1 Corinthians 2:1

1 Corinthians 2:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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 International Version (NIV)And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of 1 Corinthians 2:1

Christian friends, I came to tell you God's true message. I did not use clever words when I spoke to you. I did not try to make you think that I was very wise. 2While I was with you, I decided to teach you only about Jesus Christ. I taught you about his death on a cross. I wanted to forget everything else. 3I lived among you as someone who felt weak. I was very afraid.

1 Corinthians 2:1 word by word

Κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ἦλθον οὐ καθ᾽ ὑπεροχὴν λόγου ἢ σοφίας καταγγέλλων ὑμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Iκἀγώkagō kamoi kame · and IG2504
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• when I cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• youσύsu · youG4771
• notοὐou · noG3756
• withκατάkata · according toG2596
• excellencyὑπεροχήhuperochē · authorityG5247
• of speechλόγοςlogos · wordG3056
• orἤē · orG2228
• of wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• declaringκαταγγέλλωkataggellō · to proclaimG2605
• the testimonyὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the testimonyμαρτύριονmarturion · testimonyG3142
• of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 2:1

• Acts 18:1After Paul had spoken to the important officers of Athens, he left the city. He went from there to the city of Corinth.
• 1 Corinthians 2:4When I spoke to you and when I taught you God's message, I did not use clever words. I did not want you to believe me because you thought I was wise. Instead, it was the power of God's Holy Spirit that showed you that my message was true.
• 1 Corinthians 1:17Christ did not send me to baptize people. But he did send me to tell God's good news to people. When I speak his message, I do not use clever words. It is Christ's death on the cross that has power to save people. I do not want to spoil that power with clever words.
• Exodus 4:10Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘My Lord, I cannot speak well. I speak slowly and I speak with difficulty. I never could speak well. And even now, when you have spoken to me, I still cannot speak well.’
• Jeremiah 1:6I answered, ‘Lord God, I do not know how to speak. I am only a child.’
• Romans 16:18People who are like that are not servants of our Lord Christ. Instead, they are doing the things which please themselves. They speak words that seem very nice, but they deceive people who easily accept a false message.
• 2 Corinthians 10:10Some people say: ‘Paul's letters are powerful and they say strong things. But when he himself is here with us, he seems to be weak. And the words that he speaks have no value.’
• 2 Corinthians 11:6Perhaps I do not speak as well as they speak. But I do know what I am speaking about. We have always made this very clear to you in everything that we do.
• 1 Corinthians 1:6In that way, God has shown you that the message we told you about Christ is true.
• Isaiah 8:20When they say that to you, remember my teaching. Tell them what I have said will happen. People who talk like that are completely in the dark. There is no truth in what they say.
• Acts 20:21I have taught the same things both to Jewish people and to Gentiles. I have said clearly to them all, “You must stop doing wrong things. Change the way that you live and turn to God. Believe in our Lord Jesus.”
• Acts 22:18In the vision, I saw the Lord and he spoke to me. He said, “Hurry. Leave Jerusalem quickly. The people here will not believe what you say to them about me.”
• 2 Thessalonians 1:10This will happen when Jesus comes on that special day. His own people will praise him for the great things that he has done for them. All of us who are believers will be surprised when we see his great power. This includes you, because you believed our message about the Lord Jesus.
• 1 Timothy 1:11That true message is the good news that comes from our great God. We praise him for it. He has chosen me to tell this good news to people.
• 2 Timothy 1:8So do not be ashamed of the message about our Lord that we tell people. And do not be ashamed of me because I am in a prison. I am a prisoner because I serve Christ. You must understand that you will have trouble because you tell people the good news about Jesus Christ. So be ready to have the same kind of trouble as I have. Let God make you strong when you have trouble.
• 1 John 4:14God the Father sent his Son to come into the world. God sent him to save the people of the world from their sins. We apostles have seen that this is true. So now we are telling people about it.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 2:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1When I came to you - Acting suitably to my mission, which was to preach the Gospel, but not with human eloquence, 1 Corinthians 1:17. I declared to you the testimony, the Gospel, of God, not with excellency of speech, not with arts of rhetoric, used by your own philosophers, where the excellence of the speech recommends the matter, and compensates for the want of solidity and truth: on the contrary, the testimony concerning Christ and his salvation is so…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1And I, brethren - Keeping up the tender and affectionate style of address. When I came unto you - When I came at first to preach the gospel at Corinth. Acts 18:1 ff. Came not with excellency of speech - Came not with graceful and attractive eloquence. The apostle here evidently alludes to that nice ant studied choice of language; to those gracefully formed sentences, and to that skill of arrangement in discourse and argument which was so much an object of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The plain manner in which the apostle preached Christ crucified. (1-5) The wisdom contained in this doctrine. (6-9) It cannot be duly known but by the Holy Spirit. (10-16) Verses 1-5 Christ, in his person, and offices, and sufferings, is the sum and substance of the gospel, and ought to be the great subject of a gospel minister's preaching, but not so as to leave out other parts of God's revealed truth and will. Paul preached the whole counsel of God. Few…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1When I came to you: see Acts 18:1–17. with eloquence or wisdom: Human wisdom and philosophy do not bring people to Christ (see 1 Corinthians 1:17, 21; 2:2). The message of the cross has its own power to change the human heart (see 1:17; Romans 1:16; Galatians 6:14). the testimony about God: See study note on 1 Corinthians 2:7.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-161Co 2:1-16. Paul's Subject of Preaching, Christ Crucified, Not in Worldly, but in Heavenly, Wisdom among the Perfect. 1. And I--"So I" [Conybeare] as one of the "foolish, weak, and despised" instruments employed by God (1Co 1:27, 28); "glorying in the Lord," not in man's wisdom (1Co 1:31). Compare 1Co 1:23, "We." when I came--(Ac 18:1, &c.). Paul might, had he pleased, have used an ornate style, having studied secular learning at Tarsus of Cilicia, which…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 2:1

• Humility
• Minister, Christian
• Philosophy
• Preaching
• Reasoning
• Wisdom
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Judge
• Lord
• Mystery
• Spiritually
• Testimony
• Wisdom
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 2

• 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
• 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