1 Corinthians 1:26

1 Corinthians 1:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
• New International Version (NIV)Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

Context of 1 Corinthians 1:26

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. Brothers and sisters, consider what you were when God called you to be Christians. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view. You were not in powerful positions or in the upper social classes. 27But God chose what the world considers nonsense to put wise people to shame. God chose what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame. 28God chose what the world considers ordinary and what it despises—what it considers to be nothing—in order to destroy what it considers to be something.

1 Corinthians 1:26 word by word

Βλέπετε γὰρ τὴν κλῆσιν ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι οὐ πολλοὶ σοφοὶ κατὰ σάρκα, οὐ πολλοὶ δυνατοί, οὐ πολλοὶ εὐγενεῖς,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• ye seeβλέπωblepō · to seeG991
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• callingὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• callingκλῆσιςklēsis · callingG2821
• brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• how thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• notοὐou · noG3756
• manyπολύςpolus polos · muchG4183
• wise menσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
• afterκατάkata · according toG2596
• the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561
• mightyδυνατόςdunatos · ableG1415
• nobleεὐγενήςeugenēs · of noble birthG2104

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:26

• 1 Corinthians 1:20Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Hasn’t God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense?
• 1 Corinthians 2:3When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous.
• 1 Corinthians 3:18Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise.
• Zephaniah 3:12So with you I will leave a faithful few, a humble and poor people. They will seek refuge in the name of the Lord.
• Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children.
• Luke 10:21In that hour the Holy Spirit filled Jesus with joy. Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from wise and intelligent people and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.
• John 7:47The Pharisees asked the temple guards, “Have you been deceived too?
• James 3:13Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom.
• Luke 1:3I, too, have followed everything closely from the beginning. So I thought it would be a good idea to write an orderly account for Your Excellency, Theophilus.
• Luke 18:24Jesus watched him and said, “How hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom!
• John 4:46Jesus returned to the city of Cana in Galilee, where he had changed water into wine. A government official was in Cana. His son was sick in Capernaum.
• John 19:38Later Joseph from the city of Arimathea asked Pilate to let him remove Jesus’ body. (Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but secretly because he was afraid of the Jews). Pilate gave him permission to remove Jesus’ body. So Joseph removed it.
• Acts 13:7He was associated with an intelligent man, Sergius Paulus, who was the governor of the island. The governor sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear God’s word.
• Acts 17:34Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the court, and a woman named Damaris, and some other people.
• Philippians 4:22All God’s people here, especially those in the emperor’s palace, greet you.
• James 1:9Humble believers should be proud because being humble makes them important.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26Ye see your calling - . The state of grace and blessedness to which ye are invited. I think, , etc., should be read in the imperative: Take heed to, or consider your calling, brethren; that (̔ ) not many of you are wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble: men is not in the original, and Paul seems to allude to the Corinthian believers in particular. This seems to have been said in opposition to the high and worldly notions of the Jews, who…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26For ye see your calling - You know the general character and condition of those who are Christians among you, that they have not been generally taken from the wise, the rich, and the learned, but from humble life. The design of the apostle here is, to show that the gospel did not depend for its success on human wisdom. His argument is, that “in fact” those who were blessed by it had not been of the elevated ranks of life mainly, but that God had shown his…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. 26Socially and culturally, most Corinthian Christians were ordinary people. Few were among the elite (compare Matthew 11:25). Only a few Christians, such as Erastus, the city treasurer in Corinth (see Romans 16:23), were wealthy or high born (compare James 2:5).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. ye see--rather, from the prominence of the verb in the Greek, "see" or "consider" (imperative) [Alford from Vulgate and Irenæus]. your calling ... are called--Instead of the words in italics, supplied by English Version, supply, "were your callers." What Paul is dwelling on (compare 1Co 1:27, 28) is the weakness of the instrumentality which the Lord employed to convert the world [Hinds and Whately; so Anselm]. However, English Version accords well…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:26

• Agency
• Boasting
• Power
• Predestination
• Reasoning
• Righteous
• Wisdom

In the dictionaries

• Wise men
• Confirm
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Cross
• Disputer
• Foolishness
• Household
• Join
• Preach
• Revelation of Christ

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