Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
- KJV Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.
- BSB Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
- NASB Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.
- NLT Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again.
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
Some Corinthians had grown arrogant, assuming Paul would not actually visit. It matters because pride often thrives where accountability seems absent.
Overview
Certain members became 'puffed up,' presuming the apostle would stay away, perhaps emboldened to resist his authority. Paul names this arrogance directly, setting up his warning in the following verses. The verse shows how distance can breed presumption and prepares for his assertion that he will indeed come to test their claims.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Cor 5:2You are puffed up, and didn’t rather mourn, that he who had done this deed might be removed from among you.
- 1 Cor 4:6–8Now these things, brothers, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that in us you might learn not to think beyond the things which are written, that none of you be puffed up against one another.
- 1 Cor 4:21What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:18 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.