Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Parallel translations
- WEB that, according as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
- KJV That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
- NKJV that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
- NASB so that, just as it is written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
- NLT Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Quoting Jeremiah, Paul concludes that the one who boasts must boast only in the Lord. All glory belongs to God, never to ourselves.
Overview
Drawing on Jeremiah 9:24, Paul caps his argument: the only legitimate boasting is in the Lord. Since salvation is entirely God's work in Christ, human pride is excluded and God receives all glory. For a church boasting in leaders and wisdom, this is the corrective heart of the passage.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 9:23–24This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 2 Cor 10:17Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
- Phil 3:3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
- Ps 105:3Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
- Isa 41:16You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
- Jer 4:2and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”
- Isa 45:25In the LORD all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.
- 1 Chr 16:10Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
- Gal 6:13–14For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.
- 1 Chr 16:35Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 1:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.