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1 Corinthians 3:19

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

Here's the thing, what this world calls 'being smart' looks pretty foolish to God. There's even an old saying about it: God catches the so-called wise people in their own schemes.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The world's version of wisdom doesn't impress God, he sees right through all our clever tricks.

📚 Historical Context

In the first century, the city of Corinth was a thriving center of Greek philosophy and rhetoric, where intellectual debates and human cleverness were highly valued, often leading to pride and divisions among people. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church to address these issues, as believers were aligning themselves with different leaders based on worldly wisdom rather than God's truth. He quotes from Job 5:13 in the Old Testament to emphasize that God's wisdom exposes and overturns human schemes.

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