1 Corinthians 1:25

1 Corinthians 1:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
• New International Version (NIV)For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:25

23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 26Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

1 Corinthians 1:25 word by word

ὅτι τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ θεοῦ σοφώτερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν καὶ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπωνRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• the foolishnessμωρόςmōros · foolishG3474
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• wiserσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• than menἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the weaknessἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
• strongerἰσχυρόςischuros · strongG2478

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:25

• 1 Corinthians 1:18For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.
• Exodus 13:17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”
• Exodus 14:2“Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.
• Joshua 6:2The Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have handed Jericho, its king, and its best soldiers over to you.
• Judges 7:2The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many troops for me to hand the Midianites over to them, or else Israel might elevate themselves over me and say, ‘I saved myself.’
• Judges 15:15He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, reached out his hand, took it, and killed a thousand men with it.
• 1 Samuel 17:40Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.
• 1 Kings 20:14Ahab asked, “By whom?” And the prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.’” Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle?” He said, “You.”
• Zechariah 4:6So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.
• Zechariah 12:7The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah.
• Romans 11:33Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:25

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25The foolishness of God is wiser, etc. - The meaning of these strong expressions is, that the things of God's appointment, which seem to men foolishness, are infinitely beyond the highest degree of human wisdom; and those works of God, which appear to superficial observers weak and contemptible, surpass all the efforts of human power. The means which God has appointed for the salvation of men are so wisely imagined and so energetically powerful, that all…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25Because the foolishness of God - That which God appoints, requires, commands, does, etc., which appears to people to be foolish. The passage is not to be understood as affirming that it is really foolish or unwise; but that it appears so to people - Perhaps the apostle here refers to those parts of the divine administration where the wisdom of the plan is not seen; or where the reason of what God does is concealed. Is wiser than men - Is better adapted to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 Paul had been bred up in Jewish learning; but the plain preaching of a crucified Jesus, was more powerful than all the oratory and philosophy of the heathen world. This is the sum and substance of the gospel. Christ crucified is the foundation of all our hopes, the fountain of all our joys. And by his death we live. The preaching of salvation for lost sinners by the sufferings and death of the Son of God, if explained and faithfully applied…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25What the non-believing world sees as foolish and weak (Christ and the message of the cross) is actually wiser and stronger than anything else. It solves the world's biggest problem, which is sin, and defeats all evil forces against people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. foolishness of God--that is, God's plan of salvation which men deem "foolishness." weakness of God--Christ "crucified through weakness" (2Co 13:4, the great stumbling-block of the Jews), yet "living by the power of God." So He perfects strength out of the weakness of His servants (1Co 2:3; 2Co 12:9).Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:25

• Boasting
• God Continued...
• Gospel
• Power
• Reasoning
• Salvation
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Confirm
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Cross
• Disputer
• Foolishness
• Household
• Join
• Preach

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1

• 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