1 Corinthians 3

Milk to drink, not yet food — jealousy and strife, so fleshly. Paul planted, Apollos watered, God made it grow — God’s fellow workers, God’s tilled field, God’s building. The foundation lying there is Jesus Christ; build on it with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw — the day’s fire will test it. You are God’s sanctuary where the Spirit dwells. If anyone thinks himself wise, let him become foolish — this world’s wisdom is foolishness with God. All is yours, you are Christ’s, Christ is God’s.

Κἀγώ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην ⸂λαλῆσαι ὑμῖν⸃ ὡς πνευματικοῖς ἀλλ’ ὡς ⸀σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ.

And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to people of flesh, as to infants in Christ.

first here Christ Χριστός Christos

Why this rendering

1Cor.3.1 Observation

Syntactic observation

οὐκ ἠδυνήθην λαλῆσαι ὑμῖν ὡς πνευματικοῖς ἀλλ’ ὡς σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ … ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε — I could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to people of flesh … for you are still fleshly. Verses 1 and 3 use different adjectives — σάρκινος (the ending of material, ‘made of flesh’; Rom 7:14 ‘I am of flesh’) and σαρκικός (the ending of quality, ‘of a fleshly character’; Rom 15:27 ‘fleshly things’). The base text marks ⸀σαρκίνοις as a variant (some manuscripts level it to the σαρκικοῖς of v.3) and reads the two words as two — the suffix of material and the suffix of quality. English of flesh / fleshly and Korean 육신에 속한 / 육신의 keep them apart. In v.2 γάλα (milk) and βρῶμα (food; Rom 14:15) hang on ποτίζω (give to drink; Matt 10:42), and in vv.6-8 ποτίζω is the verb by which Apollos ‘watered’ — giving milk to drink and watering what is planted are one verb in the text.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“of flesh / fleshly” — two adjectives kept as two

Basis As fixed in Rom 7:14 (σάρκινος) and Rom 15:27 (σαρκικός); where the text distinguishes, so does the rendering.

“fleshly” for both

Basis Levelling with the variant σαρκικοῖς.

Rejected The base text does not read so; the two suffixes would vanish.

Lost in translation

ποτίζω — ‘gave to drink’ (v.2) and ‘watered’ (vv.6-8) are one verb.

this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)

γάλα ὑμᾶς ἐπότισα, ⸀οὐ βρῶμα, οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε. ἀλλ’ ⸀οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε,

I gave you milk to drink, not food; for you were not yet able. But even now you are still not able,

ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε. ὅπου γὰρ ἐν ὑμῖν ζῆλος καὶ ⸀ἔρις, οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε;

for you are still fleshly. For where there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and walking according to man?

ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ τις· Ἐγὼ μέν εἰμι Παύλου, ἕτερος δέ· Ἐγὼ Ἀπολλῶ, ⸂οὐκ ἄνθρωποί⸃ ἐστε;

For when someone says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I of Apollos,” are you not men?

⸀Τί οὖν ἐστιν ⸂Ἀπολλῶς; τί δέ ἐστιν Παῦλος⸃; ⸀διάκονοι δι’ ὧν ἐπιστεύσατε, καὶ ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave.

ἐγὼ ἐφύτευσα, Ἀπολλῶς ἐπότισεν, ἀλλὰ ὁ θεὸς ηὔξανεν·

I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow;

ὥστε οὔτε ὁ φυτεύων ἐστίν τι οὔτε ὁ ποτίζων, ἀλλ’ ὁ αὐξάνων θεός.

so that neither the one planting nor the one watering is anything, but God who makes it grow.

ὁ φυτεύων δὲ καὶ ὁ ποτίζων ἕν εἰσιν, ἕκαστος δὲ τὸν ἴδιον μισθὸν λήμψεται κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον κόπον,

Now the one planting and the one watering are one, but each will receive his own wage according to his own labour;

θεοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν συνεργοί· θεοῦ γεώργιον, θεοῦ οἰκοδομή ἐστε.

for we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s tilled field, God’s building.

Why this rendering

1Cor.3.9 Observation

Syntactic observation

θεοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν συνεργοί· θεοῦ γεώργιον, θεοῦ οἰκοδομή ἐστε … ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ἔθηκα, ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ — we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s tilled field, God’s building … as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds upon it. θεοῦ stands first three times — ‘God’s’ governs all three nouns. συνεργοὶ θεοῦ can be read ‘fellow workers with God’ or ‘God’s own fellow workers’; the genitive keeps both open, and ‘God’s fellow workers’ leaves it so. γεώργιον (only here in the New Testament) is the land of a γεωργός (farmer; Matt 21:33); οἰκοδομή is the ‘building up’ of Rom 14:19, here the building built (Mark 13:1). ἀρχιτέκτων (only here) is τέκτων (carpenter; Matt 13:55 ‘the carpenter’s son’) with the prefix for ‘chief’ — a head carpenter; ‘master builder’ keeps the building but not the carpenter. ἐποικοδομέω in vv.10-14 is οἰκοδομέω (build) with ἐπι-, ‘build upon’, on the root of the οἰκοδομή of v.9.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“God’s fellow workers” — the genitive kept

Basis What the text leaves open stays open.

“fellow workers with God”

Basis Reading the συν- of συνεργός as ‘with God’.

Rejected It closes the genitive one way and loses the parallel with the two genitives that follow (God’s field, God’s building).

Lost in translation

The τέκτων (carpenter) inside ἀρχιτέκτων — ‘master builder’ carries the building, not the carpenter of Matt 13:55.

this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)

οἰκοδομή (v.9 building) · ἐποικοδομέω (vv.10-14 build upon) — one root; build/building keeps it.

Survives in · this edition — 1 of the nine carry it (this language among them)

Κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ⸀ἔθηκα, ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ. ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ·

According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds upon it. But let each look how he builds upon it.

θεμέλιον γὰρ ἄλλον οὐδεὶς δύναται θεῖναι παρὰ τὸν κείμενον, ὅς ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός·

For no one can lay another foundation than the one lying there, which is Jesus Christ.

first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous

εἰ δέ τις ἐποικοδομεῖ ἐπὶ τὸν ⸀θεμέλιον ⸂χρυσόν, ἄργυρον⸃, λίθους τιμίους, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην,

Now if anyone builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw,

ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον φανερὸν γενήσεται, ἡ γὰρ ἡμέρα δηλώσει· ὅτι ἐν πυρὶ ἀποκαλύπτεται, καὶ ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον ὁποῖόν ἐστιν τὸ πῦρ ⸀αὐτὸ δοκιμάσει.

each one’s work will become manifest; for the day will make it clear, because it is revealed in fire, and the fire itself will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον μενεῖ ὃ ἐποικοδόμησεν, μισθὸν λήμψεται·

If anyone’s work remains which he built upon it, he will receive a wage;

εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, ζημιωθήσεται, αὐτὸς δὲ σωθήσεται, οὕτως δὲ ὡς διὰ πυρός.

if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss — but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Why this rendering

1Cor.3.15 Observation

Syntactic observation

εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, ζημιωθήσεται, αὐτὸς δὲ σωθήσεται, οὕτως δὲ ὡς διὰ πυρός — if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss — but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. κατακαίω is the verb that ‘burns up’ the chaff in Matt 3:12 and the weeds in Matt 13:30 (καίω with κατα-, to the end). ζημιόω is the verb of Matt 16:26, ‘forfeits his life’, here without an object — so ‘suffer loss’ at this site. δοκιμάζω in v.13 (the fire tests the work) is the sense of Luke 14:19, ‘to test the oxen’. ναός in vv.16-17 is the ‘sanctuary’ (John 2:19; Acts 17:24) — the house where the deity dwells, not the ἱερόν precinct; φθείρω is the verb of the φθορά (corruption) of Rom 8:21, ‘corrupt’ — one word even when God is the subject and a person the object. ‘So as through fire’ is a picture the text does not explain further.

Rendering options · 2

Adopted

“corrupt” — on the root of φθορά (Rom 8:21 corruption)

Basis One root, one rendering; the two φθείρω of v.17 are visibly the same word.

“defile / destroy”

Basis The familiar split — defile the sanctuary, destroy the man.

Rejected The text uses one verb twice — the measure-for-measure sits in the word; ‘destroy’ is ἀπόλλυμι’s.

Lost in translation

ζημιόω — ‘forfeit’ (Matt 16:26) and ‘suffer loss’ here are one verb.

this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)

Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναὸς θεοῦ ἐστε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ ⸂οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν⸃;

Do you not know that you are a sanctuary of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?

εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φθείρει, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ θεός· ὁ γὰρ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἅγιός ἐστιν, οἵτινές ἐστε ὑμεῖς.

If anyone corrupts the sanctuary of God, God will corrupt him; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.

Μηδεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐξαπατάτω· εἴ τις δοκεῖ σοφὸς εἶναι ἐν ὑμῖν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, μωρὸς γενέσθω, ἵνα γένηται σοφός,

Let no one beguile himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish, so that he may become wise.

ἡ γὰρ σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου μωρία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ἐστιν· γέγραπται γάρ· Ὁ δρασσόμενος τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτῶν·

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: ‘He who grasps the wise in their craftiness.’

καὶ πάλιν· Κύριος γινώσκει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς τῶν σοφῶν ὅτι εἰσὶν μάταιοι.

And again: ‘The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile.’

ὥστε μηδεὶς καυχάσθω ἐν ἀνθρώποις· πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν,

So let no one boast in men; for all things are yours —

εἴτε Παῦλος εἴτε Ἀπολλῶς εἴτε Κηφᾶς εἴτε κόσμος εἴτε ζωὴ εἴτε θάνατος εἴτε ἐνεστῶτα εἴτε μέλλοντα, πάντα ⸀ὑμῶν,

whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, whether world or life or death, whether things present or things to come — all are yours,

first here Cephas Κηφᾶς Kēphas

ὑμεῖς δὲ Χριστοῦ, Χριστὸς δὲ θεοῦ.

and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.