NET If I Speak in the Tongues of Men and of Angels, but I Do Not Have Love, I Am a Noisy

1 Corinthians 1.1-3; 11-13

1

BGT Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύμβαλον ἀλαλάζον.

NET If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

NRS If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

KJV Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

DRA If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

NAU If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

NIV If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

NJB Though I command languages both human and angelic -- if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing.

NLT If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

MSG If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

• Note the construction: Ἐὰν … λαλῶ … δὲ μὴ ἔχω, γέγονα …
  The construction is paralleled in verses 2 and 3.

2

BGT καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν καὶ εἰδῶ τὰ μυστήρια πάντα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάναι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐθέν εἰμι.

NET And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.

NRS And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.

KJV And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,
and have not charity, I am nothing.

DRA And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains,
and have not charity, I am nothing.

NAU If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.

NIV If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.

NJB And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains -- if I am without love, I am nothing.

NLT If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.

MSG If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

• What might Paul have in mind when he talks about μυστήριον?
• The phrase ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν is perhaps a bit intriguing. What does Paul mean by “all faith”? Does “all faith” ever show up anywhere else in the Bible?

3

BGT κἂν ψωμίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου καὶ ἐὰν παραδῶ τὸ σῶμά μου ἵνα καυχήσωμαι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦμαι.

NET If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit.

NRS If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

KJV And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

DRA And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

NAU And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

NIV If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

NJB Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned -- if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.

NLT If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.

MSG If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

• Where do the KJV, DRA, and NAU get the idea of feeding “the poor”?
• Why do some versions have “boast” and others “burn”? (Be sure to check the NET Bible note on this word.)

11

BGT ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος· ὅτε γέγονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου.

NET When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways.

NRS When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

KJV When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

DRA When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child.

NAU When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

NIV When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

NJB When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways.

NLT When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

MSG When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

• Note the tenses of the verbs!

12

BGT βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι᾽ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον·
ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην.

NET For now we see in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.

NRS For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

KJV For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

DRA We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know I part; but then I shall know even as I am known.

NAU For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

NIV Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

NJB Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face.
Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known.

NLT Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.
All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

MSG We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13

BGT Νυνὶ δὲ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τὰ τρία ταῦτα· μείζων δὲ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη.

NET And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

NRS And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

KJV And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

DRA And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.

NAU But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

NIV And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

NJB As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.

NLT Three things will last forever-- faith, hope, and love-- and the greatest of these is love.

MSG But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

• Why is τούτων in the case that it is?