Prosperity After Turning to the Lord

30 When all these blessings and curses(A) I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,(B) and when you and your children return(C) to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart(D) and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes[a](E) and have compassion(F) on you and gather(G) you again from all the nations where he scattered(H) you.(I) Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens,(J) from there the Lord your God will gather(K) you and bring you back.(L) He will bring(M) you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous(N) than your ancestors. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants,(O) so that you may love(P) him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put all these curses(Q) on your enemies who hate and persecute you.(R) You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.(S) The Lord will again delight(T) in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, 10 if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law(U) and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.(V)

The Offer of Life or Death

11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.(W) 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven(X) to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(Y) 13 Nor is it beyond the sea,(Z) so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”(AA) 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.(AB)

15 See, I set before you today life(AC) and prosperity,(AD) death(AE) and destruction.(AF) 16 For I command you today to love(AG) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live(AH) and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.(AI) You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you(AJ) that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.(AK) Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love(AL) the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,(AM) and he will give(AN) you many years in the land(AO) he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Joshua to Succeed Moses

31 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: “I am now a hundred and twenty years old(AP) and I am no longer able to lead you.(AQ) The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’(AR) The Lord your God himself will cross(AS) over ahead of you.(AT) He will destroy these nations(AU) before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross(AV) over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og,(AW) the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver(AX) them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous.(AY) Do not be afraid or terrified(AZ) because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you;(BA) he will never leave you(BB) nor forsake(BC) you.”

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said(BD) to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them,(BE) and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you;(BF) he will never leave you nor forsake you.(BG) Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Public Reading of the Law

So Moses wrote(BH) down this law and gave it to the Levitical priests, who carried(BI) the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts,(BJ) during the Festival of Tabernacles,(BK) 11 when all Israel comes to appear(BL) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose,(BM) you shall read this law(BN) before them in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the foreigners residing in your towns—so they can listen and learn(BO) to fear(BP) the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. 13 Their children,(BQ) who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Israel’s Rebellion Predicted

14 The Lord said to Moses, “Now the day of your death(BR) is near. Call Joshua(BS) and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, where I will commission him.(BT)” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.(BU)

15 Then the Lord appeared at the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the tent.(BV) 16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors,(BW) and these people will soon prostitute(BX) themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake(BY) me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry(BZ) with them and forsake(CA) them; I will hide(CB) my face(CC) from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters(CD) and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’(CE) 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

19 “Now write(CF) down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness(CG) for me against them. 20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors,(CH) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(CI) and worship them,(CJ) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(CK) 21 And when many disasters and calamities come on them,(CL) this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,(CM) even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” 22 So Moses wrote(CN) down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

23 The Lord gave this command(CO) to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous,(CP) for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”

24 After Moses finished writing(CQ) in a book the words of this law(CR) from beginning to end, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried(CS) the ark of the covenant of the Lord: 26 “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.(CT) 27 For I know how rebellious(CU) and stiff-necked(CV) you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! 28 Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call the heavens and the earth to testify against them.(CW) 29 For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt(CX) and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster(CY) will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made.”

The Song of Moses

30 And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:3 Or will bring you back from captivity

30 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,

And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;

That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.

If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

31 And Moses went and spake these words unto all Israel.

And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

The Lord thy God, he will go over before thee, and he will destroy these nations from before thee, and thou shalt possess them: and Joshua, he shall go over before thee, as the Lord hath said.

And the Lord shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.

And the Lord shall give them up before your face, that ye may do unto them according unto all the commandments which I have commanded you.

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shalt cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.

10 And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

11 When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12 Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

13 And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thy days approach that thou must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

15 And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge, and said, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt bring the children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them: and I will be with thee.

24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,

25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,

26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

27 For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord; and how much more after my death?

28 Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.

29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because ye will do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.

30 And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended.

Psalm 40[a](A)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

I waited patiently(B) for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.(C)
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,(D)
    out of the mud(E) and mire;(F)
he set my feet(G) on a rock(H)
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song(I) in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord(J)
    and put their trust(K) in him.

Blessed is the one(L)
    who trusts in the Lord,(M)
who does not look to the proud,(N)
    to those who turn aside to false gods.[b](O)
Many, Lord my God,
    are the wonders(P) you have done,
    the things you planned for us.
None can compare(Q) with you;
    were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
    they would be too many(R) to declare.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—(S)
    but my ears you have opened[c](T)
    burnt offerings(U) and sin offerings[d] you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.[e](V)
I desire to do your will,(W) my God;(X)
    your law is within my heart.”(Y)

I proclaim your saving acts(Z) in the great assembly;(AA)
    I do not seal my lips, Lord,
    as you know.(AB)
10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
    I speak of your faithfulness(AC) and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
    from the great assembly.(AD)

11 Do not withhold your mercy(AE) from me, Lord;
    may your love(AF) and faithfulness(AG) always protect(AH) me.
12 For troubles(AI) without number surround me;
    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.(AJ)
They are more than the hairs of my head,(AK)
    and my heart fails(AL) within me.
13 Be pleased to save me, Lord;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.(AM)

14 May all who want to take my life(AN)
    be put to shame and confusion;(AO)
may all who desire my ruin(AP)
    be turned back in disgrace.
15 May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”(AQ)
    be appalled at their own shame.
16 But may all who seek you(AR)
    rejoice and be glad(AS) in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”(AT)

17 But as for me, I am poor and needy;(AU)
    may the Lord think(AV) of me.
You are my help(AW) and my deliverer;(AX)
    you are my God, do not delay.(AY)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 40:1 In Hebrew texts 40:1-17 is numbered 40:2-18.
  2. Psalm 40:4 Or to lies
  3. Psalm 40:6 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts but a body you have prepared for me
  4. Psalm 40:6 Or purification offerings
  5. Psalm 40:7 Or come / with the scroll written for me

40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.

Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

14 Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.

15 Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.

16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.

17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

Paul, called to be an apostle(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,(B) and our brother Sosthenes,(C)

To the church of God(D) in Corinth,(E) to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called(F) to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name(G) of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(H)

Thanksgiving

I always thank my God for you(I) because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched(J) in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge(K) God thus confirming our testimony(L) about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift(M) as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.(N) He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless(O) on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.(P) God is faithful,(Q) who has called you(R) into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.(S)

A Church Divided Over Leaders

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a](T) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you,(U) but that you be perfectly united(V) in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household(W) have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;(X) another, “I follow Apollos”;(Y) another, “I follow Cephas[b]”;(Z) still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?(AA) 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus(AB) and Gaius,(AC) 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household(AD) of Stephanas;(AE) beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize,(AF) but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom(AG) and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness(AH) to those who are perishing,(AI) but to us who are being saved(AJ) it is the power of God.(AK) 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”[c](AL)

20 Where is the wise person?(AM) Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?(AN) Has not God made foolish(AO) the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world(AP) through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save(AQ) those who believe.(AR) 22 Jews demand signs(AS) and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified:(AT) a stumbling block(AU) to Jews and foolishness(AV) to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called,(AW) both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God(AX) and the wisdom of God.(AY) 25 For the foolishness(AZ) of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness(BA) of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.(BB) Not many of you were wise(BC) by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose(BD) the foolish(BE) things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not(BF)—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.(BG) 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,(BH) who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,(BI) holiness(BJ) and redemption.(BK) 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[d](BL)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 1:10 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verses 11 and 26; and in 2:1; 3:1; 4:6; 6:8; 7:24, 29; 10:1; 11:33; 12:1; 14:6, 20, 26, 39; 15:1, 6, 50, 58; 16:15, 20.
  2. 1 Corinthians 1:12 That is, Peter
  3. 1 Corinthians 1:19 Isaiah 29:14
  4. 1 Corinthians 1:31 Jer. 9:24

Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.