1 Corinthians 4:8

1 Corinthians 4:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
• New International Version (NIV)Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!
• English Standard Version (ESV)Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!
• New King James Version (NKJV)You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!

Context of 1 Corinthians 4:8

6My Christian friends, I want to help you to understand these things. That is why I have used Apollos and myself as examples. You should learn from us what this means: ‘Obey what is written in the Bible.’ None of you should be proud of one leader and not respect another leader. 7Do not think that any of you are better than anyone else. You received from God everything that you have. So you have no reason to be proud of what you have. It is all a gift! You already have everything that you need, do you? You think that you are very rich already! You are ready to rule as kings. You no longer need us to help you. I think it would be good if you had really become kings. Then we could also rule together with you! 9This is what I think: as apostles, God has put us last of everyone. People see us like we are prisoners at the end of the line. They are taking us to die in a public place. Everybody in the world has come to look at us, both people and angels. 10We have become like fools so that we can serve Christ. But you think that you are wise because you belong to Christ. We seem like weak people, but you seem to be strong! People respect you but they insult us!

1 Corinthians 4:8 word by word

ἤδη κεκορεσμένοι ἐστέ, ἤδη ἐπλουτήσατε, χωρὶς ἡμῶν ἐβασιλεύσατε· καὶ ὄφελόν γε ἐβασιλεύσατε, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν συμβασιλεύσωμεν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Nowἤδηēdē · alreadyG2235
• ye areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• fullκορέννυμιkorennumi · to satisfyG2880
• ye are richπλουτέωplouteō · be richG4147
• ye have reigned as kingsβασιλεύωbasileuō · to reignG936
• withoutχωρίςchōris · withoutG5565
• usἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• I would to Godὄφελονophelon · I wish!G3785
• ·γέge · indeedG1065
• thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
• might reignσυμβασιλεύωsumbasileuō · to reign withG4821
• with youσύsu · youG4771

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 4:8

• 1 Corinthians 1:5As a result, God has given you all the things that you need. You are able to speak everything that he wants you to speak. You are able to understand everything that he wants you to know.
• 1 Corinthians 3:1My Christian friends, I could not teach you as I would teach people who have God's Spirit. I had to teach you as people who belong only to this world. You were like little children who could not understand the message about Christ very well.
• 1 Corinthians 5:6You should not be so proud of yourselves. Think about what yeast does in bread. A very small amount of yeast changes the whole loaf of bread.
• Proverbs 13:7Somebody who has nothing may still pretend to be rich. Somebody else may pretend to be poor, but he is very rich.
• Proverbs 25:14Some people promise things, but they never do anything. Those people are like clouds and wind that do not bring any rain.
• Isaiah 5:21It will be very bad for people who think that they are wise. They think that they are very clever.
• Luke 1:51He has shown how strong he is to do great things. Some people think that they are very important. But he has sent them away in different directions.
• Luke 6:25Listen, you that are full with food now. It will be very bad for you and you will be hungry. Listen, you that are laughing now. It will be very bad for you. You will be sad and you will cry.
• Romans 12:3God has been kind to me so that I can serve him. Because of that, I say this to every one of you: Do not think that you are better than you really are. Instead, think about yourself carefully. Decide how much God has helped you to trust him. Then you will know how to serve him well.
• Romans 12:16Always try to agree and to be friends with each other. Do not be proud. Be friends with people who are not important. Do not think that you know everything.
• Galatians 6:3You must not think that you are too important to help other people. If you are not really so important, you are thinking a false thought.
• Revelation 3:17You say, ‘I am rich. God has helped me to have many things. I do not need anything more.’ But you do not know how very poor you are really! You are like people who cannot see. You are like people who are without clothes. Really, other people should feel very sorry for you.
• 1 Corinthians 4:18Some people among you have become proud. They think that I will never come back to warn them.
• Acts 20:29I know that trouble will come to you after I leave. Bad people will come to teach you. They will cause trouble for the believers, like dangerous wild animals that attack sheep.
• Philippians 1:27The most important thing is that you continue to live in a good way. Live in the way that the good news about Christ teaches. I want to know that you agree together about the good news. And that you work together to show others that the good news is true. Whether I come to visit you or not, I want to know that you all help one another like that.
• Philippians 2:12So, my friends, you must continue to obey God. When I was with you, you always obeyed. Now that I am not with you, that is even more important. God has saved you. You must always live in a way which shows that is true. Respect God and obey him. Remember that he is great and powerful.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 4:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Now ye - Corinthians are full of secular wisdom; now ye are rich, both in wealth and spiritual gifts; ( 1 Corinthians 14:26;): ye have reigned as kings, flourishing in the enjoyment of these things, in all tranquillity and honor; without any want of us: and I would to God ye did reign, in deed, and not in conceit only, that we also, poor, persecuted, and despised apostles, might reign with you. - Whitby. Though this paraphrase appears natural, yet I am of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Now ye are full - It is generally agreed that this is spoken in irony, and that it is an indignant sarcasm uttered against the false and self-confident teachers in Corinth. The design is to contrast them with the apostles; to show how self-confident and vain the false teachers were, and how laborious and self-denying the apostles were; and to show to them how little claim they had to authority in the church, and the real claim which the apostles had from…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 We have no reason to be proud; all we have, or are, or do, that is good, is owing to the free and rich grace of God. A sinner snatched from destruction by sovereign grace alone, must be very absurd and inconsistent, if proud of the free gifts of God. St. Paul sets forth his own circumstances, ver. 9 Allusion is made to the cruel spectacles in the Roman games; where men were forced to cut one another to pieces, to divert the people; and where…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-13Paul points out the difference between himself and the Corinthians. Their attitudes show worldly wisdom, while his shows God's wisdom. The Corinthians were proud and thought they had achieved everything, but they still had much to learn (see Revelation 3:17–18; compare with Philippians 3:12–14). If they had truly achieved everything, they would share in Paul's suffering (1 Corinthians 4:11–13). Unlike the Corinthians, who were proud of their achievements…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Irony. Translate, "Already ye are filled full (with spiritual food), already ye are rich, ye have seated yourselves upon your throne as kings, without us." The emphasis is on "already" and "without us"; ye act as if ye needed no more to "hunger and thirst after righteousness," and as if already ye had reached the "kingdom" for which Christians have to strive and suffer. Ye are so puffed up with your favorite teachers, and your own fancied spiritual…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 4:8

• Pride
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Account
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Instructor
• Offscouring
• Rod
• Shame
• Steward
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 4

• 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