1 Corinthians 1 Paul, a called (or: invited) one – one sent forth with a mission (an emissary; a representative) of, and from, Jesus Christ with other MSS: Christ Jesus' ambassador through God's will (purpose; intent) – and Sosthenes, the brother (= fellow believer),

JMNT⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ Paul, a called (or: invited) one – one sent forth with a mission (an emissary; a representative) of, and from, Jesus Christ [with other MSS: Christ Jesus' ambassador] through God's will (purpose; intent) – and Sosthenes, the brother (= fellow believer), ² to God's called-out community (or: summoned-forth group that has God as its source, and which belongs to God), the one being within Corinth; to those having been set-apart within Christ Jesus (or: made holy, sacred, different from the normal and sanctified, in union with [the] Anointing of Jesus); to called (or: invited) folks [and] to set-apart people (holy ones; saints; sanctified folks; sacred ones) – together with all those in every place constantly calling upon the Name of our Lord [note: the phrase applied to Yahweh in Gen. 12:8; Zech. 13:9], Jesus Christ – their [Lord] as well as ours: ³ Grace (the influence and boon of undeserved favor, kindness, joy and goodwill) and peace (or: harmony; = shalom), from God, our Father and Lord, Jesus Christ (or: from our Father, God, and [the] Owner, Jesus [the] Anointed). ⁴ I always and progressively give thanks to (or: for) my God (or: experience gratitude in my God; express the ease of grace by my God; experience the happy fortune of abundant favor with my God; observe my God's competent and prosperous grace), upon the basis of God's grace (favorable influence) [which is] being given to you folks within and in union with Christ Jesus, ⁵ because within the midst of everything, and in union with all humanity, you folks are (or: were) made rich (enriched) within, and in union with, Him – within every thought (in the midst of all [the] Logos; in all reason; within all [the] message; in every word and expression) and in all intimate, experiential knowledge and insight (gnosis) – ⁶ correspondingly and in proportion as Christ's witness (or: the testimony pertaining to and whose origin is the Anointed One; or: the evidence of the Anointing) was made certain, stable and established on good footing (or: validated, warranted and confirmed) within you folks, ⁷ and as you people are not continuing trailing behind or constantly late, so as to be deficient or fall short – not even in one effect of grace (or: result of favor) – being ones habitually receiving and taking away into your hands from out of our Lord's [= Yahweh's, or Christ's] unveiling: Jesus Christ (or: from the midst of the uncovering and revelation of our Lord, Jesus [the] Anointed; or: forth from the disclosure from our Lord, which is Jesus Anointed), ⁸ Who will be making you folks stable, certain and established on good footing until maturity (until attainment of the purposed goal; until accomplishment of the intended and destined results): people not [being] open to accusation (or: those not in the midst of a [legal] charge, not being called into account, or considered in some category; unimpeachable ones), within the midst of and in union with the Day of our Lord [Christ or Yahweh] – Jesus Christ! ` (or: in the Day which is our Lord, Jesus Christ; or: in the day of [Yahweh], which is our Master, Jesus [the] Anointed.) [comment: the phrase "the day of the LORD" was used by the prophets to signify God's influence and activity upon people] ⁹ God [is] full of faith, trustworthy, loyal and faithful – through Whom you folks were called and invited into a common being and existence of (or: partnership, participation, fellowship, sharing and communion with) His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord (Owner; Master). ¹⁰ Now I am constantly performing as a paraclete, calling you alongside to aid, comfort and encourage you, brothers (= fellow members), through the Name of our Lord – Jesus Christ – to the end that you can (should; may; would) all keep on speaking the very same thing, and there may not continue being tearing splits-effects (divisions; schisms; rifts) among you folks, but you should (or: would) progressively be folks having been mended, knit together and restored so as to be adjusted down, attuned on the same level, fitly and completely united within the very same mind and in the very same opinion (consent; sentiment; the effect of your intimate experiential knowledge and insight [gnosis]). ¹¹ For it was made evident and is clear to me about (or: concerning) you folks, my brothers (= fellow believers), by those of Chloe's [people; group; household], that there continue being quarrels (situations of strife; discordant debates) among you people (or: contentious dispositions within you folks). ¹² Now I am saying this because each of you is habitually saying, "I, myself, am indeed [a follower] of Paul," yet [another], "I myself belong to Apollos," and [another], "As for me, I [am] of Cephas' [group]," but [another], "I, myself, [am] from Christ." ¹³ Christ has been parted and remains divided into fragments! (or, as a question: Has Christ been fragmented into divided parts?) Paul was not crucified over (on behalf of; [other MSS: concerning]) you folks! Or were you baptized (immersed) into the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I am continually thankful [other MSS: I constantly thank {others add: my} God] that I baptized (immersed) not one of you folks, except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one could say that you folks were immersed (baptized) into my name! ¹⁶ Now, I did baptize (immerse) the household of Stephanas, too. Beyond that I do not know for sure whether I immersed anyone else. ¹⁷ For you see, Christ did not send me off with a commission to be constantly baptizing (immersing), but rather to habitually announce the message of goodness (to repeatedly bring the message of abundant well-being; to progressively declare the news of fortunate and ideal ease), [though] not in cleverness of word (within [the] wisdom of a message or an idea; not in skillfulness of rhetoric) – in order that the cross of the Christ (the Anointed One's execution-stake) cannot (or: would not) be made empty or void of content and purpose [by rhetoric]. ¹⁸ You see, the message (the word; the Logos) of the cross (or: the idea from, and the concept pertaining to, the execution-stake) is and continues being, on the one hand, stupidity (nonsense; foolishness) to (or: for; in) those folks presently and progressively destroying themselves (or, as a passive: being habitually lost or progressively undone); yet, on the other hand, it is and continues being God's power (or: the ability of and from God; the power which is God) in us, to us and for us: in the folks being presently delivered (or: for those being continually rescued, repeatedly saved and progressively restored to health and wholeness; or: to the ones being now salvaged and progressively restored to their original state and condition). ¹⁹ For it has been written, and thus stands, "I will undo (untie and loose away; destroy) the wisdom and cleverness of the wise ones, and I will set aside (or: displace; invalidate) the intelligence (comprehension; understanding) of the intellectual (intelligent; comprehending) people." [Isa. 29:14] ²⁰ Where [is] a wise one? Where [is] a scribe (one learned in the Scriptures; the scholar)? Where [is] a collaborating seeker (a co-investigator; a discusser; a learned sophist; a reasoner) of this age? Does not God prove (or: make) stupid (foolish; nonsensical) the wisdom (cleverness; learned skill) of this ordered arrangement (controlling System; world of culture, religion, economy and government; realm of the secular)? ²¹ For since, in view of the fact that – within the Wisdom of God (or: centered in the wisdom whose source and origin is God; in the midst of the wisdom which is God) – the ordered arrangement and System of secular and religious culture did not come to have an intimate, experiential knowledge of God through means of this Wisdom (or: You see, in as much as – in union with God’s wisdom – the world of mankind did not recognize, or have insight into, God through means of [human] wisdom), God delights and considers it profitable (thinks it thoroughly competent and easy; imagines it well-done) to deliver (or: save; rescue; salvage and restore to health, wholeness and their original state and condition) the folks habitually trusting, progressively believing and constantly being loyal, through the stupidity of the proclamation (or: the aforementioned foolishness of that which is proclaimed; or: the dullness of the effect of heralding; or: the "nonsense" of the result of the message preached), ²² in as much as, both Jews constantly request (habitually demand) signs, and Greeks (those of the Hellenistic culture) constantly seek (habitually try to find) wisdom! ²³ Yet as for us, we are constantly proclaiming (habitually heralding) Christ: One having been terminally crucified (executed on a stake) – indeed, a trap-spring (or: a snare; thus: an obstacle or cause for stumbling or being ensnared) to (or: with; for; among) Jews (those of the Jewish culture and religion); yet stupidity (foolishness; nonsense) to (or: for) [the] multitudes (among [other] ethnic groups; in [the] nations; with the non-Jews), ²⁴ and yet [it is] Christ: God's power and ability, as well as God's wisdom (or: and so [we see the] Anointed One – a power from, and which is, God, as well as understanding insight and skillful cleverness from, and which is, God), to, for, in, with and among those [who are] the called (or: invited) people! ²⁵ Because God's stupid thing [or: plan; idea] (or: the foolish act of God; nonsense from God) continues being wiser than mankind (humans; people), and God's weak act [is] stronger than mankind (humanity; people). ²⁶ For, take a comprehensive look at (or: as an indicative: you folks are progressively observing and seeing) your calling (or: vocation; social role, position or station) brothers, that [there are] not many wise folks – according to flesh (or: corresponding to a flesh [system of philosophy or religion]; on the level of [the estranged human situation]; = having their origin in the sphere of a self oriented toward a controlling System), not many powerful ones (those with ability), not many well-born ones (ones born to ease and profit; those of noble birth; folks with good genes or genealogy), ²⁷ but to the contrary, God collects His thoughts and speaks forth (or: selects and picks out; chose) the stupid things (or: the foolish ones) of the organized System (the world of religion, culture and its secular society; or: the cosmos; the universe), to the end that He could (or: would; may) habitually disgrace and bring shame down on the wise ones; and God collects His thoughts and speaks forth (or: selects, picks out and chooses) the weak things (or: the powerless or sickly ones) of the System (world; arranged order), so that He would bring disgrace and shame down on the strong things (or: the robust and mighty ones), ²⁸ and God collects His thoughts and speaks forth (or: selects, picks out and chooses) ignoble things (or: those of no family; those without known ancestry; the base ones; or: the things that are unborn or have not happened; the occurrences that have not come to be) pertaining to the controlling System (or: from the world or government, politics, religion, culture; of the realm of the secular), and those that are looked down on, despised and regarded as having come from out of nothing – even those being nothing (or: not existing; the things [which] are not) – in order that He could make ineffective (may bring down to idleness and uselessness) the existing things (= [systems of government and religion] presently being), ²⁹ so that no flesh [nature, government or religious system] – [including, or at] all – could boast in God's sight or presence (or: before God). ³⁰ Now you folks are, and continuously exist being, forth from out of the midst of Him – within and in union with Christ Jesus, Who came to be (or: is birthed) wisdom in us (or: to us; for us) from God; likewise, both fairness and equity ([covenantal] relationship in the Way pointed out; rightwisedness – being turned in the right direction – and justice) and the essence of being set-apart to be different – even release by payment of a ransom (or: redemption) – ³¹ to the end that, correspondingly as it has been and stands written, "The one constantly boasting: let him habitually boast and constantly take pride in [the] Lord [= Yahweh]." [Jer. 9:23]