SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 2023

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 1:20

1:20a Where is the wise man?

What is the position/status of wise people?
-or-
So, wise people have no special advantage ⌊before God⌋.
-or-
The wise people have no special significance/importance ⌊according to God’s thoughts⌋.

1:20b Where is the scribe?

(God’s Word) Where is the scholar?

What is the position/status of expert people?
-or-
Scholars have no special advantage ⌊before God⌋.
-or-
The scholars have no special significance/importance/have failed ⌊according to God’s thoughts⌋.

1:20c Where is the philosopher of this age?

What is the position/status of the skillful debaters of this world ⌊before God⌋ ?
-or-
The clever/skillful debaters/philosophers of this world have no special advantage ⌊before God⌋.
-or-
The clever/skillful debaters/speakers of this world have no special significance/importance/have failed ⌊according to God’s thoughts⌋.

1:20d Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

God has shown that the wisdom of this world is really foolishness.
-or-
God has turned the wise plans/schemes of ⌊those⌋ worldly people into foolishness.
-or-
God has shown that what the wise people of this world think is worthless/nonsense.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 3:5

3:5a What then is Apollos? And what is Paul?

And besides that, consider what/who Apollos and I are.
-or-
As for Apollos and myself, let me tell you about us.
-or-
⌊Now I want you to⌋ remember what kind of people Apollos and I are.

3:5b They are servants

We (excl.) are only ⌊God’s⌋ workers/servants.
-or-
We (excl.) are merely ones who do the work that ⌊God⌋ orders us (excl.) to do.

3:5c through whom you believed,

We (excl.) helped you to believe ⌊in the Lord Jesus⌋.
-or-
God gave us (excl.) the work of leading/causing you to trust ⌊in Jesus⌋.
-or-
We (excl.) ⌊both⌋ told you the good news about Christ so that you began to trust him.

3:5d as the Lord has assigned to each his role.

We (excl.) each/both do the work that the Lord gave us (excl.).
-or-
The Lord gave to each/both of us (excl.) a job to do.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 4:14

4:14a I am not writing this to shame you,

It is not to embarrass you that I have written those words to you.
-or-
My purpose in writing like this is not to make you feel ashamed.

4:14b but to warn you

Rather, I want to teach you something you need to know,
-or-
Instead, I want to correct you
-or-
No, my purpose is to warn you.

4:14c as my beloved children.

because you are like my children whom I love.
-or-
just as if you were my own dear/beloved children.
-or-

⌊I am warning/disciplining/treating you⌋ as if you were my own children whom I love.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 6:12

Section 6:12–20

Believers must live pure lives because they belong to the Lord

6:12a “Everything is permissible for me,”

⌊Someone has said:⌋ “I am permitted to do anything.”
-or-
⌊It has been said:⌋ “I am allowed to do whatever I want.”
-or-
Some of you like to quote this teaching/saying: “We (incl.) can do/be anything we choose.”

6:12b but not everything is beneficial.

Some things, however, are not useful/helpful.
-or-

⌊Well, yes.⌋ But that does not mean that everything is good/helpful ⌊for you/us (incl.)⌋.
-or-

⌊In one sense that may be true,⌋ but some things have no value/profit/advantage.

6:12c “Everything is permissible for me,”

“I am permitted to do anything,” yes,
-or-

⌊Someone has said:⌋ “I am allowed to do whatever I want,”
-or-

⌊You say that⌋ we (incl.) are free to do anything we want/choose to do,

6:12d but I will not be mastered by anything.

but I will not let anything be my boss/master.
-or-
but I will not become a slave to anything.
-or-
but I refuse to allow anything to control me.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 7:24

7:24 Brothers, each one should remain in the situation he was in when God called him.

(Good News Translation) My friends, each of you should remain in fellowship with God in the same condition that you were when you were called.

⌊So then,⌋ my fellow believers, I want each one of you, with God’s help, to stay/remain in the place/situation in life you were in when God called/chose you.
-or-

⌊And so,⌋ my fellow believers, we (incl.) each should keep on living the same kind of life we (incl.) had when God called/chose us ⌊to become one of his people⌋, for he is near ⌊to help us⌋.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 9:3

9:3 This is my defense to those who scrutinize me:

This is how I defend myself to those who judge me.
-or-
When people question my authority, this is how I answer them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 10:8

10:8a We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did,

We (incl.) must not sin sexually as some of them sinned.
-or-
We must not do sexual sin. That is what some of them did,

10:8b and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

Because of their sin, ⌊sickness⌋ caused twenty-three thousand of those people to die in a single day.
-or-
and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died ⌊because of their sin⌋.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 11:7

11:7a A man ought not to cover his head,

A man should not cover his head
-or-
It is not appropriate for men to cover their heads ⌊when they pray or prophesy⌋

11:7b since he is the image and glory of God;

because he is ⌊made⌋ in the image of God and is/reflects the glory of God.
-or-
because ⌊God created them⌋ to be like God and display his greatness.

11:7c but the woman is the glory of man.

But a woman is/reflects the glory of man.
-or-
But women display the greatness of men.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 2023