Passage

1 Corinthians 2.9

Book: 1 Corinthians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

7. but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory: 8. which none of the rulers of this world hath known: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory:

9. but as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, And which entered not into the heart of man, Whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.

But unto us God revealed them through the Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11. For who among men knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man, which is in him? even so the things of God none knoweth, save the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:7-11, ASV)

WEB

7. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory, 8. which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.

9. But as it is written, “Things which an eye didn’t see, and an ear didn’t hear, which didn’t enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”

But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11. For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:7-11, WEB)

KJV

7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

9. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:7-11, KJV)

YLT

7. but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a secret, that God foreordained before the ages to our glory, 8. which no one of the rulers of this age did know, for if they had known, the Lord of the glory they would not have crucified;

9. but, according as it hath been written, 'What eye did not see, and ear did not hear, and upon the heart of man came not up, what God did prepare for those loving Him, '

but to us did God reveal [them] through His Spirit, for the Spirit all things doth search, even the depths of God, 11. for who of men hath known the things of the man, except the spirit of the man that [is] in him? so also the things of God no one hath known, except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:7-11, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle
Audience: the church at Corinth, a mixed Jew-and-Gentile congregation in a wealthy Roman colony, fractured over teachers, status, sexual ethics, and the limits of freedom
Location: composed in Ephesus, addressed to Corinth
Time period: c. AD 55-56

Theological reading

This verse is quoted at funerals more than almost any other, usually to mean that heaven is beyond imagining. That is very nearly the opposite of Paul's point. The sentence does not end at verse 9. Verse 10 begins but unto us God revealed them through the Spirit, and the whole construction is a contrast: what no eye had seen and no heart had conceived has now been disclosed. Paul is announcing revelation given, not mystery withheld.

The citation itself is loose, drawing on Isaiah 64:4 with an echo of Isaiah 65:17, and it does not match the Septuagint or the Hebrew exactly. This is normal for Paul, who cites from memory and for sense, and it is worth noting for anyone working on how the New Testament handles the Old. The freedom is not carelessness; the point being made is genuinely present in the Isaiah context, where God acts for those who wait for him in ways they had not anticipated.

The passage as a whole runs from verse 6 to verse 16 and is Paul's account of how the gospel is apprehended at all. It is not withheld from the clever and given to the simple by arbitrary preference. It is Spirit-disclosed, so that the faculties by which the world evaluates wisdom are not the faculties that receive it. This sets up the psychikos and pneumatikos contrast of verses 14 and 15.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G0025 - agapao, agapao, Strong's G0025
G2588 - kardia, kardia, Strong's G2588
G1492 - oida, oida, Strong's G1492
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.