1 Corinthians 1:18-25
New Catholic Bible
18 Indeed, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the understanding of the learned I will bring to naught.”[a]
20 Where now are the wise ones? Where are the men of learning? Where are the debaters of this present age? Has God not shown the wisdom of the world to be foolish? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world was unable to come to know him through wisdom, he chose, through the folly of preaching, to save those who have faith.
22 Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified. This is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles;[b] 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 1:19 The citation is from Isa 29:14, where the Lord denounces the “wise” for their policy of seeking an alliance with Egypt against King Sennacherib of Assyria. The wise: the 6th-century B.C. Athenian statesman Aristedes remarked that every street in Corinth had its own so-called wise man, who claimed to have a solution to all the problems of the world.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23 Jesus was a stumbling block for the Jews, because they were expecting a Messiah who would perform sensational wonders (see Mt 12:38; Jn 4:48); he was foolishness to Gentiles, because he did not act in accordance with human wisdom.
