1 Corinthians 2:1

Christ Crucified

1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the¹ testimony of God.

2 For I determined not to know anything among you ^aexcept Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

3 ^aI was with you ^bin weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.

4 And my speech and my preaching ^awere not with persuasive words of¹ human wisdom, ^bbut in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the ^apower of God.

Spiritual Wisdom

6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God¹ ordained before the ages for our glory,

8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for ^ahad they known, they would not have ^bcrucified the Lord of glory.

9 But as it is written:
^a“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 But ^aGod has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knows the things of a man except the ^aspirit of the man which is in him? ^bEven so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but ^athe Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the¹ Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 ^aBut the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

16 For ^a“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” ^bBut we have the mind of Christ.

Verse Comparison: 1 Corinthians 2:1

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1 Corinthians 2:2 >>

American Standard Version
And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

Amplified® Bible
AS FOR myself, brethren, when I came to you, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony {and} evidence {or mystery and secret} of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy {and} wisdom;

Contemporary English Version
Friends, when I came and told you the mystery that God had shared with us, I didn't use big words or try to sound wise.

Darby English Version
And *I*, when I came to you, brethren, came not in excellency of word, or wisdom, announcing to you the testimony of God.

Good News Bible
When I came to you, my friends, to preach God's secret truth, I did not use big words and great learning.

International Standard Version
When I came to you, brothers, I didn't come and tell you about God's secret with rhetorical language or wisdom.

King James Version
And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

New American Standard Bible
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

New International Version
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

New King James Version
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

Young's Literal Translation
And I, having come unto you, brethren, came -- not in superiority of discourse or wisdom -- declaring to you the testimony of God,

New English Translation
When I came¹ to you, brothers and sisters,² I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony³ of God.

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