New Living Translation
1 Corinthians 1:22
22It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom.
1 Corinthians 1:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
- New International Version (NIV)Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
- English Standard Version (ESV)For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
- New King James Version (NKJV)For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;
Context of 1 Corinthians 1:22
20So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 11 Corinthians 1:22 word by word
ἐπειδὴ καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι σημεῖα αἰτοῦσιν καὶ Ἕλληνες σοφίαν ζητοῦσιν,Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 1:22
- Matthew 12:38One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
- Matthew 16:1One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
- Mark 8:11When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
- Luke 11:16Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
- John 2:18But the Jewish leaders demanded, “What are you doing? If God gave you authority to do this, show us a miraculous sign to prove it.”
- John 4:28The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone,
- Acts 17:18He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 1:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22For the Jews require a sign - Instead of , a sign, ABCDEFG, several others, both the Syriac, Coptic, Vulgate, and Itala, with many of the fathers, have , signs; which reading, as undoubtedly genuine, Griesbach has admitted into the text. There never was a people in the universe more difficult to be persuaded of the truth than the Jews: and had not their religion been incontestably proved by the most striking and indubitable miracles, they never would have…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22For the Jews require a sign - A miracle, a prodigy, an evidence of divine interposition. This was the characteristic of the Jewish people. God had manifested himself to them by miracles and wonders in a remarkable manner in past times, and they greatly prided themselves on that fact, and always demanded it when any new messenger came to them, professing to be sent from God. This propensity they often evinced in their contact with the Lord Jesus; Matthew…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. 22Jews who did not believe wanted to see miracles to confirm the message (see Matthew 12:38–39; 16:1–4; John 2:18, 23; 4:48). Greeks, famous for their philosophy schools, were interested only in human wisdom, meaning philosophical reasoning.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. For--literally, "Since," seeing that. This verse illustrates how the "preaching" of Christ crucified came to be deemed "foolishness" (1Co 1:21). a sign--The oldest manuscripts read "signs." The singular was a later correction from Mt 12:38; 16:1; Joh 2:18. The signs the Jews craved for were not mere miracles, but direct tokens from heaven that Jesus was Messiah (Lu 11:16). Greeks seek ... wisdom--namely, a philosophic demonstration of Christianity…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 1:22
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 Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
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