Yet marks the beginning of a new section. Despite all that Paul has said earlier against human wisdom, there is a true Christian wisdom, and this is the theme of the following verses. Another way of rendering the word Yet is “having said all this…” or “even though I have spoken the way I have….”
Greek has no indefinite article “a,” so one of the meanings of the absence of the definite article “the” is “a.” Here there is no article before wisdom, and Paul may mean “a certain kind of (true) wisdom” which is in contrast with the “human wisdom” that he attacked in verses 4-5. Various translations, including Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, An American Translation* (American Translation [An American Translation]) and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible understand the verse this way. In that case one may say “Having said all this, I do proclaim a certain kind of wisdom to those….”
Revised Standard Version‘s among before the mature is probably a better translation than Good News Bible‘s “to” (like Revised Standard Version are New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible; like Good News Bible is New Jerusalem Bible). An American Translation translates this quite clearly: “Yet there is a wisdom that we impart when we are with people who have a mature faith.” Who are these “spiritually mature” (Good News Bible) people? There is no evidence that they are “perfect” (King James Version) in the sense of being without defect. Nor is there any suggestion that Paul thought of human beings as permanently divided from birth into classes, the highest of which are called “perfect.” This would contradict what Paul says about God’s giving the Holy Spirit to all Christians (see chapter 12, especially verse 13). Chapter 3.1–2 gives a clue to the central meaning of this word: it is a dynamic term describing the maturity that is a product of Christian growth. Keeping this in mind, the words “spiritually mature” may also be rendered as “people who trust firmly in Christ,” or it could be phrased idiomatically as “people who have hearts high enough to recognize and understand spiritual truths.”
Impart (Good News Bible “proclaim”) translates a common Greek word for “speak,” which is how Good News Bible translates it in verse 13. Paul uses this verb more commonly in 1 Corinthians than in all the other letters that are attributed to him. He tends to use it in referring either to speaking in tongues (chapter 14), speaking to mature Christians (here and in 3.1), or speaking on his own authority (2 Cor 11.17; compare 1 Cor 9.8). However, he seldom uses it in referring to basic Christian preaching. Good News Bible‘s “proclaim” does not make the meaning clear, but on the other hand, Revised Standard Version‘s impart is not common language. Other translations find ways of distinguishing this “special” speaking or teaching: Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch first edition “open up”; New American Bible “express”; Barclay (Barclay) “teach.” For Paul, “speaking wisdom” is more than talking about wisdom; his preaching is a means by which God allows his wisdom to appear.
The second half of this verse contains a statement with two negatives (see Table 1|fig:Table_1CO2-5.jpg) and raises two related questions:
(1) Is the main idea that of space (world) or time (age)?
(2) Are “the powers of this world” human or superhuman?
We raised the first question in the comments on 1.20. In the present verse the ideas of space and time are very closely connected. The underlying idea, which links both space and time, is that the present order of the universe is temporary. A translator, then, may render the Greek aiōn by age or a similar expression meaning a long period of time. References to time at the end of this verse (literally “who are passing away”) and in verse 7 (before the ages) favor such a translation. On the other hand, verse 8 speaks of the power of these forces at the present time, or in the world as it is, or both. In verse 12, as several times in chapter 1, the other Greek word for “world,” kosmos, means human society organized in opposition to God, but without any direct reference to time. Most modern translations have age, including New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible, in addition to Revised Standard Version. But Good News Bible and many other translations use “world,” favoring the idea of “space.”
The second question, concerning the rulers of this age, does not affect translation into certain languages such as English. But translators into many other languages may have to decide whether the rulers are human or nonhuman. Verse 8 does not settle this question; the rulers of this age may be either people like Caiaphas, Pilate, and the Roman emperor, or the supernatural powers of evil that are ultimately responsible for Christ’s death (compare Col 2.10, 15). Recent writers generally tend to think of human rulers, and these should certainly not be excluded in translation.
In some languages it may be difficult to reproduce Good News Bible‘s appositional construction, “powers that rule this world, powers that are losing.” In such languages one can add the words “these are” to the final clause and say “… these are the powers that are losing their power.”
Not a wisdom of this age may be expressed as “not wisdom that humans teach.”
Translators in certain languages will find it helpful to restructure of the rulers of this age as “that the rulers of this world possess.”
Who are doomed to pass away: pass away (Good News Bible‘s “losing their power”) is the Greek word that is translated “to bring to nothing” or “destroy” in 1.28. The passive present participle “being destroyed” sometimes means “passing away” or “disappearing,” without any reference to destruction. This present participle may refer either to something that is happening already, as in Good News Bible, or to a future event that is certain to happen, as in Revised Standard Version. In spoken English, for example, “I’m coming” is more likely to mean “I will certainly come soon” than “I am already on the way.” Translations, then, vary in the time setting of this verb. Barclay, for example, has “they are already passing from the scene,” while Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has “who will soon be destroyed,” considering this a future event. Paul seems to use this verb in 6.13, and most clearly in 15.24, 26, to mean “destroy,” referring to the future. In 13.8, 10, 11, where the probable meaning is “disappear,” the reference is also to future events.
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 .