this, but Good News Bible follows the more reliable manuscripts.

His feet means Christ’s feet, not God’s, as Psa 110.1 shows.

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 .

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