1 Corinthians 1:27

1 Corinthians 1:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
• New International Version (NIV)But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
• New King James Version (NKJV)But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:27

25Christ's death on a cross may seem a silly thing for God to do. But really it shows that God is very wise. He is wiser than people with their clever ideas. Christ's death on a cross may seem to show that God is weak. But really he is stronger than any human power. 26Christian friends, remember the time when God called you to come to him. Think about what you were like. Not many of you were clever or powerful in the way that people think is good. Not many of you belonged to important families. Instead, God chose to use things that people think are silly. He did this so that clever people would be ashamed. Yes, God chose to use things that people think are weak. He did this so that powerful people would be ashamed. 28God chose to use things that people think are useless. People who belong to this world do not like those things. They think that they have no value. God did this so that the things that seem important would become unimportant. 29Because of all this, nobody can be proud of themselves in front of God.

1 Corinthians 1:27 word by word

ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεὸς ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς, καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεὸς ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butἀλλάalla · butG235
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• hath chosenἐκλέγωeklegomai · to selectG1586
• the foolish thingsμωρόςmōros · foolishG3474
• of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• toἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• confoundκαταισχύνωkataischunō · to dishonorG2617
• the wiseσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the weak thingsἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
• which are mightyἰσχυρόςischuros · strongG2478

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:27

• Psalms 8:2You have taught children and babies to praise you. You do that to show your enemies how strong you are. Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet. Your cruel enemies can do nothing!
• Isaiah 26:5He brings down low the proud people who live in high places. He destroys their cities. He knocks down their cities so that they fall to the ground and become dust.
• Isaiah 29:14So now I will surprise these people again. I will surprise them with great miracles! Wise people will not seem wise any more. Clever people will no longer seem to be clever.’
• Zephaniah 3:12But I will let the poor people remain there. These are the people who have had bad times. These are the people who will trust me. And they will call me Lord.
• Matthew 4:18One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two men who were brothers. One man was called Simon, and he was also called Peter. His brother's name was Andrew. Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish.
• Matthew 9:9Jesus went away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. Matthew's job was to take taxes from people. He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.
• Matthew 11:25At this moment, Jesus said, ‘Father, you rule over everything in heaven and on the earth! People who do not know many things can now understand your message. And so I thank you. But you have hidden these things from some other people. Those people think that they understand everything. They think that they are wise.
• Matthew 21:16They asked Jesus, ‘Can you hear what these children are saying?’ Jesus replied, ‘Yes, I can hear them. I am sure that you have read this in the Bible: “Lord God, babies and children praise you. You yourself have taught them to do that.” ’
• Luke 19:39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, stop your disciples from saying these things.’
• Luke 21:15I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet.
• Acts 4:11The Bible says this about him: “The builders refused to use a certain stone. They thought that it had no value. But now that stone has become the most important stone at the corner of the building.” ’
• Acts 6:9But some men spoke against Stephen. They did not agree with what he taught people. These men were from one of the Jewish meeting places in Jerusalem. People called them, ‘The Group of Free Men’. These men were Jews from the cities called Cyrene and Alexandria. Some of them were from towns in Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen.
• Acts 7:35Then Stephen said, ‘Moses is the man that the people of Israel would not accept. They had said to him, “You have no authority to rule us. You are not our judge.” But God did send Moses to rule them. God himself sent Moses to save them from the Egyptians. God spoke to Moses through the angel that appeared to him in the bush.
• Acts 17:18There were some teachers there who liked to talk about the things that people should believe. Some of them were called Epicureans and some were called Stoics. After they talked to Paul, some of them said to each other, ‘Who is this silly man? He knows nothing and he talks too much!’ But some of these teachers said, ‘We think that he is talking about strange gods.’ They said this because Paul was telling people the good news about Jesus. He was also talking about the time when God will cause dead people to live again.
• Acts 24:24After some days, Felix came with Drusilla, his Jewish wife. He told his soldiers to bring Paul to them. Paul talked to them, and they listened to everything that he said. Paul spoke about how people believed in Jesus, the Messiah.
• 2 Corinthians 4:7God has given to us the gift to speak his message. But we ourselves are very weak. It is like we are keeping his valuable gift in clay pots. So it is clear that the great power of God's message comes from God himself. It does not come from us.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27But God hath chosen the foolish things - God has chosen by means of men who are esteemed rude and illiterate to confound the greatest of the Greek philosophers, and overturn their systems; and, by means of men weak, without secular power or authority, to confound the scribes and Pharisees, and in spite of the exertions of the Jewish sanhedrin, to spread the doctrine of Christ crucified all over the land of Judea, and by such instruments as these to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27But God hath chosen - The fact of their being in the church at all was the result of his choice. It was owing entirely to his grace. The foolish things - The things esteemed foolish among people. The expression here refers to those who were destitute of learning, rank, wealth, and power, and who were esteemed as fools, and were despised by the rich and the great. To confound - To bring to shame; or that he might make them ashamed; that is, humble them by…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 26-31Verses 26-31 God did not choose philosophers, nor orators, nor statesmen, nor men of wealth, and power, and interest in the world, to publish the gospel of grace and peace. He best judges what men and what measures serve the purposes of his glory. Though not many noble are usually called by Divine grace, there have been some such in every age, who have not been ashamed of the gospel of Christ; and persons of every rank stand in need of pardoning grace…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27-29God chose humble and overlooked people to show his judgment on human pride (see Romans 3:27; 4:2; 2 Corinthians 4:7–11; 12:8–10; Ephesians 2:9).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. the foolish things--a general phrase for all persons and things foolish. Even things (and those, too, foolish things) are chosen by God to confound persons, (and those too persons who are wise). This seems to me the force of the change from neuter to masculine. to confound--The Greek is stronger, "that He might confound (or put to shame)." God confounds the wise by effecting through His instruments, without human wisdom, that the worldly wise, with…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:27

• Agency
• Boasting
• Minister, Christian
• Power
• Preaching
• Predestination
• Reasoning
• Righteous

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