哥林多前书 3:18

Chinese NCV (Simplified)

誰也不要自欺。如果你們當中有人以為自己在這世代裡是有智慧的，他就應該變為愚笨，好讓他有智慧。

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
人 不 可 自 欺 。 你 们 中 间 若 有 人 在 这 世 界 自 以 为 有 智 慧 ， 倒 不 如 变 作 愚 拙 ， 好 成 为 有 智 慧 的 。

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ Do not fool yourselves. If you think you are wise in this world, you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, ¹⁹ because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written in the Scriptures, "He catches those who are wise in their own clever traps." ²⁰ It is also written in the Scriptures, "The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

deceive: 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Proverbs 5:7, Isaiah 44:20, Jeremiah 37:9, Luke 21:8, Galatians 6:3, Galatians 6:7, Ephesians 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:13, Titus 3:3, James 1:22, James 1:26, 1 John 1:8

If: 1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 1 Corinthians 4:10, 1 Corinthians 8:1, 1 Corinthians 8:2, Proverbs 3:5, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 26:12, Isaiah 5:21, Jeremiah 8:8, Romans 11:25, Romans 12:16

let: Matthew 18:4, Mark 10:15, Luke 18:17

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:8 - but there Exodus 1:10 - wisely 2 Samuel 15:31 - turn the counsel 2 Kings 5:11 - Behold Job 11:12 - would Job 32:13 - We Proverbs 2:7 - layeth Proverbs 14:6 - scorner Proverbs 28:11 - rich Proverbs 30:2 - I am Ecclesiastes 1:18 - For in Ecclesiastes 7:16 - neither Jeremiah 9:23 - wise Matthew 6:23 - If Matthew 11:25 - because Luke 8:18 - seemeth to have Luke 10:21 - thou hast Luke 11:35 - General Luke 16:8 - children of this John 7:49 - General John 11:49 - Ye Acts 8:31 - How Acts 10:33 - are we Acts 17:18 - babbler Acts 18:26 - expounded Romans 1:14 - both to Romans 1:22 - General Romans 2:19 - art confident 1 Corinthians 1:26 - that 1 Corinthians 6:5 - Is it 2 Corinthians 11:1 - in Colossians 2:8 - philosophy 1 Timothy 6:4 - He

Cross-References

Genesis 3:14
The Lord God said to the snake, "Because you did this, a curse will be put on you. You will be cursed as no other animal, tame or wild, will ever be. You will crawl on your stomach, and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:15
I will make you and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. One of her descendants will crush your head, and you will bite his heel."

Joshua 23:13
the Lord your God will not help you defeat your enemies. They will be like traps for you, like whips on your back and thorns in your eyes, and none of you will be left in this good land the Lord your God has given you.

Job 1:21
He said: "I was naked when I was born, and I will be naked when I die. The Lord gave these things to me, and he has taken them away. Praise the name of the Lord ."

Job 5:5
The hungry eat his harvest, even taking what grew among the thorns, and thirsty people want his wealth.

Job 31:40
then let thorns come up instead of wheat, and let weeds come up instead of barley." The words of Job are finished.

Psalms 90:3
You turn people back into dust. You say, "Go back into dust, human beings."

Psalms 104:2
you wear light like a robe. You stretch out the skies like a tent.

Proverbs 22:5
Evil people's lives are like paths covered with thorns and traps. People who guard themselves don't have such problems.

Proverbs 24:31
Thorns had grown up everywhere. The ground was covered with weeds, and the stone walls had fallen down.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Let no man deceive himself,.... With vain notions of serving God and religion, and of doing the churches good by his carnal and worldly wisdom, and with false hopes of escaping the vengeance of God for sowing the tares of error, heresy, and discord among his people.

If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world; either a member of them, or a preacher among them, who thought himself wise in worldly wisdom; or was desirous to be thought so by others; or would be a truly wise man in this world, whilst he lives in it, and before he goes out of it:

let him become a fool that he may be wise; not that, properly speaking, folly is the way to wisdom; but that that man that would be wise in a spiritual sense, must first learn to know himself; must be convinced of, and acknowledge his own folly, embrace the Gospel of Christ, which is esteemed foolishness by the world; submit to the ordinances of Christ, which are despised by men; and take up the cross of Christ, and follow him, bear reproach and persecution for his sake, than which nothing is more ridiculous with carnal men: he must deny his worldly wisdom, his carnal and righteous self, and wholly rest and rely on Christ, and his righteousness, for eternal life and happiness, and so will he become truly wise unto salvation. The Jews p have a saying,

"that everyone המנבל עצמו, "that makes himself a fool", for the words of the law, at the end, shall be exalted.''

p Raya Mehimua in Zohar in Numb. fol. 104. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Let no man deceive himself - The apostle here proceeds to make a practical application of the truths which he had stated, and to urge on them humility, and to endeavor to repress the broils and contentions into which they had fallen. Let no man be puffed up with a vain conceit of his own wisdom, for this had been the real cause of all the evils which they had experienced. Grotius renders this, “See that you do not attribute too much to your wisdom and learning, by resting on it, and thus deceive your own selves.” “All human philosophy,” says Grotius, “that is repugnant to the gospel is but vain deceit” - Probably there were many among them who would despise this admonition as coming from Paul, but he exhorts them to take care that they did not deceive themselves. We are taught here:

(1) The danger of self-deception - a danger that besets all on the subject of religion.

(2) The fact that false philosophy is the most fruitful source of self-deception in the business of religion. So it was among the Corinthians; and so it has been in all ages since.

If any man among you - Any teacher, whatever may be his rank or his confidence in his own abilities; or any private member of the church.

Seemeth to be wise - Seems to himself; or is thought to be, has the credit, or reputation of being wise. The word “seems” δοκεῖ dokei implies this idea - if anyone seems, or is supposed to be a man of wisdom; if this is his reputation; and if he seeks that this should be his reputation among people. See instances of this construction in Bloomfield.

In this world - In this “age,” or “world” (ἐν τῷ αἰῶν τούτῳ en tō aiōn toutō). There is considerable variety in the interpretation of this passage among critics. It may be taken either with the preceding or the following words. Origen, Cyprian, Beza, Grotius, Hammond, and Locke adopt the latter method, and understand it thus: “If any man among you thinks himself to be wise, let him not hesitate to be a fool in the opinion of this age in order that he may be truly wise” - But the interpretation conveyed in our translation, is probably the correct one. “If any man has the reputation of wisdom among the people of this generation, and prides himself on it,” etc. If he is esteemed wise in the sense in which the people of this world are, as a philosopher, a man of science, learning, etc.

Let him become a fool -

(1) Let him be willing to be regarded as a fool.

(2) Let him sincerely embrace this gospel, which will inevitably expose him to the charge of being a fool.

(3) Let all his earthly wisdom be esteemed in his own eyes as valueless and as folly in the great matters of salvation.

That he may be wise - That he may have true wisdom - that which is of God. It is implied here:

(1) That the wisdom of this world will not make a man truly wise.

(2) That a “reputation” for wisdom may contribute nothing to a man’s true wisdom, but may stand in the way of it.

(3) That for such a man to embrace the gospel it is necessary that he should be willing to cast away dependence on his own wisdom, and come with the temper of a child to the Saviour.

(4) That to do this will expose him to the charge of folly, and the derision of those who are wise in their own conceit.

(5) That true wisdom is found only in that science which teaches people to live unto God, and to be prepared for death and for heaven - and that science is found only in the gospel.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 18. If any man among you seemeth to be wise — Ει τις δοκει σοφος ειναι· If any pretend or affect to be wise. This seems to refer to some individual in the Church of Corinth, who had been very troublesome to its peace and unity: probably Diotrephes (1 Corinthians 1:14 (note)) or some one of a similar spirit, who wished to have the pre-eminence, and thought himself wiser than seven men that could render a reason. Every Christian Church has less or more of these.

Let him become a fool — Let him divest himself of his worldly wisdom, and be contented to be called a fool, and esteemed one, that he may become wise unto salvation, by renouncing his own wisdom, and seeking that which comes from God. But probably the apostle refers to him who, pretending to great wisdom and information, taught doctrines contrary to the Gospel; endeavouring to show reasons for them, and to support his own opinions with arguments which he thought unanswerable. This man brought his worldly wisdom to bear against the doctrines of Christ; and probably through such teaching many of the scandalous things which the apostle reprehends among the Corinthians originated.