Now should be understood as “immediately” or “soon.” Paul is saying “I do not want to visit you in the near future and only have a short time with you. Rather….” So the two halves of this verse include a double contrast: (1) not now but later, and (2) not in passing but for a long visit. Good News Bible does not express the first contrast; Revised Standard Version does. Another way to express this first sentence is negatively; for example, “I don’t want to see you only for a short time as I pass through Corinth; on the contrary….” In some languages it may be good to add “later” to the second part of the sentence, in order to bring out the contrast with now in the first half.

The two halves of the sentence are connected in Greek by “for,” though neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Bible has this word. The meaning is that there is no point in Paul’s paying a brief visit to Corinth soon, because he plans a longer stay with them later.

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 .

In this verse Paul may be speaking ironically, or putting himself for the moment in the position of the Gentiles who found the Christian message foolish, and of the Jews who considered the cross a sign of weakness. Good News Bible‘s “seems to be” shows this irony.

Paul avoids the Greek noun for foolishness that he has used before. Instead he employs the related adjective that is probably more emphatic. Paul also avoids speaking directly about the foolishness of God. Good News Bible‘s added phrase “what seems to be” shows Paul’s reluctance. This phrase can also be translated as “what looks like” or “what appears to be.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “God acts against all reason—yet he is wiser than all humans.”

Men translates a Greek term that refers to human beings, both male and female. “Human wisdom” and “human strength” (Good News Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) give the right meaning.

In verses 22-24, Paul has three times mentioned the Jews first and the Gentiles second. In the present verse, although neither group is named, the order is reversed: the Gentiles (Greeks) who are interested in wisdom are referred to by implication, before the Jews who are interested in power (or miracles; see comments on verse 22). If translators find this strange or confusing in their own language, they should not hesitate to put verse 25b before verse 25a.

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 .

There is a considerable degree of doubt as to whether the words of God are part of the original text. However, a majority of the editors of the UBS Greek New Testament voted to include them. Scribes may have omitted them, either as too repetitious, or because they were comparing this passage to Rom 12.6 and Gal 2.9. In any case, of God is implied in the text.

Grace for Paul can only be a gift of God (see comments on 1.3), though there is no specific gift mentioned here. God gave Paul what he needed to found the church at Corinth. Good News Bible‘s “gift” is a more accurate English translation. Revised Standard Version‘s given to me must mean “that God gave me” (Good News Bible). Grace can also be translated as “ability.” In some languages it will be necessary to restructure the clause “using the gift that God gave me” (Good News Bible) as “I used the gift (or, ability) that God gave to me.”

The word that is translated master builder is the word from which the English “architect” is taken. The Greek word described someone who not only drew up plans but also directed the building work and assigned different tasks to different workmen. However, Paul probably intended the first meaning here, since in verse 5 he says that the work of assigning tasks is Christ’s own function.

Foundation: certain cultures do not use foundations at all, and their languages may have no word for this type of building part that the Greeks and many modern cultures use in building houses and other structures. Such cultures construct their houses on stilts or poles. In such cases one may say, for example, “the center pole” or “the pole that holds up the building.”

Another man is building upon it: Paul is now using the experience of Apollos and himself as the basis for more general statements. This is shown by the repeated each man of verses 10, 13, and “any man” of later verses. Here as elsewhere Good News Bible avoids male language; it is possible that Paul’s language (literally “another,” masculine) may refer to leading members of the Christian community in Corinth, some of whom may have been women. The present tense in the verb, is building, does not necessarily refer to the time at which Paul is writing. It may refer to any stage after the founding of the church at Corinth, including the work of Apollos, which in verse 6 was referred to in the past tense. It is possible to render this clause as “on which someone else is building,” or one can begin a new sentence after foundation and say “… foundation. Someone else is building on it.” Is building upon it … builds upon it Paul repeats a compound verb, literally “superbuilds,” “builds-on.” It is implied in the Greek. Good News Bible does not repeat “on it” for stylistic reasons.

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 .

Good News Bible changes the order of the first part of this verse and begins with the dependent clause “If the Lord is willing.” This changes the emphasis slightly in English. The stress in the Greek, though, falls on the clause I will come. Translators need to find the most natural way of ordering these sentences in their languages.

The sentence I will come to you soon may be expanded as “I will come to visit you soon.”

The clause if the Lord wills may be expressed as “If the Lord wants me to.”

I will find out is literally “I will know.” The verb implies “I will discover personally,” but there is no suggestion that this knowledge will be kept secret. This sentence may also be translated as “It will become evident to me” or “I will know for sure.”

For the contrast between power and talk (literally “word”), see verse 20; also 2.4, 13; 2 Cor 10.5. 1 Cor 2.4 suggests that the power is that of the Holy Spirit—that Paul will test whether these people really do have the power of the Holy 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 .

You were bought may be expressed as “he bought you for a price” (Good News Bible) or “he paid a price for you.” The “he” here probably refers to the work of Christ, although it is impossible to be sure. Paul does not use “buy” figuratively anywhere else except in 7.23, where Good News Bible again has “God bought you,” although Christ has just been mentioned in 7.22. If the translator chooses to put “God” in the text, “Christ” may be given as an alternative in a footnote.

With a price probably does not mean “for a great price” (Vulgate). The meaning is more likely that the transaction has been completed: “God has bought and paid for you.”

So introduces the conclusion; “Very well, then” (Barrett). The final sentence may be expressed as “Let each of you use his body to bring glory to God.”

For glorify, see comment on “glorification” in 2.7.

Your body is emphasized in the Greek by its position at the end of the sentence. “Your bodies” (Good News Bible) is more natural in English, since Paul is writing about individuals. In some other languages your body may be better, since each individual has one body. Translators should do what is natural in their own language.

All modern translations agree with Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible in omitting the words that King James Version translated “and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The shorter Greek text that Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible follow represents “the decisive testimony of the earliest and best witnesses” (Metzger). Scribes who added the words “your spirit” failed to realize that body for Paul included the whole personality.

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 .

Verses 32-34 use a verb four times meaning “concern oneself” or “be anxious,” and once a related adjective meaning “unconcerned” or “not worrying.” The problem in translating these terms is that they seem to be used in a good sense when it is a question of the affairs of the Lord, and in a bad sense when referring to wives or husbands. Paul uses this word positively in 12.25 and Phil 2.20, and negatively only in Phil 4.6, where Good News Bible has “don’t worry about.”

Revised Standard Version‘s word anxious, which is used throughout the passage, is not the best English equivalent. On the other hand, it may be difficult to find a neutral term like Good News Bible‘s “concerns,” which is effective in English; New Jerusalem Bible has “gives his mind to.” In that case it is better to use different or even unrelated words than to distort the meaning.

In some languages it may be necessary in this passage to state explicitly that the married and unmarried people whom Paul refers to are Christians. One may say, for example, “the unmarried Christian man,” and so on. One may also show in some way that Paul is not speaking of married and unmarried people in general. In this respect, one may say at the beginning of the second sentence, “Among Christians, an unmarried man….”

The phrase to be free from anxieties may be expressed as “not to be worried at all” or “not to have any worries (or, anxieties) at all.”

When we contrast this verse with verse 33, it is clear that unmarried is the correct translation, no matter what meaning is given in verse 8. Paul obviously means “unmarried man” here (Good News Bible), because it is contrasted with unmarried woman in verse 33. “The unmarried man,” like similar phrases in this passage, means “the (typical) unmarried Christian man,” “any unmarried Christian man.” In contrast to verse 8, this verse seems to refer to all unmarried Christians, not just widowers or widows. In some languages unmarried in this context will be expressed as “men without wives,” or “men who do not yet have a family.”

The affairs of the Lord is literally “the (things) of the Lord,” so Revised English Bible and Barclay translate “the Lord’s business.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch combines this phrase with what follows, and translates “to live in a way pleasing to the Lord.” Whichever translation is chosen, the translator should, if possible, make this phrase a contrasting parallel to the phrase “worldly affairs” in verses 33 and 34, as the Greek in those verses, “the affairs of the world,” is very similar in form to the affairs of the Lord.

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 .

At this point in Paul’s argument, we probably means not only Paul and Barnabas, as in verse 6, but the apostles or evangelists generally. In any case, Paul is excluding his readers.

This rhetorical question may be restructured as follows: “We have sown spiritual seed among you, therefore it is not too much to expect that we should harvest material benefits from you.” The spiritual good, literally “spiritual things,” is essentially the Christian message. The phrase sown spiritual good among you may also be rendered as “sown good things in your hearts,” “sown spiritual things in your hearts,” or even “sown things from God’s Spirit in your hearts.”

The phrase is it too much may be translated as “is it unfair to” or “is it an unfair thing to.”

The material benefits, literally “the fleshly things,” are material support for evangelists and their families, as verses 4-7 make clear. Verse 11 slightly changes the agricultural image of verse 10. In some languages and cultures it may be preferable to use nonfigurative expressions, where reap, “harvest,” or similar metaphors would not be naturally used in this way. One may say “If we have placed spiritual things in your hearts, is it too much to expect you to give us material benefits in return?” or “If we have placed things from God’s Spirit in your hearts, is it unfair for us to expect that you give us material benefits in return?”

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 .

Consider is the verb that was translated “take heed” in verse 12, but the context gives a quite different meaning. Here no warning is involved; Paul is just asking the readers to give special attention. One may also express this as “Think about.”

The people of Israel is literally “Israel according to the flesh” but has no unfavorable meaning here. Paul adds the words “according to the flesh” because he thought of the church as fulfilling God’s promises to Israel, and therefore as being, in a sense, the true or spiritual Israel. So he needed an expression, here as in Rom 9.4, to speak of non-Christian Jews. Today there is little danger of confusing Israel with the church. For this reason Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible omit the words “according to the flesh.” Modern translators could render this as “the Jewish people,” as Bijbel in Gewone Taal has done. Barclay has “Look at actual Jewish practice and belief,” and Revised English Bible has “Jewish practice,” which fits the context well.

The second part of the verse, from those who eat …, begins a series of rhetorical questions. There are four of them, according to the UBS Greek text and the punctuation. Revised Standard Version translates the first as a question and Good News Bible renders it as a statement. As in verse 16, Paul is appealing to well-known facts and common beliefs. The sentence is concise and may need to be expanded in translation. For example, “those who eat the sacrifices share with one another in the sacrifice to God made on the altar.” When an animal was sacrificed by the Hebrews to God, part of it was burned on the altar, and part of it was eaten by the people who were performing this act of worship. The underlying thought, then, is that by sharing in the sacrificial meal, Jewish worshipers enter into a relationship with God that also unites them with one another. Paul’s readers would know, of course, that although some sacrifices had to be burnt whole, there were others that priests, Levites, and even ordinary people could share by eating part of the flesh (see Lev 10.12-15; Deut 18.1-4).

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 .