The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.
- KJV And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
- NKJV And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
- NASB If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know;
- NLT Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.
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
Anyone who imagines he has full knowledge does not yet know as he should. True spiritual knowing is marked by humility, not pride.
Overview
Paul punctures intellectual conceit. The person confident in his own grasp of truth has actually missed the deeper point, because genuine knowledge of God is inseparable from humble love. This rebukes a Corinthian boasting in mere information and points toward a knowing that bows before God. It prepares for the corrective of the next verse: being known and loved by God matters more than our claimed expertise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 13:12Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
- 1 Cor 3:18Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in this age, he should become a fool, so that he may become wise.
- Prov 26:12Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
- Gal 6:3If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- 1 Tim 6:3–4If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,
- 1 Cor 13:8–9Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.
- Prov 30:2–4Surely I am the most ignorant of men, and I lack the understanding of a man.
- 1 Tim 1:5–7The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
- Rom 11:25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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 8:2 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.