The Greek text says literally, “Paul called apostle of Christ Jesus, through the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother.” The phrase “called apostle” does not mean that Paul was merely given the name “apostle” as Jesus gave the name “Peter” to Cephas. “Called apostle,” as many translations show, means “called to do the work of an apostle” or “called to be a messenger of Jesus Christ.” “Apostle” is related to a Greek verb meaning “send” and often means “someone sent as a messenger.” Jesus used it this way. Paul is called to follow Jesus, and he is also sent out as one of his messengers (compare Mark 3.14). Most English translations, like Good News Bible, keep the word “apostle” and explain it in a glossary or word list. Phillips (Phillips) translates it as “messenger,” but that term applies to anyone who brings the message, and not everyone who preached the Christian message was an “apostle.” Sosthenes, for example does not have this title. In certain languages apostle will be rendered as “chief messenger.”

The words by the will of God probably refer both to Paul’s calling and to his appointment as an apostle. Christ, though, was the one who appointed him directly. The work of God and that of Christ are closely connected, both here and in verse 2. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch combines the word “called” with the phrase “by the will of God” and translates this clause simply as “Paul, whom God called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This clause may also be expressed as “Paul, whom God called to serve as (or, do the work of) a chief messenger of Jesus Christ….”

Called refers to one particular event in the past, so Good News Bible translates it as “was called,” not “has been called.” However, this past event is mentioned because it had consequences at the time when Paul wrote this letter. It is because Paul was once called, that he now has the authority of an apostle. Paul will have much more to say about this later (especially 1.10; 3.5; 4.1).

Translators in languages that seldom use or do not have a passive form of the verb may prefer to render the clause called by the will of God as “whom God decided to call….” Some languages can translate this phrase in an idiomatic way by saying “whom God set his heart to call.”

Brother in this verse, as often in the New Testament, refers to a male, but elsewhere in 1 Corinthians the word for “brothers” includes women too (see, for example, 1.10, where Good News Bible translates “my friends,” and New Revised Standard Version has “brothers and sisters”). Jews sometimes called one another “brothers” even when they were not of the same family (for example, 2 Maccabees 1.1). And early Christians often called one another “brother” even when they were of different nationality or race. However, the main meaning of brother in this verse is “fellow Christian.” It should be translated this way in languages where the word “brother” refers only to an actual family member. In certain languages, though, it can be translated in an idiomatic way as “elder,” or “younger,” or “elders and youngers” when it is plural. One may thus translate this phrase as “my fellow Christian, Sosthenes.”

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 .

The meaning of this verse is clear, but the grammar in Greek is awkward: it says literally “to the church of God which is in Corinth, made holy in Christ Jesus, called saints.” Paul begins by speaking of the church as a group, and then goes on to speak about its members. Those and Good News Bible “all” are not in the Greek text, but help to make the transition from the singular church to the plural saints. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch breaks the sentence after the church of God which is at Corinth, and the Italian common language version (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) even begins a new paragraph:

… we write to the church of God that is found in Corinth.
We greet you, united with Jesus Christ ….

The Greek word for “church” may mean either a local Christian community, as in this verse, or all Christians everywhere. In certain languages where the word for church refers to a building or to a group of people who meet in it, it may be necessary to translate this word as “God’s people,” “those who believe in God,” or even “the group of God’s people.” Translators may be tempted to use a capital letter for “church” when it means “all Christians,” but they should remember that such a distinction will be lost when the translation is read aloud.

In some languages it may be necessary to show that Corinth was a city, not a country or district such as Galatia. In such a case one may say “in the city of Corinth,” to show that it is an important center of population. In certain cultures where cities are unknown, “city” will often be translated as a “large group of houses with a strong high wall around them.”

The words saints and sanctified are related to each other. Both of these words express the idea that Christians “belong” (Good News Bible) to God and are therefore set apart to serve God’s purposes alone. This fact is made clear in Good News Bible‘s translation, “God’s holy people, who belong to him.” The saints and sanctified are like Israel in Old Testament times whom God chose as his people for a special purpose. So the basic meaning of these two words is that Christians belong to God. It follows from this that Christians must live good lives, but it is the idea of belonging to God, not that of sinlessness, that is important here. There is no suggestion here or anywhere in the New Testament that special individuals may have the title “saint.” “Saints” in the New Testament are always a community of Christians; in translation “saints” may sometimes be rendered “the people of God.”

There is a slight difference of meaning, though, between saints and sanctified. Called to be saints, like “called … to be an apostle” (Good News Bible) in verse 1, refers to a single past event. The tense of the word translated sanctified, on the other hand, expresses the idea of a past event whose consequences stretch into the present time.

In biblical Greek, as well as in Hebrew, writers often used related words such as saints and sanctified to add emphasis to their message. In some languages, however, this may sound heavy and awkward. Translators may need to find some other way to convey emphasis. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, for example, uses two expressions that are unrelated: “set apart for God and called to be God’s people.” In other languages it may be best to use a single strong expression such as “whom God has set apart for himself” or “whom God has made his own people.” The meaning of “set apart” here refers to being set apart for God, not separation from other people.

In Christ Jesus is a very common expression in Paul’s writings, but its meaning is not clear. Paul probably means that a Christian’s new life depends closely and entirely on Christ. Good News Bible‘s rendering “in union with Christ Jesus” gives this meaning. Other possible translations are “and whose whole lives are lived with Jesus Christ,” “who depend entirely on Jesus Christ,” or “whose lives are lived close to Jesus Christ.”

There is no difference in meaning between Christ Jesus and Jesus Christ. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, for example, have “Jesus Christ” in both places. Translators should use whichever order is more natural in their own languages. In some places in the New Testament “Christ,” on its own, is a title meaning “Messiah,” meaning “the one whom God has chosen to be king.” In this verse and normally in all of Paul’s writings, he uses “Christ” simply as a name.

It is possible from the standpoint of Greek grammar to connect the clause together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ with either (a) Paul … and our brother Sosthenes in verse 1, or (b) To the church of God which is at Corinth, or with (c) called to be saints. Choice (a) is least likely. It does not seem that all Christians are joining Paul and Sosthenes in greeting the Christians at Corinth. Choices (b) and (c) have almost the same meaning; both refer to the Christians in Corinth. Good News Bible shows that it chooses (b) by repeating the word “all” and by its ordering of the clauses in the sentence. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “Moreover, our letter is for all those who confess Jesus Christ, our common Lord, wherever they are.” The words “is for” are perhaps too strong, since in much of 1 Corinthians Paul deals with the particular problems of this one church. An additional reason for choosing (b) is that this is certainly the meaning of 2 Cor 1.1-2. However, it is possible to choose (c) as the meaning. Revised Standard Version has done this. New Revised Standard Version adds a comma after “saints,” making its choice less clear.

The word place in the phrase every place was sometimes used by the Jews to mean a synagogue. In a similar way Paul may have used it to mean a Christian meeting place, which at that time would normally have been someone’s home. It is therefore possible to translate every place as “wherever they meet.” In certain languages, following (b) or (c) above, it will be helpful to render this phrase as “together with all people everywhere in Corinth who….”

The phrase call on the name of has the essential meaning of “worship,” implying prayer and trust. Good News Bible translates it this way. In the Old Testament it often has the meaning “ask the Lord for help,” for example Joel 2.32. This verse is quoted both in Acts 2.21 and in Rom 10.13. To call upon someone’s “name” is a natural Hebrew way of speaking about “calling for help” from the owner of the name. Such language was used in the Old Testament about speaking to God, and it is used in the New Testament about Christ.

The phrase Lord Jesus Christ may be rendered as “Jesus Christ who is our Lord.” However, in some languages one cannot possess the person who controls. In such a case a translator may say “Jesus Christ, who controls us.”

Both their Lord and ours is the most probable meaning of the Greek phrase, which can be translated literally as “theirs and ours.” It can also mean “in every (meeting) place, both theirs and ours.” This second meaning is a little easier grammatically; but the first, namely their Lord and ours, makes much better sense. It also fits the major theme of this letter, which is “unity” among Christians. In some languages an appositional construction such as Christ, both their Lord and ours is difficult to translate. In such cases a translator can render this as “Christ, who is both their Lord and our Lord” or “Christ, who commands both them and us.” If in certain languages, as we have indicated above, the phrase “our Lord” indicates possession, one may translate, for example, “Christ, who is the one who controls both them and us.”

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 .

This verse is exactly the same as Rom 1.7b.

In some languages this initial clause may be translated as a prayer, as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “We pray God … to give you grace and peace.”

The appositional construction God our Father is unnatural in many languages. Translators in such languages may say “God, who is our Father,” or even “God, who is like a Father to us.”

Grace in Greek is related to the word for “greeting” that was commonly used at the beginning of Greek letters. Peace was similarly used in Jewish letters. In the language of the early Christians, to pray that someone might receive Grace was more than an ordinary greeting. Grace, depending on the context, can have any one of three meanings: (a) God’s generosity in giving his love to people who do not deserve it, (b) the total sum of God’s gifts considered as a whole, or (c) individual gifts. In this verse, meaning (b) is the most likely. It is difficult, though, to express this wide meaning in common language translations (common language translations). Such words as the English “grace” have lost much of their meaning, not only among non-Christians but also in the churches. In languages where there has not been a long history of Bible translation, one may often combine the meanings (a) and (b) by saying “May God be kind and generous toward you,” “May God show his goodness,” or “May God give you what you need.” And peace for Christians, as in the Old Testament, was more than the absence of war or a peaceful feeling that an individual might have inside himself. Christians understood these terms as related to the nature of God. Grace and peace, therefore, overlap in meaning, both with one another and also with “righteousness,” which Good News Bible often translates as “being right with God.” Peace in the New Testament refers to a total state of well-being or good spiritual health that God gives to a person.

An alternative translation model for the first three verses is:
• 1 This letter is from Paul, whom God has called to be an apostle (or, chief messenger) of Jesus Christ. Sosthenes our fellow Christian also greets you.
2 I am writing to the group of people who worship God in the city of Corinth, to all those whom God has called to be his special people, who belong to him in union with Christ Jesus, together with all people everywhere in Corinth who worship our [exclusive] Lord Jesus Christ, who is both their Lord and our Lord.
3 We ask God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to give you grace and peace.

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 .

Always, like the words every and all in verse 5, may be an example of the vivid exaggeration that is often found in Hebrew and Aramaic speech (compare, for example, Mark 10.25). If always is translated literally into languages where such exaggeration is not used, readers may feel that Paul does nothing else but give thanks. In such languages it will be better to use some expression meaning “repeatedly” or “very often.”

Most of the Greek manuscripts have “my God” (Good News Bible) instead of just God, but two important manuscripts omit “my,” and Nestle-Aland twenty-fifth edition, followed by Revised Standard Version, the Revised English Bible (Revised English Bible), the New Jerusalem Bible (New Jerusalem Bible), and the New International Version (New International Version) follow these. The United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament, which is the same as Nestle-Aland twenty-sixth edition, includes “my” and is followed by the New Revised Standard Version text. It is possible that scribes added the word under the influence of Rom 1.8; Phil 1.3; and Philemon 4. It is known that scribes tended to add words more often than they omitted them. In languages where “my God” would signify that one owns God, translators may say “the God whom I worship.”

Give thanks is simply “thank” in Greek and may be translated this way if it is more natural. In any case this verb should be translated as an action or event. One may also translate “I always say to God ‘Thanks,’ ” or “I always tell God that I am grateful to him.”

For you translates the Greek expression that often means “about you” or “concerning you.” It can also be translated as “because of what you are” or “because you have become Christians.” It certainly does not mean “on behalf of you.”

Please refer to the comments in the introduction to this section (1.4-9) on how to translate passive verbs. God is the agent or the doer of the action in the clause because of the grace of God which was given you. Other ways to translate this phrase are “God has been very generous to you” or “God has given you many spiritual gifts” (see also verse 5).

Grace: see the introduction to this section, verses 4-9. Here, to speak of God as “giving grace” may be awkward. In some languages the word for “give” requires a more definite object. Perhaps the verse could be restructured as follows: “I thank my God very often for what he has done for you. He has been good to you and has given you many gifts through Jesus Christ.”

In this verse Paul becomes very specific about the reason for his thanksgiving. First, he says in a general way that he is thankful for you Christians in Corinth. Next, he states that it is because of what God has given them through Christ that he is thankful.

The words in Christ Jesus may be connected with given or you. If these words are connected with you, it is possible to rephrase this expression as “given to you as Christians.” However, the first choice, “given in (or, through) Christ Jesus,” is more likely, but there is not much difference in meaning between the two choices. Please see the comments on 1 Cor. 1.2 concerning the translation of the phrase in Christ Jesus.

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 .

This verse probably expresses in greater detail the same reason for thanksgiving that Paul mentions in verse 4, the grace of God which was given you. So one may translate the beginning of verse 5 as “that is, because.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch shows the connection between these two verses in the following way: “That shows itself in (the fact) that you have become enriched in everything….”

The verb you were enriched, as has already been explained in the introduction to this section, refers to the activity of God. So in him must mean “in Christ.” Good News Bible‘s “in union with Christ” is a clearer translation. In some languages the phrase you were enriched would refer to literal wealth or riches; but that is not the meaning here. It may be wise therefore to render this phrase as “you have received an abundance of all good things” or “God has given you an abundance of all good things.”

The same Greek word is repeated three times for emphasis. Revised Standard Version translates it in two different ways, twice as all and once as every for the sake of variety; New Revised Standard Version translates “in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind.” Good News Bible renders this word as “all” each time it appears in this verse. There is no difference in meaning, and each group of translators must decide whether repetition or variety is more effective in their own language.

Speech: (literally “word” in the Greek) and knowledge, like “wisdom” in verse 17, are important words in 1 Corinthians. It is likely that people in Corinth were using these and other terms to preach a false gospel. So in this verse, and in many other passages, Paul tries to give these words a true Christian meaning. Translators need to decide in each context in 1 Corinthians whether Paul is using the words (a) in a general, neutral sense, (b) to refer to the false teaching, for example, “what you call wisdom,” or (c) in a specifically Christian sense. It will then be easier to decide how, if necessary, to use different words in one’s own language to give these differences of meaning. In this verse Paul probably uses these terms in a general sense.

The Greek word for speech also means “word” and “reason.” It occurs in 1.17 (with “wisdom”); 1.18; 2.1, 4, 13; 4.19, 20; 12.8; 14.9, 19 (twice), 36; 15.2, 54. In this verse all speech probably means “all kinds of Christian speaking” or “all kinds of Christian messages.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente renders it as “preaching.” In 1 Corinthians this term very rarely refers to a single word. More commonly it means a message, whether revealed directly by God (14.36) or spoken through human beings.

The Greek word for knowledge here is used also in 8.1, 7, 10, 11; 12.8; 13.2, 8; 14.6. Translators should avoid words that suggest information or technical ability when they translate the word knowledge. In this verse all knowledge suggests “knowledge about all spiritual realities.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• For because you live in a close relationship with Jesus Christ, God has given you many abilities. These include the ability to preach his message, and knowledge about all things to do with his Spirit.

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 .

Revised Standard Version understands this verse as being merely an aside by Paul. The dashes in Revised Standard Version are equivalent to parentheses. However, it also seems that Paul is expanding on the beginning of verse 5. God enriched the Christians in Corinth more and more as the Christian message took deep root in their lives. Revised Standard Version shows this fact by the use of even as (New Revised Standard Version “just as”), although Good News Bible omits a connective word in order to divide the sentence. In any case, the meaning seems to be that people received spiritual gifts as the result of Christian preaching.

Good News Bible‘s translation “has become … firmly established” is probably more correct than Revised Standard Version‘s confirmed (New Revised Standard Version “strengthened”). The context does not seem to contain the idea of one thing’s being confirmed or guaranteed by another. Translators in some languages will need to render the passive expression “firmly established” as, for example, “God has firmly established … in your lives.” One may even use a more idiomatic expression and say “The message about Christ has put its roots down firmly in your lives” or “God has caused the message about Christ to put its roots….”

The Greek word translated testimony also means “witness,” implying then that the testimony is “about” Christ rather than “by” him. Good News Bible brings this meaning out clearly by saying “the message about Christ.”

The Greek may mean either among you or “in you” (Good News Bible). Since much of this letter is concerned with relations of Christians with one another, among you suits the wider context better. The Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch first edition made this wider context more explicit by rendering this as “in your (local) church.” One may also say “among you who believe in Christ.”

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 .