10 I appeal to you, brothers,¹ by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^pdivisions among you, but that you be united ^qin the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is ^rquarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that ^seach one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^tApollos,” or “I follow ^uCephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 ^vIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^wbaptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^xCrispus and ^yGaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also ^zthe household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^anot with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

18 For the word of the cross is ^bfolly to ^cthose who are perishing, but to us ^dwho are being saved it is ^ethe power of God. 19 For it is written,

20 ^gWhere is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^hHas not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach² to save those who believe. 22 For ⁱJews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ ^jcrucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^kthe power of God and ^lthe wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: ^mnot many of you were wise according to worldly standards,³ not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But ⁿGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^oGod chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^pthings that are not, to ^qbring to nothing things that are, 29 so ^rthat no human being⁴ might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him⁵ you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^swisdom from God, ^trighteousness and ^usanctification and ^vredemption, 31 so that, as it is written, ^w“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{6 x}did not come proclaiming to you ^ythe testimony⁷ of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except ^zJesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And ^aI was with you ^bin weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^cthe Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men⁸ but ^din the power of God.

6 Yet among ^ethe mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^fa wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^gwho are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^hwhich God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of ⁱthe rulers of this age understood this, for ^jif they had, they would not have crucified ^kthe Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

10 these things ^oGod has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^pthe depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts ^qexcept the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now ^rwe have received not ^sthe spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this ^tin words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^uinterpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.⁹

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^vfolly to him, and ^whe is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The ^xspiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 ^y“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^zwe have the mind of Christ.

1 But I, brothers,¹⁰ could not address you as ^aspiritual people, but as ^bpeople of the flesh, as ^cinfants in Christ. 2 ^dI fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^eyou were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^fjealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For ^gwhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^hare you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ⁱServants through whom you believed, ^jas the Lord assigned to each. 6 ^kI planted, ^lApollos watered, ^mbut God gave the growth. 7 So ⁿneither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^owill receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are ^pGod’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, ^qGod’s building.

10 ^rAccording to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled¹¹ master builder I laid a ^sfoundation, and ^tsomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a ^ufoundation other ^vthan that which is laid, ^wwhich is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 ^xeach one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^yby fire, and ^zthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^ahe will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^bbut only as through fire.

16 ^cDo you not know that you¹² are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For ^dGod’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

18 ^eLet no one deceive himself. ^fIf anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For ^gthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^h“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, ⁱ“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So ^jlet no one boast in men. For ^kall things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and ^lyou are Christ’s, and ^mChrist is God’s.

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ⁿstewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 ^oFor I am not aware of anything against myself, ^pbut I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore ^qdo not pronounce judgment before the time, ^rbefore the Lord comes, ^swho will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^tThen each one will receive his commendation from God.

6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,¹³ that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^ube puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? ^vWhat do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^wlike men sentenced to death, because we ^xhave become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 ^yWe are fools for Christ’s sake, but ^zyou are wise in Christ. ^aWe are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour ^bwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^cbuffeted and ^dhomeless, 12 and we ^elabor, working with our own hands. ^fWhen reviled, we bless; ^gwhen persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. ^hWe have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ⁱthe refuse of all things.

14 I do not write these things ^jto make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^kas my beloved children. 15 For ^lthough you have countless¹⁴ guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^mI became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, ⁿbe imitators of me. 17 That is why ^oI sent¹⁵ you Timothy, ^pmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^{16 q}as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are ^rarrogant, ^sas though I were not coming to you. 19 But ^tI will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For ^uthe kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? ^vShall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

1 Now concerning^{1 m}food offered to idols: we know that ⁿ“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” ^opuffs up, ^pbut love builds up. 2 ^qIf anyone imagines that he knows something, ^rhe does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, ^she is known by God.²

4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ^t“an idol has no real existence,” and that ^u“there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be ^vso-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet ^wfor us there is one God, the Father, ^xfrom whom are all things and for whom we exist, and ^yone Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and ^zthrough whom we exist.

7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, ^athrough former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and ^btheir conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 ^cFood will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care ^dthat this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block ^eto the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating³ in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged,⁴ if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is ^fdestroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers⁵ and ^gwounding their conscience when it is weak, ^hyou sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, ⁱif food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

1 ^jAm I not free? ^kAm I not an apostle? ^lHave I not seen Jesus our Lord? ^mAre not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are ⁿthe seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 ^oDo we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 ^pDo we not have the right to take along a believing wife,⁶ as do the other apostles and ^qthe brothers of the Lord and ^rCephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 ^sWho serves as a soldier at his own expense? ^tWho plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, ^u“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written ^vfor our sake, because ^wthe plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 ^xIf we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?

Nevertheless, ^ywe have not made use of this right, but we endure anything ^zrather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that ^athose who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that ^bthose who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

15 But ^cI have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone ^ddeprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For ^enecessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with ^fa stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching ^gI may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

19 For ^hthough I am free from all, ⁱI have made myself a servant to all, that I might ^jwin more of them. 20 ^kTo the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To ^lthose outside the law I became ^mas one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but ⁿunder the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 ^oTo the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. ^pI have become all things to all people, that ^qby all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, ^rthat I may share with them in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives ^sthe prize? So ^trun that you may obtain it. 25 Every ^uathlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we ^van imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I ^wdo not box as one ^xbeating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and ^ykeep it under control,⁷ lest after preaching to others ^zI myself should be ^adisqualified.

1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,⁸ that our fathers were all under ^bthe cloud, and all ^cpassed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and ^dall ate the same ^espiritual food, 4 and ^fall drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for ^gthey were overthrown⁹ in the wilderness.

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as ^hthey did. 7 ⁱDo not be idolaters ^jas some of them were; as it is written, ^k“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 ^lWe must not indulge in sexual immorality ^mas some of them did, and ⁿtwenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ¹⁰ to the test, ^oas some of them did and ^pwere destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, ^qas some of them did and ^rwere destroyed by ^sthe Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but ^tthey were written down for our instruction, ^uon whom the end of the ages has come. 12 Therefore ^vlet anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. ^wGod is faithful, and ^xhe will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

14 Therefore, my beloved, ^yflee from idolatry. 15 I speak ^zas to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 ^aThe cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? ^bThe bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are ^cone body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider ^dthe people of Israel:^{11 e}are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that ^fan idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice ^gthey offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 ^hYou cannot drink the cup of the Lord and ⁱthe cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and ^jthe table of demons. 22 ^kShall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? ^lAre we stronger than he?

23 ^m“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 ⁿLet no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 ^oEat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For ^p“the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, ^qeat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean ^ryour conscience, but his. For ^swhy should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that ^tfor which I give thanks?

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or ^uwhatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 ^vGive no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to ^wthe church of God, 33 just as ^xI try to please everyone in everything I do, ^ynot seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.