Language-specific Insights

complete verse (1 Corinthians 1:28)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 1:28:

  • Ono: “Where does God choose people from to be his belonging? He does it like this. The people the ground people say are nothing, exactly those people God chooses for his belonging — it’s those down and nothing people he chooses to be his belonging and appoints them. In that way there he causes the great thinking of people of the ground to go down and become lost.” (Source: Consultant Notes)
  • Uma: “He chose those who are humble [lit., whose lives are low], those who are disparaged and who have no use in the sight of mankind, in order that it would be clear that all that mankind praises has no use.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “God chose the ones that are despised/put-down by people in the world, the ones they mock, those they say have no use, so that the people will know that whatever they consider valuable, as for God it has no value.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “God also chose the people who are made fun of by the people here on the earth. What He chose were those whom people said do not know anything and they are of no value. The reason He chose people like this is so that He might make it known that anything that people think is of great value, has no value to Him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Those also whom people consider low (i.e. in status) and looked-down-on and of-no-account, those are the ones God has chosen in order to show that what people consider-important is come-to-find-out of no importance.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He really chose those who are being regarded as unappealing and worthless here in this world, in order that those who are regarded as praiseworthy here in this world will come to be regarded as of no account.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “God chose the people who are said to be not straight here on earth, almost ignored, in order to rebuke the word of those who say they have authority.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)