complete verse (1 Corinthians 8:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 8:2:

  • Uma: “The person who says: ‘My heart is clear [emphatic]’ [i.e., I understand], but he has no love, actually his heart is not yet really clear like it should be.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If a person thinks that he already knows much, that means that he really doesn’t know yet.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The person who thinks mistakenly that what he knows is already a lot, the true things that God would like to reveal to him, he doesn’t yet know.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The person who thinks-incorrectly that he knows something, he still doesn’t know what God wants him to understand.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “If a person boasts that his wisdom/understanding is complete, it’s clear that he does not yet understand what hopefully is the outcome of true wisdom/understanding.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The person who says that he has now understood all about the matter, really lacks in understanding about the matters which he should know.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Corinthians 8:2

If any one: it is not necessary to suppose that the person(s) referred to are outside the group that Paul described as “all of us” in verse 1. Paul is here exploring more deeply what is meant by “knowledge.” Good News Bible uses plural forms (“they”) in order to avoid masculine pronouns, thereby losing Paul’s tactful If. In fact, Paul knew that there were members of the church in Corinth who claimed secret knowledge. New Revised Standard Version repeats “anyone” in verse 3.

This verse distinguishes between (a) the state of knowing something or having acquired a piece of knowledge (verse 2a), and (b) the event of acquiring knowledge (verse 2b). A possible translation is the following: “If a person thinks that he has attained to some degree of knowledge, he has not yet reached the stage when he has any knowledge at all in the real sense of the word.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Corinthians 8:2

8:2a The one who thinks he knows something

If someone is sure/confident that he knows something,
-or-
A person who believes that he ⌊really⌋ knows something ⌊about God⌋
-or-

⌊What I mean is this:⌋ when you (sing.) think that the most important thing is what you know,

8:2b does not yet know as he ought to know.

then he still needs to learn more.
-or-
does not yet really know ⌊about God⌋ in the way he should.
-or-

⌊it shows that⌋ you (sing.) do not know what/as you should know.

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