New King James Version
1 Corinthians 1:27
27But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
1 Corinthians 1:27 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
- New International Version (NIV)But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
- New Living Translation (NLT)Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.
Context of 1 Corinthians 1:27
25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 11 Corinthians 1:27 word by word
ἀλλὰ τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεὸς ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς, καὶ τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεὸς ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Butἀλλάalla · butG235
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- hath chosenἐκλέγωeklegomai · to selectG1586
- the foolish thingsμωρόςmōros · foolishG3474
- of the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
- toἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- confoundκαταισχύνωkataischunō · to dishonorG2617
- the wiseσοφόςsophos · wiseG4680
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- the weak thingsἀσθενήςasthenēs · weakG772
- which are mightyἰσχυρόςischuros · strongG2478
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:27
- Psalms 8:2Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
- Isaiah 26:5For He brings down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust.
- Isaiah 29:14Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
- Zephaniah 3:12I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
- Matthew 4:18And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
- Matthew 9:9As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
- Matthew 11:25At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
- Matthew 21:16and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?”
- Luke 19:39And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”
- Luke 21:15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
- Acts 4:11This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
- Acts 6:9Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen.
- Acts 7:35“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- Acts 17:18Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.
- Acts 24:24And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27But God hath chosen the foolish things - God has chosen by means of men who are esteemed rude and illiterate to confound the greatest of the Greek philosophers, and overturn their systems; and, by means of men weak, without secular power or authority, to confound the scribes and Pharisees, and in spite of the exertions of the Jewish sanhedrin, to spread the doctrine of Christ crucified all over the land of Judea, and by such instruments as these to…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27But God hath chosen - The fact of their being in the church at all was the result of his choice. It was owing entirely to his grace. The foolish things - The things esteemed foolish among people. The expression here refers to those who were destitute of learning, rank, wealth, and power, and who were esteemed as fools, and were despised by the rich and the great. To confound - To bring to shame; or that he might make them ashamed; that is, humble them by…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. 27-29God chose humble and overlooked people to show his judgment on human pride (see Romans 3:27; 4:2; 2 Corinthians 4:7–11; 12:8–10; Ephesians 2:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. the foolish things--a general phrase for all persons and things foolish. Even things (and those, too, foolish things) are chosen by God to confound persons, (and those too persons who are wise). This seems to me the force of the change from neuter to masculine. to confound--The Greek is stronger, "that He might confound (or put to shame)." God confounds the wise by effecting through His instruments, without human wisdom, that the worldly wise, with…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:27
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries