1 Corinthians 2

1 And I, my Brethren, when I came to you, did not preach to you the mystery of God in magnificent speech, nor in wisdom.

And as for myself, brethren, when I came to you, it was not with surpassing power of eloquence or earthly wisdom that I came, announcing to you that which God had commanded me to bear witness to.

2 And I did not govern myself among you, as if I knew any thing, except only Jesus Messiah; and him also as crucified.

For I determined to be utterly ignorant, when among you, of everything except of Jesus Christ, and of Him as having been crucified.

3 And in much fear and much trembling, was I with you.

And so far as I myself was concerned, I came to you in conscious feebleness and in fear and in deep anxiety.

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with the persuasiveness of the discourses of wisdom; but with the demonstration of the Spirit, and with power:

And my language and the Message that I proclaimed were not adorned with persuasive words of earthly wisdom, but depended upon truths which the Spirit taught and mightily carried home;

5 that your faith might not arise from the wisdom of men, but from the power of God.

so that your trust might rest not on the wisdom of man but on the power of God.

6 Yet we do speak wisdom, among the perfect; the wisdom not of this world, nor of the potentates of this world, who will come to naught. (aiōn g165)

Yet when we are among mature believers we do speak words of wisdom; a wisdom not belonging, however, to the present age nor to the leaders of the present age who are soon to pass away. (aiōn g165)

7 But we speak the wisdom of God, in a mystery; the wisdom which was hidden, and which God predetermined before the world was, for our glory: (aiōn g165)

But in dealing with truths hitherto kept secret we speak of God's wisdom--that hidden wisdom which, before the world began, God pre-destined, so that it should result in glory to us; (aiōn g165)

8 which no one of the potentates of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (aiōn g165)

a wisdom which not one of the leaders of the present age possesses, for if they had possessed it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory. (aiōn g165)

9 But, as it is written: The eye hath not seen, nor hath the ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, that which God hath prepared for those who love him.

But--to use the words of Scripture--we speak of things which eye has not seen nor ear heard, and which have never entered the heart of man: all that God has in readiness for them that love Him.

10 But God hath revealed it to us, by his Spirit; for the Spirit exploreth all things, even the profound things of God.

For us, however, God has drawn aside the veil through the teaching of the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, including the depths of the divine nature.

11 For what man is there, who knoweth that which is in a man, except it be the spirit of the man, which is in him? So also, that which is in God, no one knoweth, except the Spirit of God.

For, among human beings, who knows a man's inner thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? In the same way, also, only God's Spirit is acquainted with God's inner thoughts.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God; that we might know the free gifts, which are given to us by God.

But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes forth from God, that we may know the blessings that have been so freely given to us by God.

13 Which things we also speak; not in the teaching of the words of man's wisdom, but in the teaching of the spirit; and we compare spirituals with spirituals.

Of these we speak--not in language which man's wisdom teaches us, but in that which the Spirit teaches--adapting, as we do, spiritual words to spiritual truths.

14 For a man in his natural self, receiveth not spirituals; for they are foolishness to him. Neither can he know them; for they are discerned by the Spirit.

The unspiritual man rejects the things of the Spirit of God, and cannot attain to the knowledge of them, because they are spiritually judged.

15 But he that is spiritual, judgeth of all things: and he is judged of by no one.

But the spiritual man judges of everything, although he is himself 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 Messiah.

For who has penetrated the mind of the Lord, and will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.