And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise; he knows they are worthless.”
Parallel translations
- WEB And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”
- KJV And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
- BSB And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
- NKJV and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
- NASB and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.”
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
The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise and judges them worthless. God sees through and dismisses merely human reasoning.
Overview
Paul cites Psalm 94:11 to reinforce that God regards the proud reasonings of the worldly-wise as 'worthless.' Human wisdom apart from God, however impressive, amounts to nothing in His sight. This twin scriptural witness (with v.19) seals Paul's case against boasting in human cleverness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ps 94:11Yahweh knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.
- Col 2:8Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ.
- Rom 1:21Because, knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.
- Job 11:11–12For he knows false men. He sees iniquity also, even though he doesn’t consider it.
- Ps 2:1Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
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 3:20 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
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