For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
Parallel translations
- WEB For, I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last of all, like men sentenced to death. For we are made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and men.
- KJV For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
- NKJV For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.
- NASB For I think, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all as men condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to mankind.
- NLT Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike.
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
Paul pictures the apostles as condemned men paraded last in a procession, a spectacle to the whole world. It matters because true gospel ministry often looks like weakness and shame, not triumph.
Overview
Contrasting himself with the boastful Corinthians, Paul likens the apostles to prisoners led out last to die in the arena, watched by angels and men. This deliberately inverts the world's measure of greatness. Following the pattern of the crucified Christ, the apostles' lowliness, not earthly glory, displays the genuine shape of faithful service.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Heb 10:33Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.
- Rom 8:36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
- 2 Cor 4:8–12We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
- Phil 1:29–30For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,
- Heb 1:14Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
- Rev 6:9–11And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- 2 Cor 1:8–10We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
- 1 Cor 15:30–32And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
- Rev 7:11–14And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshiped God,
- 2 Cor 6:9as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
- Acts 19:31Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
- Rev 17:6–7I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
- Heb 11:36Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
- Acts 19:29Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
- 1 Th 5:9–10For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ps 44:22Yet for Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
- 1 Th 3:3so that none of you would be shaken by these trials. For you know that we are destined for this.
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 4:9 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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