American Standard Version ASV
English Standard Version ESV
1 And I, brethren, when I came unto you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
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And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
2 For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
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For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
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And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
4 And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
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and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
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so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
6 We speak wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought:
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Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, [even] the [wisdom] that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory:
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But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
8 which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:
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None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And [which] entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.
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But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 But unto us God revealed [them] through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
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these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God.
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For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12 But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God.
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Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual [words].
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And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
14 Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.
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The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man.
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The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
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“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? ” But we have the mind of Christ.
The American Standard Version is in the public domain.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025