Now I beg you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be harmonious in what you say and not to have factions among you, but to be perfectly harmonious in your minds and judgments.

What I am saying is this: Each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.”

For, since in the wisdom of God the world by it's wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by what they called the folly of preaching to save those that believe.

Because what seems foolish in God is wiser than men; and what seems feeble in God is stronger than men.

For consider, brothers, what happened when God called you. Not many of you were what men call wise, not many of you were influential, not many were of high birth.

Just the opposite: God chose what the world calls foolish to put the wise to shame, what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame,

what the world calls of low degree, yea, what it counts as nothing and what it thinks does not exist, God chose to put a stop to what it thinks exists,

And when I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming to you the testimony of God [concerning salvation through Christ], I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom [no lofty words of eloquence or of philosophy as a Greek orator might do];

And, my discourse, and what I proclaimed, were not in suasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of Spirit and power:

However, what we preach is wisdom, to those who are thoroughly instructed: yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who will soon come to nothing.

but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom once hidden [from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom] which God predestined before the ages to our glory [to lift us into the glory of His presence].

But as it is written:

What eye did not see and ear did not hear,
and what never entered the human mind—
God prepared this for those who love Him.

this is what God has revealed to us by his spirit: for the spirit penetrates into all things, even the profound counsels of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.

this is what we declare, not in the words which human wisdom, but which the holy spirit dictates; explaining spiritual things in a spiritual language.

But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.

The spiritual man, again, can read the meaning of everything; and yet no one can read what he is.

For what man understands the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him?

When one cries, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," what are you but men of the world?

What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.

In the measure of the grace given to me, I, as a wise master-builder, have put the base in position, and another goes on building on it. But let every man take care what he puts on it.

For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

Each one's work, shall be made, manifest; for, the day, will make it plain, because, by fire, is it to be revealed, - and, each one's work, of what sort it is, the fire itself will prove: -

If what a man has built on the foundation stands the test, he will have his pay.

Do you not know what you are God's sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling within you?

If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him; for God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.

Let no one of you deceive himself. If any one of you imagines that he is wiser than the rest of you, in what this world calls wisdom, he had better become a fool, so as to become really wise.

Now further, what is always demanded of managers is that they can be depended on.

Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

My brothers, it is because of you that I have taken Apollos and myself as examples of these things, so that in us you might see that it is not wise to go farther than what is in the holy Writings, so that no one of you may be lifted up against his brother.

For who made you better than your brother? or what have you that has not been given to you? but if it has been given to you, what cause have you for pride, as if it had not been given to you?

I am not saying these things to put you to shame, but so that, as my dear children, you may see what is right.

but if the Lord pleases, I will visit you very soon; and then I shall try, not what these boasters can say, but what they can do:

What is your desire? is my coming to be with punishment, or is it to be in love and a gentle spirit?

To deliver such a man as this over to Satan, that what is sensual in him may be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved at the Day of the Lord.

Therefore let us keep our festival not with old yeast nor with the yeast of what is evil and mischievous, but with bread free from yeast--the bread of transparent sincerity and of truth.

But the sense of my letter was that if a brother had the name of being one who went after the desires of the flesh, or had the desire for other people's property, or was in the way of using violent language, or being the worse for drink, or took by force what was not his, you might not keep company with such a one, or take food with him.

For what have I to do to be judging them who are without? Do, ye, not judge, them who are within,

For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders? [i.e., non-Christians]; God judges them. But should you not judge those people who are inside? [i.e., Christians]. [So], remove the evil person from your fellowship [See Deut. 17:7].

Know ye not that we shall judge angels? what! and not worthy of judging the affairs of this life?

what, is there not a man of experience amongst you, capable of being arbitrator between his brethren?

Why, the very fact that you have lawsuits with one another is already a defeat. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

What! know ye not that the unjust shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor sodomites,

Or is a thief, or the worse for drink, or makes use of strong language, or takes by force what is not his, will have any part in the kingdom of God.

That is what some of you were! But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and by the Spirit of our God.

Do you not see that your bodies are part of the body of Christ? how then may I take what is a part of the body of Christ and make it a part of the body of a loose woman? such a thing may not be.

What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Now concerning what you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

Let the husband give to the wife what is right; and let the wife do the same to the husband.

Do not keep back from one another what is right, but only for a short time, and by agreement, so that you may give yourselves to prayer, and come together again; so that Satan may not get the better of you through your loss of self-control.

But what I have just said is by way of concession, not command.

I should wish every one to be just what I am myself. But every one has his own gift from God-one in one way, and one in another.

For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called him. This is what I command in all the churches.

This is what I command in all the Churches. Was any one already circumcised when called? Let him not have recourse to the surgeons. Was any one uncircumcised when called? Let him remain uncircumcised.

Being circumcised does not matter [with God], nor does being uncircumcised matter [either]. But observing God's commands is what matters.

Brothers, each man, in what he was called, should remain in this before God.

Now I have no command from the Lord concerning [what you wrote about] unmarried women. [Note: The word here is "virgins" but some think it includes both males and females]. But I give my advice as someone who has received the Lord's mercy to be counted trustworthy.

Well, what I think is this: that, considering the imminent distress in these days, it would be an excellent plan for you to remain just as you are.

But, this, I say - the opportunity is, contracted for what remaineth - in order that, they who have wives, may be, as though they had none,

Now I say this for your profit; not to make things hard for you, but because of what is right, and so that you may be able to give all your attention to the things of the Lord.

But if, in any man's opinion, he is not doing what is right for his virgin, if she is past her best years, and there is need for it, let him do what seems right to him; it is no sin; let them be married.

But the father who stands firm in his purpose, without having any necessity for doing so, and he has made the decision in his own heart to keep her single, will do what is right.

And so the man who gives his daughter in marriage does what is right, and yet the man who does not do so does even better.

About food that has been offered to idols, it is true, as you say, that we all have some knowledge on that matter. Knowledge gives people airs; love is what builds up character.

As to the eating therefore of what is offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that the heathen deities have no real existence, and that there is but one God.

What we eat, however, will not bring us nearer to God. We lose nothing by not eating this food, and we gain nothing by eating it.

for if any man see you who have a just notion of idols, sitting at table in their temple, will not the person who is wrong in his notions be incouraged to eat what is offered to idols, tho' contrary to his own opinion?

For this overscrupulous brother, for whom Christ died, is ruined by what you call your knowledge.

Therefore, if what I eat makes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, lest I make my brother to stumble.

What! are we the only ones, myself and Barnabas, who are denied the right of abstaining from work for our living?

What soldier ever serveth at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?

Am I saying only what men say? Does not the Law say so too?

If other people have the right to receive a share of what you have, should we not have even more [right to it]? Yet we did not make use of this right, but instead we put up with whatever we had to so we would not become a hindrance to [the spread of] the good news [about Christ].

Do you not know that those who perform service in the Temple [are permitted to] eat food from the Temple? And those who serve at the Altar receive a share of what is sacrificed on the Altar?

But I have used no right of this kind; nor have I written thus that anything of this kind should be done for me; for it were better for me to die, than that any one should take from me what I glory in.

What I am proud of is not the mere preaching of the gospel; that I am constrained to do. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

What then is my reward? This, that when I am giving the good news, I may give it without payment, not making use of my rights as a preacher of the good news.

and all drank the same spiritual drink: (for they drank of what flowed from the spiritual rock: and that rock was Christ.)

Now all these things occurred as warnings to us, to keep us from hankering after what is evil, in the ways they did.

Trial, hath not taken you, save such as man can bear; faithful, moreover is God, who will not suffer you to be tried above what ye are able, but will make, with the trial, also the way of escape, that ye may be able to hold out.

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

What I am saying is for wise men, do you be the judges of it.

consider the custom of the Jews by descent, are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? what say I then?

Do I say, then, that what is offered to images is anything, or that the image is anything?

What I say is that the things offered by the Gentiles are offered to evil spirits and not to God; and it is not my desire for you to have any part with evil spirits.

What! would we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Let a man give attention not only to what is good for himself, but equally to his neighbour's good.

that is, for the sake of the other person's conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom [to eat what I want] be judged [as wrong] by another person's conscience? [Note: The questions in this and the following verse may mean, "it is not worth eating questionable things, if doing so would bring criticism from a weak brother"].

if I am thankful for what I have, why should I chuse to be evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?

Then whether you eat, or whether you drink, or what you do, do all things to the glory of God.

Do not [do what could] cause Jews, Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] or the church of God to fall [away from God].

Now in what I am going to say, I do not commend you, because your assemblies are not to your advantage, but to your prejudice.

for, in the first place, when you meet as a Church, there are divisions among you. This is what I am told, and I believe that there is some truth in it.

What? have you not houses to take your meals in? or have you no respect for the church of God, putting the poor to shame? What am I to say to you? am I to give you praise? certainly not.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,

A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial:

But one and the same Spirit produces all these results and gives what he wants to each person.