complete verse (1 Corinthians 2:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 2:15:

  • Uma: “We who have received the Holy Spirit, our hearts are clear [i.e., enlightened] to recognize every sort of thing, [to tell] whether it is good or not. But people who do not know God, their hearts are not clear to recognize what is in our hearts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the person who has God’s Spirit understands everything whether it is good or bad. But the person who-has/where-there-is God’s Spirit, he is not understood by the people who don’t have God’s Spirit.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But as for the person who has in him the Holy Spirit, he can understand the value of anything that the Holy Spirit teaches. But, that person who does not have in him the Holy Spirit, he cannot understand what is in the mind of those people who have been given the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But the one in whom God’s Spirit stays can-understand the importance of everything, but other people are not able-to-understand him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But the person who is being indwelt by the Espiritu Santo, he can understand all things, whether (they are) good or not. However, people who have not yet believed, who are not being indwelt by this Espiritu Santo, they are lacking in wisdom/understanding to pass judgment on the manner-of-life of those who have now believed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The people who walk with the Holy Spirit can make good judgments about this word. And it cannot be said by anyone that the word he speaks is wrong.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Spirit (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-tama (御霊) or “Spirit (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Holy Spirit

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:15

Before concluding his argument with a final quotation in verse 16, Paul adds two brief statements in this verse. The first is positive and the second, negative.

On The spiritual man, see the comments on verse 13. The spiritual man refers to spiritual people in general, not to any male individual, and certainly not to Christ. One important reason is that “Christ” simply cannot be the meaning of verse 13, which is the immediate context of this verse. It is only because the spiritual person has, or is controlled by, the Spirit that he has the supernatural power to examine and understand everything (compare verse 11). There is no suggestion here that the spiritual person has the right in himself because he has some kind of higher rank. See the comments on 2.4.

To be judged by no one: the meaning of these words is determined by the first half of the verse and is also related to the text of previous verses. The person without the Spirit (unspiritual) is not qualified to examine anyone who has the Spirit. He cannot because he himself does not have the means by which he can understand the Spirit itself, or comprehend what the Spirit gives to other people. Paul works out the practical implications of this verse in chapter 4. In the light of 4.3-4, the meaning of 2.15b is probably “no one,” no human being, as in Good News Bible. Good News Bible also makes a stronger English sentence by using the active “is able to judge” rather than the passive to be judged. In languages that do not naturally employ the passive, it would be well to follow Good News Bible‘s example here.

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 .