1 Corinthians 3:19

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. ¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise. ¹⁸ Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. ¹⁸ Let no one fool himself. If someone among you thinks he is wise (by this world's standards), let him become "foolish," so that he may become really wise. ¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise. ¹⁸ Don't fool yourselves. Whoever thinks they are wise in this world should become a fool. That's the only way they can be wise. ¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. ¹⁸ Let no man have a false idea. If any man seems to himself to be wise among you, let him become foolish, so that he may be wise. ¹⁸ Let no man deceiue himselfe: If any man among you seeme to be wise in this world, let him be a foole, that he may be wise. ¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. Whoever among you thinks he is wise in this world, let him consider himself a fool so that he may become wise.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the wisdom: 1 Corinthians 1:19, 1 Corinthians 1:20, 1 Corinthians 2:6, Isaiah 19:11-14, Isaiah 29:14-16, Isaiah 44:25, Romans 1:21, Romans 1:22

For: Job 5:13

He: Exodus 1:10, Exodus 18:11, 2 Samuel 15:31, 2 Samuel 16:23, 2 Samuel 17:14, 2 Samuel 17:23, Esther 7:10, Psalms 7:14, Psalms 7:15, Psalms 9:15, Psalms 9:16, Psalms 141:10

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:28 - General 2 Samuel 13:3 - Shimeah Nehemiah 4:15 - God Job 18:7 - his own Job 37:24 - he Psalms 5:10 - let Psalms 49:13 - folly Psalms 146:9 - the way Proverbs 2:7 - layeth Proverbs 14:6 - scorner Proverbs 26:12 - a man Proverbs 28:11 - rich Isaiah 19:3 - and I Isaiah 47:10 - Thy wisdom Ezekiel 28:12 - full Obadiah 1:8 - even Matthew 2:8 - go Matthew 2:12 - they departed Matthew 6:23 - If Luke 20:23 - he John 11:49 - Ye Acts 5:38 - for Acts 23:16 - when Romans 12:2 - be not 1 Corinthians 1:18 - foolishness 2 Corinthians 10:5 - down Colossians 2:8 - philosophy 1 Timothy 6:20 - oppositions James 3:15 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 3:12
And the man answered, "The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gauest to be with mee, shee gaue me of the tree, and I did eate.

Genesis 3:12
"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."

Genesis 3:12
The man replied, "The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."

Genesis 3:12
And Man said, The woman, whom thou hast given [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.

Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it."

Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree and I took it.

Genesis 3:12
And Adam said: The woman whom thou gauest [to be] with me, she gaue me of the tree, and I dyd eate.

Genesis 3:12
And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God,.... The wisdom of the Jewish, or Gentile world. It is had in no account with him; it is despised and neglected by him; he makes it foolish, destroys it, and brings it to nothing; he lays it aside as useless, to make men wise unto salvation, and by the foolishness of preaching saves them that believe; he passes by the wise and prudent, and hides the things of the Gospel from them; so, that, with all their learning and wisdom, they can neither apprehend nor comprehend the mysteries of grace, whilst he reveals them unto babes, and chooses the foolish things of this world to spread the knowledge of himself, his Son, his Gospel, and the truths of it, and whom he makes successful, to the confusion of the wise and learned.

"For it is written", כדכתיב, an usual form of citing Scriptures with the Jews; it is in Job 5:13 he taketh the wise in their own craftiness, or by it. What Eliphaz says of the wise politicians of the world, who are often disappointed of their crafty devices, and cannot perform the enterprises they have took in hand, but their schemes are broken, and the snares they laid for others they are taken in themselves, is applied by the apostle to the Jewish doctors, or the Gentile philosophers, or rather to the false teachers among the Christians; whose schemes they have formed to corrupt the churches, and demolish the Gospel, prove their own destruction; nor will they, with all their cunning, be able to get out of the hand of God, and escape his awful vengeance. The allusion is either to the taking of wild beasts and birds in snares and nets, or to the taking of men in flight, laying hold of them with the hand, and grasping them hard, that they cannot get loose. The Targum interprets the words of the wise men of Pharaoh, and of the Egyptian astrologers, schemes they have formed to corrupt the churches, and demolish the Gospel, prove their own destruction; nor will they, with all their cunning, be able to get out of the hand of God, and escape his awful vengeance. The allusion is either to the taking of wild beasts and birds in snares and nets, or to the taking of men in flight, laying hold of them with the hand, and grasping them hard, that they cannot get loose. The Targum interprets the words of the wise men of Pharaoh, and of the Egyptian astrologers.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the wisdom of this world - That which is esteemed to be wisdom by the people of this world on the subject of religion. It does not mean that true wisdom is foolishness with him. It does not mean that science, and prudence, and law - that the knowledge of his works - that astronomy, and medicine, and chemistry, are regarded by him as folly, and as unworthy the attention of people. God is the friend of truth on all subjects; and he requires us to become acquainted with his works, and commends those who search them, Psalms 92:4; Psalms 111:2. But the apostle refers here to that which was esteemed to be wisdom among the ancients, and in which they so much prided themselves, their vain, self-confident, and false opinions on the subject of religion; and especially those opinions when they were opposed to the simple but sublime truths of revelation. See the note at 1 Corinthians 1:20-21.

Is foolishness with God - Is esteemed by him to be folly. See the note at 1 Corinthians 1:20-24.

For it is written ... - Job 5:13. The word rendered “taketh” here denotes to clench with the fist, gripe, grasp. And the sense is:

(1) However crafty, or cunning, or skillful they may be; however self-confident, yet that they cannot deceive or impose upon God. He can thwart their plans, overthrow their schemes, defeat their counsels, and foil them in their enterprises, Job 5:12.

(2) He does it by their own cunning or craftiness. He allows them to involve themselves in difficulties or to entangle each other. He makes use of even their own craft and cunning to defeat their counsels. He allows the plans of one wise man to come in conflict with those of another, and thus to destroy one another. Honesty in religion, as in everything else, is the best policy; and a man who pursues a course of conscientious integrity may expect the protection of God. But he who attempts to carry his purposes by craft and intrigue - who depends on skill and cunning instead of truth and honesty, will often find that he is the prey of his own cunning and duplicity.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 19. The wisdom of this world — Whether it be the pretended deep and occult wisdom of the rabbins, or the wire-drawn speculations of the Grecian philosophers, is foolishness with God; for as folly consists in spending time, strength, and pains to no purpose, so these may be fitly termed fools who acquire no saving knowledge by their speculations. And is not this the case with the major part of all that is called philosophy, even in the present day? Has one soul been made wise unto salvation through it? Are our most eminent philosophers either pious or useful men? Who of them is meek, gentle, and humble! Who of them directs his researches so as to meliorate the moral condition of his fellow creatures? Pride, insolence, self-conceit, and complacency, with a general forgetfulness of God, contempt for his word, and despite for the poor, are their general characteristics.

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. — This is a quotation from Job 5:13, and powerfully shows what the wisdom of this world is: it is a sort of craft, a subtle trade, which they carry on to wrong others and benefit themselves; and they have generally too much cunning to be caught by men; but God often overthrows them with their own devisings. Paganism raised up persecution against the Church of Christ, in order to destroy it: this became the very means of quickly spreading it over the earth, and of destroying the whole pagan system. Thus the wise were taken in their own craftiness.