1 Corinthians 2:4

 

1 Corinthians 2:4

(KJV) And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

(1611 KJV) And my speech, and my preaching was not with entising words of mans wisedome, but in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power:

(1587 Geneva Bible) Neither stoode my woorde, and my preaching in the entising speach of mans wisdom, but in plaine euidence of the Spirite and of power,

(1568 Bishops Bible) And my wordes and my preachyng was not with entysing wordes of mans wisedome, but in shewyng of the spirite, and of power:

 

Counterfeit Versions

(1881 RV) And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

(1901 ASV) And my speech and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

(CSB) My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

(NIV) My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,

(NASV) and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

(THE MESSAGE) But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it,

(AMP) And my language and my message were not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],

(NLT) And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.

(ESV) and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

(CEV) When I talked with you or preached, I didn't try to prove anything by sounding wise. I simply let God's Spirit show his power.

(HCSB) My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power,

(NIRV) I didn't preach my message with clever and compelling words. As I preached, the Holy Spirit showed his power.

(RSV) and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

(NAB-Roman Catholic) and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power,

(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) and my speech and what I preached were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of spirit and power,

 

Textus Receptus - Traditional Text

και ο λογος μου και το κηρυγμα μου ουκ εν πειθοις ανθρωπινης σοφιας λογοις αλλ εν αποδειξει πνευματος και δυναμεως

 

Hort-Westcott Text - Critical Text

και ο λογος μου και το κηρυγμα μου ουκ εν πειθοις σοφιας λογοις αλλ εν αποδειξει πνευματος και δυναμεως

 

Corrupted Manuscripts

This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:

Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century

D 06 - Paris: Claromontanus - Sixth century

 

Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse

Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit (corrected)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century

C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century

L 020 - Ninth century

P 025 - Ninth century

Psi 044 - Eight/Ninth century

 

Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions

Omit “man’s” before wisdom

Greisbach, Johann - 1805

Lachmann, Karl - 1842

Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869

Tregelles, Samuel - 1857

Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871

Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870

Westcott and Hort - 1881

Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941

Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition

Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition

United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition

 

Affected Teaching

(1 Cor 2:6 KJV) Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: One of the great gifts which God gives every true believer is the wisdom of God Himself. In this week’s verse, we have another confusing situation. The modern versions omit the word “man’s” when speaking about the wisdom which we are not to use when we bring the Gospel. The modern versions make it sound like we are not to use any wisdom. 1 Corinthians 2:6 above teaches us that we are to use the wisdom of God whenever we bring the Gospel. The wisdom of man likes to adulterate the gospel with many worldly teachings such as psychology, sociology, or other man made disciplines which neutralize the true Gospel. (1 Cor 2:5 KJV) That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Our faith is not to stand or abide in the wisdom of man but the power of God which is the unadulterated Gospel. When the Gospel is not mixed with anything worldly, it is the power of God unto salvation. (Rom 1:16 KJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. This is why the modern versions confuse the issue concerning wisdom. We must use the wisdom of God and not the wisdom of man. This distinction is lost in the modern versions.

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