Good News Bible‘s translation “So then” is not in the Greek, but is added in the English to indicate that Paul is about to draw a conclusion from the Old Testament verse that he has just quoted. This is good English style and may also be useful in other languages. Other ways to indicate this transition are “In that case,” “If this is the case,” or “If God is going to do this.”
Revised Standard Version‘s literal translation Where is … does not mean much in some languages, and may even be understood incorrectly as “Tell me where he is.” It is actually a rhetorical question (see the comments on 1.13). Good News Bible is right to expand the phrase to “where does that leave…?” One can also translate this clause as “what can we say about…?” or “of what importance are…?”
The Greek singular forms, wise man, scribe, and debater, refer to groups of people, so Good News Bible is correct to translate by using plurals. Wise man may refer to Greek philosophers. These were people who had great knowledge and were highly respected. In some languages this term may be rendered as “a person with great knowledge” or “person with big mind.” Scribe probably refers to Jewish teachers of the Law. These were people who had a deep understanding of the Law and could explain it to others. So in many languages it will be useful to translate as “teachers of the Law of Moses.” Good News Bible‘s “scholars” is probably too wide a term. Debater refers to people who were skilled in arguing or discussing points of difference with others.
The rhythm and structure of the Greek sentence makes it appear that of this age refers to the debater only. However, the meaning of the whole sentence suggests that all three groups are of this age. New English Bible (but not Revised English Bible) makes this meaning explicit: “… limited, all of them, to this passing age?” Where the grammar and the meaning of a text appear to disagree, the translator must translate the meaning. Good News Bible‘s rendering “of this world” is a more accurate English translation of the Greek.
The Greek uses two different words for world: aiōn and kosmos. These occur in this verse as follows: “… the skillful debaters of this aiōn? God has shown that the wisdom of the kosmos is foolishness!” Kosmos is repeated in verse 21, where Good News Bible translates “people.” Good News Bible is probably right in thinking that there is little difference in meaning here, and that the two words are used in Greek for variety. Revised Standard Version‘s age indicates that in some contexts aiōn refers to time, not place. Kosmos, though, refers particularly to human beings, as in 1.21 (see Good News Bible). In this passage, as often in Paul’s writings, both ideas are included. On the one hand, there is this age or “this world” (Good News Bible) in which the powers of evil reign. On the other hand, there is “the world (or, age) to come” that was foretold in the Old Testament and now has begun with the coming of Christ. But God must still complete it by a great act in which he will transform the whole universe. The context, therefore, supports Good News Bible in using the same word “world” twice.
The Greek for Has not God made refers to a single past event, which, as the context shows, was the death of Christ.
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?: one can render this as a statement: “The fact is, God has demonstrated that the wisdom of wise people is foolishness” or “… that all the knowledge of so-called wise people is foolishness.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .