As in verse 1, the emphatic words And I, with which the verse begins, suggest a contrast, either between Paul and the reader’s self-confidence, or more probably, between Paul and the self-confidence of the false preachers.

I was translates a Greek verb that has various meanings, but its tense indicates a particular event. It may introduce a reference (1) to Paul’s state when he arrived in Corinth from Athens (Acts 18.1); (2) to his state during his stay in Corinth (which Paul, as he looks back, thinks of as a single event); or even (3) to a state into which he fell during his eighteen months in Corinth (Acts 18.11). More literal translations such as Revised Standard Version leave the choice open. (1) is supported by verse 1 and is chosen by Good News Bible. However, it would mean that Paul is not saying anything essentially new in the present verse. Many translations agree with Good News Bible, including Revised English Bible (“I came before you”) and New Revised Standard Version. Translator’s New Testament chooses (2): “all the time I was with you I was weak….” Apart from verse 1, the wider context seems to suggest (2). This would include the content and manner of Paul’s teaching throughout his stay in Corinth. (3) does not seem likely, simply because Paul does not give enough detail. Regardless of which time setting the translator chooses for the first clause, the last two clauses of the verse may be restructured as “my physical condition was very weak, and I was shaking all over with fear,” or “my body was very weak, and I was so afraid that I shook all over.”

Good News Bible combines the words fear and trembling into “trembled all over with fear.” This is probably correct, as these two words are often linked together by their basic meaning. Many languages employ word pictures or idiomatic expressions to describe fear and trembling; for example, “soul (or, guardian spirit) disappears and bile is stirred up” or “so afraid that teeth chatter uncontrollably.”

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 .

For the wisdom of this world is not as clear as Good News Bible‘s rendering “what this world considers to be wisdom.” Paul’s point is that the “world’s wisdom” is not “real wisdom.” This first clause may also be rendered as “what people of this world (or, humans) consider to be wisdom.” For Paul, wisdom and folly always have to do with people, so this clause could even be translated as “what the people of the world call wisdom, God calls folly.”

On folly, see comment on “fool,” verse 18.

On it is written, see comments on 1.19, where the same phrase is used. The quotation in this verse is from Job 5.13, though its language (catches and craftiness) is stronger than that of the Septuagint and does not agree exactly with the Hebrew text.

An alternative translation model for this final clause is:
• “God uses the cleverness of wise people as a trap to catch them.”

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 Greek for therefore (Good News Bible‘s “then”), as in 1.7; 3.7, 21; 4.5, introduces the conclusion of this part of Paul’s argument. Paul draws a moral and spiritual lesson from the fact that the Passover had to be celebrated by eating bread without leaven, or yeast.

Celebrate is a present tense in Greek as in English, but it should not be translated as “Let us keep on celebrating this feast.” The verb refers to the celebration of any feast, but the context indicates that the reference is to the Passover.

Good News Bible‘s “bread having” is implicit in the Greek text. The text is literally “not with old yeast nor with yeast of evil and wickedness.” The second phrase explains the first. Good News Bible is correct to combine these two phrases. The words malice and evil have very similar meanings here, thus Good News Bible‘s rendering “sin and wickedness.” Paul used two different words to make a good stylistic effect. Again Paul is using metaphors that in many languages need to be changed to similes. The bread with the leaven of malice and evil refers to lives full of malice and evil. The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth refers to lives that are full of these virtues. The meaning of the word that is translated sincerity is given in 2 Cor 2.17, where it refers to sincerity in speaking. Truth may have the wider meaning of “dependability” or even “being worthy of trust” (honesty). “Speaking the truth” is more likely to be the meaning here. An alternative way of restructuring 5.8 is: “When we celebrate our Passover, let us not do it with malice and evil, which are like bread made with yeast, but rather use sincerity and truthfulness, which are like unleavened bread.”

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 .

Most translations that we consulted add the word “cannot” or an equivalent expression. This is not in the Greek text, and since sexual immorality was certainly known within the church at Corinth (see 5.1; 7.2), a translation such as “if they are not living continently” (Barrett; similarly New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) gives the literal meaning. However, cannot is implied; they do not live continently because they cannot do so. Therefore we recommend that translators follow Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible‘s model.

Should marry: the context makes it close in meaning to a direct command by Paul.

The verb marry, in Greek as in English, could be used with either men or women as its subject. The context shows that both are intended here.

In the second half of the sentence some manuscripts (not mentioned in the UBS Greek text) have the present tense, “to be in the married state,” instead of the aorist, meaning “to get married.” However, the manuscript evidence for the aorist is better. The difference in meaning between the two is probably not enough for an alternative translation to be given in a footnote.

Aflame with passion: with passion is clearly implied by the context. Some commentators have thought that aflame referred to “burning in hell,” but most modern commentators reject this interpretation. One may also express aflame with passion as “to have sexual passion burning in you” or “to have hearts that burn with sexual passion.” Thai Common Language Version says “better than to have a heart hot with sexual passion.” In some languages passion is said to “oppress” or “trouble.”

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 .

Sinning, a present tense in the Greek, is expressed as future in Good News Bible in order to remind readers that since verse 10 (“Suppose”) Paul has been tactfully discussing a hypothetical or imaginary case, not a real one.

Wounding their conscience when it is weak does not mean that there are some times when a person’s conscience is weak, and other times when the same person’s conscience may be strong. Good News Bible‘s more literal translation, “wounding their weak conscience,” is closer to the meaning of the Greek. In some languages it may not be natural to speak of wounding someone’s conscience, and a more general expression may be better, such as “hurting their weak conscience,” “doing harm to their weak conscience,” “weakening their ability to decide between right and wrong,” or even “causing their ability to decide between right and wrong to become weak.” For the meaning of the Greek word translated “conscience,” see comments on 1 Cor. 8.7.

In this verse, as in verse 11, a translator needs to find a way of emphasizing the words you sin against Christ. Good News Bible has lost this emphasis by rearranging the sentence to produce a more flowing English style. One may maintain this emphasis by restructuring the verse slightly as follows: “When you commit sin against your fellow Christians and damage their consciences like this, you actually sin against Christ.”

In this verse, in contrast to verse 11, you is plural, but there is no difference in meaning, since “brother” in verse 11 means “any fellow Christian.”

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 .

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 .