THE LIVING BIBLE
18 I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved* recognize this message as the very power of God.
19 For God says, “I will destroy all human plans of salvation no matter how wise they seem to be, and ignore the best ideas of men, even the most brilliant of them.”
20 So what about these wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of this world’s great affairs? God has made them all look foolish and shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense.
21 For God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find God through human brilliance, and then he stepped in and saved all those who believed his message, which the world calls foolish and silly.
22 It seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven as proof that what is preached is true; and it is foolish to the Gentiles because they believe only what agrees with their philosophy and seems wise to them.
23 So when we preach about Christ dying to save them, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
24 But God has opened the eyes of those called to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, to see that Christ is the mighty power of God to save them; Christ himself is the center of God’s wise plan for their salvation.
25 This so-called “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest plan of the wisest man, and God in his weakness—Christ dying on the cross—is far stronger than any man.
26 Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth.
27 Instead, God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great.
28 He has chosen a plan despised by the world, counted as nothing at all, and used it to bring down to nothing those the world considers great,
29 so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.
30 For it is from God alone that you have your life through Christ Jesus. He showed us God’s plan of salvation; he was the one who made us acceptable to God; he made us pure and holy and gave himself to purchase our salvation.*
31 As it says in the Scriptures, “If anyone is going to boast, let him boast only of what the Lord has done.”
GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION
18 For the message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved it is God's power.
19 The scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars.”
20 So then, where does that leave the wise? or the scholars? or the skillful debaters of this world? God has shown that this world's wisdom is foolishness!
21 For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.
22 Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom.
23 As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles;
24 but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For what seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God's weakness is stronger than human strength.
26 Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.
27 God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful.
28 He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important.
29 This means that no one can boast in God's presence.
30 But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free.
31 So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”
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