The Greek text begins with a word that Revised Standard Version does not translate. It usually means “already” (so New International Version, New Revised Standard Version), but here the meaning is probably “really” or “indeed” (Revised English Bible). Good News Bible‘s rendering “The very fact” understands the word to be a logical expression, and this is more probable in the present context. The phrase “The very fact” also appears to include a translation of another Greek word that is enclosed in square brackets in the UBS Greek text. A few important manuscripts omit this word. Another way to express this initial sentence is “Since you have disputes among yourselves that must be settled by a judge in court, this shows that you have….”

The Greek word translated lawsuits here is a different one from the word translated “grievance” in verse 1, but both probably refer to “disputes” (Good News Bible).

At all: Revised Standard Version seems to understand the Greek word meaning “completely” as going with the word lawsuits rather than the verb defeat or “fail.” Good News Bible‘s rendering “have failed completely” seems to be the more probable one; New International Version is similar.

The clause To have lawsuits at all with one another can also be rendered as “the fact that you take each other to court to settle your differences…” or “the fact that you try to settle your differences by going to court….”

Is (Good News Bible‘s “shows”) can be rendered as “is good evidence of,” “reveals,” or “indicates.”

Defeat: the Greek may suggest “failure” also (see Good News Bible). “Failure” seems to suit the context better, since Paul has not mentioned any particular opponent.

One may translate the clause is defeat for you as “means that you are not living up to your Christian principles at all” or “you are not acting like Christians at all.”

The rest of the verse consists of two rhetorical questions that are similar in meaning. The repetition Why not rather is emphatic in Greek, but it need not be kept in translation if it would produce a heavy sentence.

The second verb defrauded (Good News Bible‘s “robbed”) has some similarity in meaning to suffer wrong, but it is more specific.

Some translators may prefer to render these two rhetorical questions as statements. In that case one may say, for example, “It would be better for you to let other people wrong you. And it would be better for you to let other people take from you what is yours.”

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 .