English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 1:23
23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
1 Corinthians 1:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
- New International Version (NIV)but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- New King James Version (NKJV)but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,
- New Living Translation (NLT)So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
Context of 1 Corinthians 1:23
21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 11 Corinthians 1:23 word by word
ἡμεῖς δὲ κηρύσσομεν Χριστὸν ἐσταυρωμένον, Ἰουδαίοις μὲν σκάνδαλον ἔθνεσιν δὲ μωρίανRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- preachκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
- ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
- crucifiedσταυρόωstauroō · to crucifyG4717
- unto the JewsἸουδαῖοςIoudaios · JewG2453
- ·μένmen · on the other handG3303
- a stumblingblockσκάνδαλονskandalon · stumbling blockG4625
- unto the GreeksἝλλην=ἝλληνHellēn · Greek, GentileG1672
- foolishnessμωρίαmōria · foolishnessG3472
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:23
- 1 Corinthians 1:18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
- 1 Corinthians 2:2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
- Luke 24:46and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
- Acts 7:32'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.
- Acts 10:39And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,
- 2 Corinthians 4:5For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
- Galatians 3:1O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
- Galatians 6:14But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
- Ephesians 3:8To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
- Isaiah 8:14And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
- Matthew 11:6And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."
- Matthew 13:57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
- Luke 2:34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
- John 6:53So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
- Romans 9:32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
- Galatians 5:11But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23But we - Apostles, differing widely from these Gentile philosophers: - Preach Christ crucified - Call on men, both Jews and Gentiles, to believe in Christ, as having purchased their salvation by shedding his blood for them. Unto the Jews a stumbling block - Because Jesus came meek, lowly, and impoverished; not seeking worldly glory, nor affecting worldly pomp; whereas they expected the Messiah to come as a mighty prince and conqueror; because Christ did…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23But we - We who are Christian preachers make Christ crucified the grand subject of our instructions and our aims in contradistinction from the Jew and the Greek. They seek, the one miracles, the other wisdom, we glory only in the cross. Christ crucified - The word Christ, the anointed, is the same as the Hebrew name Messiah. The emphasis in this expression is on the word “crucified.” The Jews would make the Messiah whom they expected no less an object of…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. 23Paul insisted on sharing only the simple message of the cross, despite what unbelieving Jews and Gentiles wanted. Many Jews found the idea of a crucified Messiah contradictory. They believed crucifixion showed God's curse, not His power and blessing (see Galatians 3:13; compare Deuteronomy 21:23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. we--Paul and Apollos. Christ crucified--The Greek expresses not the mere fact of His crucifixion, but the permanent character acquired by the transaction, whereby He is now a Saviour (Ga 3:1) crucified was the stone on which the Jews stumbled (Mt 21:44). The opposition of Jew and Gentile alike shows that a religion so seemingly contemptible in its origin could not have succeeded if it had not been divine. unto the Greeks--the oldest manuscripts read…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:23
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries