1 Corinthians 1:23

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,
• English Standard Version (ESV)but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
• New King James Version (NKJV)but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:23

21The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe. 22Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish. 24But to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

1 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 1:18The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.
• 1 Corinthians 2:2While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified.
• Luke 24:46He said to them, “Scripture says that the Messiah would suffer and that he would come back to life on the third day.
• Acts 7:32‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and didn’t dare to look at the bush.
• Acts 10:39We can testify to everything Jesus did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. People hung him on a cross and killed him,
• 2 Corinthians 4:5Our message is not about ourselves. It is about Jesus Christ as the Lord. We are your servants for his sake.
• Galatians 3:1You stupid people of Galatia! Who put you under an evil spell? Wasn’t Christ Jesus’ crucifixion clearly described to you?
• Galatians 6:14But it’s unthinkable that I could ever brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his cross my relationship to the world and its relationship to me have been crucified.
• Ephesians 3:8I am the least of all God’s people. Yet, God showed me his kindness by allowing me to spread the Good News of the immeasurable wealth of Christ to people who are not Jewish.
• Isaiah 8:14He will be a place of safety for you. But he will be a rock that makes people trip and a stumbling block for both kingdoms of Israel. He will be a trap and a snare for those who live in Jerusalem.
• Matthew 11:6Whoever doesn’t lose his faith in me is indeed blessed.”
• Matthew 13:57So they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “The only place a prophet isn’t honored is in his hometown and in his own house.”
• Luke 2:34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, “This child is the reason that many people in Israel will be condemned and many others will be saved. He will be a sign that will expose
• John 6:53Jesus told them, “I can guarantee this truth: If you don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have the source of life in you.
• Romans 9:32Why? They didn’t rely on faith to gain God’s approval, but they relied on their own efforts. They stumbled over the rock that trips people.
• Galatians 5:11Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the cross wouldn’t be offensive anymore.

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

• Atonement
• Boasting
• Cross
• Greece
• Greek
• Jesus Continued
• Jesus, the Christ
• Minister, Christian
• Preaching
• Reasoning
• Salvation
• Stumbling
• Suffering
• Unbelief
• Wisdom
• Word of God
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• 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