1 Corinthians 12:2

1 Corinthians 12:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
• New International Version (NIV)You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

Context of 1 Corinthians 12:2

1Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4There are different gifts, but the same Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:2 word by word

οἴδατε ὅτι ὅτε ἔθνη ἦτε πρὸς τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ ἄφωνα ὡς ἂν ἤγεσθε ἀπαγόμενοι.Read the interlinear

• You knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• whenὅτεhote ho te hē te tō te · whenG3753
• you wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• pagansἔθνοςethnos · GentilesG1484
• you were influencedὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• you were influencedἄνan · ifG302
• you were influencedἄγωagō · to bringG71
• led astrayἀπάγωapagō · to lead awayG520
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• muteἄφωνοςaphōnos · muteG880
• idolsεἴδωλονeidōlon · idolG1497

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 12:2

• 1 Corinthians 6:11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
• Galatians 4:8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
• Ephesians 2:11Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands)—
• Ephesians 4:17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:9For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
• 1 Peter 4:3For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry.
• Psalms 115:5They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
• Psalms 135:16They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
• Habakkuk 2:18What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it— or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
• Matthew 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
• 1 Peter 1:18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 12:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Ye were Gentiles - Previously to your conversion to the Christian faith; ye were heathens, carried away, not guided by reason or truth, but hurried by your passions into a senseless worship, the chief part of which was calculated only to excite and gratify animal propensities. Dumb idols - Though often supplicated, could never return an answer; so that not only the image could not speak, but the god or demon pretended to be represented by it could not…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Ye know … - This verse is regarded by many as a parenthesis. But it is not necessary to suppose that it is so, or that it does not cohere with that which follows. The design seems to be to remind them of their former miserable condition as idolaters, in order to make them more sensible of their advantages as Christians, and that they might be led more highly to appreciate their present condition. Paul often refers Christians to their former condition, to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2pagans: Non-Jewish people who do not follow a major religion.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. (Ep 2:11). that ye were--The best manuscripts read, "That WHEN ye were"; thus "ye were" must be supplied before "carried away"--Ye were blindly transported hither and thither at the will of your false guides. these dumb idols--Greek, "the idols which are dumb"; contrasted with the living God who "speaks" in the believer by His Spirit (1Co 12:3, &c.). This gives the reason why the Corinthians needed instruction as to spiritual gifts, namely, their past…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 12:2

• Gentiles
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• Administration
• Bond
• Covet
• Temper
• Apollos
• Church Government
• Communion; (fellowship)
• Corinth
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Dumb

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings