God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist,
Parallel Translations
-
God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that don’t exist, that he might bring to nothing the things that exist,
-
And vile thinges of the worlde and thinges which are despysed hath God chosen yee and thinges of no reputacion for to brynge to nought thinges of reputacion
-
And vile things of the worlde and thinges which are despised, hath God chosen, and thinges which are not, to bring to nought thinges that are,
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 1:28 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 34:24 He breaks mighty men in pieces in ways past finding out, and sets others in their place.
- Romans 4:17 As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations.” This is in the presence of him whom he believed: God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the things that are not, as though they were.
- Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man will be brought low, the arrogance of men will be bowed down, and Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.
- Job 34:19-20 He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands. In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
- Isaiah 2:17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the arrogance of men shall be brought low; and Yahweh alone shall be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 41:12 You will seek them, and won’t find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing.
- Psalms 37:35-36 I have seen the wicked in great power, spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil. But he passed away, and behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
- Isaiah 17:13-14 The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters: but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm. At evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.
- Daniel 2:34-35 You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
- Deuteronomy 28:63 It will happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess.
- Isaiah 37:36 Then Yahweh’s angel went out and struck one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the camp of the Assyrians. When men arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
- Daniel 2:44-45 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
- Revelation 18:17 For in an hour such great riches are made desolate.’ Every ship master, and everyone who sails anywhere, and mariners, and as many as gain their living by sea, stood far away,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 28. Things that are not He makes use of…
28. Things that are not He makes use of similar terms in Romans 4:17, but in a different sense. For in that passage, when describing the universal call of the pious, he says, that we are nothing previously to our being called, which must be understood as referring to reality in the sight of God, however we may appear to be something in the eyes of men. Here, the nothingness (οὐδενεια) of which he speaks must be viewed as referring to the opinion of men, as is manifest from the corresponding clause, in which he says that this is done in order that the things that are may be brought to naught For there is nothing except in appearance, because in reality we are all nothing. Things that are, therefore, you must explain to mean things that appear, so that this passage corresponds with such statements as these: —
He raiseth up the poor out of the dunghill, (Psalm 113:7.)
Read full note →
He raiseth up them that are cast down, (Psalm 146:8,)
and the like. Hence we may clearly see how great is the folly of those who imagine that there is in mankind some degree of merit or worthiness, which would hold a place antecedent to God’s choice.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which in man’s judgment are almost nothing.
Which in man’s judgment are almost nothing.
To show that they are vain and unprofitable, and nothing worth, see Rom. 3:31.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 28 And base things of the world, and things…
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Ver. 28. Things which are not] i.e. That are nought set by, 1Sa 25:10. Thus shall ye say to him that liveth, that is, to him that is rich; for poor men are reputed as dead men. They have but prisoners’ pittances, which will keep them alive, and that is all. Arrian upon Epictetus hath observed, that in a tragedy there is no place for a poor man, but only to dance.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Things which are not in the world’s account, to…
Things which are not in the world’s account, to bring to nought things which are in high esteem.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And base things of the world,.... Who are reckoned…
And base things of the world,.... Who are reckoned the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things; men of mean birth, education, and business of life:
and things that are despised; and set at nought, as poor persons generally are; yet God
Read full note →
hath chosen them; even the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of a kingdom:
yea, and things which are not; some think the Gentiles are here intended, who by the Jews are called "things that are not": as in the apocryphal books:
"O Lord, give not thy sceptre unto "them that be nothing", and let them not laugh at our fall; but turn their device upon themselves, and make him an example, that hath begun this against us.'' Est 14:11
"56 As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that "they are nothing", but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel. 57 And now, O Lord, behold, these heathen, which have ever been "reputed as nothing", have begun to be lords over us, and to devour us.'' (2 Esdras 6)
See Gill on Rom 4:17 for note on non-entities, or such who are not in being, are meant; but who are not accounted of, or are reckoned as nothing; and these the Lord calls by his grace, as a fruit and evidence of electing love:
to bring to nought things that are; who, on the account of their noble birth, large possessions, and high attainments in knowledge and learning, thought themselves something; all which will one day be abolished, and will stand them in no stead with regard to future happiness and glory. The Jews (q) have a saying quite contrary to all this, that "the Shekinah, or presence of God, does not dwell on any but upon a wise man, a mighty man, and a rich man.
(q) T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 92. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Things that are not - The Jews frequently called…
Things that are not - The Jews frequently called the gentiles, "Them that are not," 2 Esdras vi. 56, 57. In so supreme contempt did they hold them. The things that are - In high esteem.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 28. And base things - and things which…
Verse 28. And base things - and things which are despised] It is very likely that the apostle refers here to the Gentiles and to the Gentile converts, who were considered base and despicable in the eyes of the Jews, who counted them no better than dogs, and who are repeatedly called the things that are not. By these very people, converted to Christianity, God has brought to nought all the Jewish pretensions; and by means of the Gentiles themselves, he has annihilated the whole Jewish polity; so that even Jerusalem itself was soon after this, trodden under foot of the Gentiles.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And base things of the world - Those things…
And base things of the world - Those things which by the world are esteemed ignoble. Literally, those which are not of noble, or illustrious birth τὰ ἀγειῆ ta ageiē.
Things which are despised - Those which the world regards as objects of contempt; compare Mar 9:12; Luk 18:19; Act 4:11.
Read full note →
Yea - The introduction of this word by the translators does nothing to illustrate the sense, but rather enfeebles it. The language here is a striking instance of Paul’s manner of expressing himself with great strength. He desires to convey in the strongest terms, the fact, that God had illustrated his plan by choosing the objects of least esteem among people. He is willing to admit all that could be said on this point. He says, therefore, that he had chosen the things of ignoble birth and rank - the base things of the world; but this did not fully express his meaning. He had chosen objects of contempt among people; but this was not strong enough to express his idea. He adds, therefore, that he had chosen those things which were absolutely nothing, which had no existence; which could not be supposed to influence him in his choice.
And things which are not - τὰ μὴ ὄντα ta mē onta. That which is nothing; which is worthless; which has no existence; those flyings which were below contempt itself; and which, in the estimation of the world, were passed by as having no existence; as not having sufficient importance to be esteemed worthy even of the slight notice which is implied in contempt. For a man who despises a thing must at least notice it, and esteem it worth some attention. But the apostle here speaks of things beneath even that slight notice; as completely and totally disregarded, as having no existence. The language here is evidently that of hyperbole (compare the note at Joh 21:25). It was a figure of speech common in the East, and not unusual in the sacred writings; compare Isa 40:17.
All nations before him are as nothing.
And they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity.
See also Rom 4:17, “God, who - calleth those things which be not, as though they were.” This language was strongly expressive of the estimate which the Jews fixed on the Gentiles, as being a despised people, as being in fact no people; a people without laws, and organization, and religion, and privileges; see Hos 1:10; Hos 2:23; Rom 9:25; 1Pe 2:10. “When a man of rank among the Hindus speaks of low-caste persons, of notorious profligates, or of those whom he despises, he calls them “alla-tha-varkal,” that is, “those who are not.” The term does not refer to life or existence, but to a quality or disposition, and is applied to those who are vile and abominable in all things. “My son, my son, go not among them ‘who are not.’” “Alas! alas! those people are all alla-tha-varkal.” When wicked men prosper, it is said, “this is the time for those ‘who are not.’” “Have you heard that those ‘who are not’ are now acting righteously?” Vulgar and indecent expressions are also called, “words that are not.” “To address men in the phrase ‘are not,’ is provoking beyond measure” - Roberts, as quoted in Bush’s Illustrations of Scripture.
To bring to naught - To humble and subdue. To show them how vain and impotent they were.
Things that are - Those who on account of their noble birth, high attainments, wealth, and rank placed a high estimate on themselves and despised others.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain yea, and things which are not--Yea is not in…
yea, and things which are not--Yea is not in the Greek. Also some of the oldest manuscripts omit "and." Thus the clause, "things which are not" (are regarded as naught), is in apposition with "foolish . . . weak . . . base (that is, lowborn) and despised things." God has chosen all four, though regarded as things that are not, to bring to naught things that are.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 28. Things which are not—Nothings and nobodies. So are…
28. Things which are not—Nothings and nobodies. So are they viewed by the world; so in themselves they are. Yet, through the divine gift which they have received, they are intrinsically and truly the realities, and their opponents are the shams. Nero, the Roman empire, Jove, paganism, pagan philosophy, are all the transient; God, Christ, Christianity, the Church, are alone the permanent and the eternal.
The overthrow of paganism and the establishment of Christianity as the religion of the Roman empire were, however, but the outward verification of the apostle’s words. His was a more profound meaning. What he recognised was, the infinitely surpassing spiritual power of Christ and his religion in the work of the soul’s regeneration; in the saving it from death and hell and the raising it to immortality and heaven.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 28. and things which are not] i.e. ‘things which…
28. and things which are not] i.e. ‘things which by comparison are non-existent’—things which by the side of other things of higher importance in our human eyes appear to us as nothing. Yet these, in the counsels of God, are to change places, and more than change places, with things that are highly regarded in the sight of men.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (28) And things which are not.—This climax loses somewhat…
(28) And things which are not.—This climax loses somewhat of its force by the insertion of the word “and,” which is not in some of the best MSS., and “yea,” which is not in any MS. Omitting the word “and,” the sentence is not an addition to the things already mentioned, but a general and emphatic summary of all the things which have been already contrasted with their opposites. After the words “hath God chosen” there is a slight pause, and then the Apostle describes all those things which he has declared to be God’s choice, as things which “are not”—i.e., do not in men’s estimation even exist (Rom_4:17; Rom_9:25; see also Job_34:19; Job_34:24).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And the base things; literally, low-born, unborn; "those who…
And the base things; literally, low-born, unborn; "those who are sprung kern no one in particular nullo patre, nullis majoribus. Nothing could be more ignoble in the eyes of the world than a cross of wood upheld by feeble hands, and yet before it "kings and their armies did flee and were discomfited, and they of the household divided the spoil." And the things that are not. The not is the Greek subjective negative (mh); things of which men conceived as not existing It is like the expression of Clement of Rome, "Things accounted as nothing." Christianity was "the little stone, cut without hands," which God called into existence. We find the same thought in St. John the Baptist"s sermon. (Mat_3:9)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 28. Base things. Those of lowly birth. Things which…
28. Base things. Those of lowly birth. Things which are not. People that the world would call “nobodies,” and things that it counts as nothing. These are chosen to bring to nought things that are; the existing state of things; the pagan religions, governments, and civilization; these were to be overthrown through the influence of the gospel.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 28. “And the base-born of the world, and those…
28. “And the base-born of the world, and those who are despised, God elected out.” This is signally verified this day in many of God’s most efficient soul savers. We are informed that the great George Whitfield belonged to this class, first appearing a little ragged shoeblack serving the students of Oxford University. Incidentally recognizing the wonderful brilliancy of his mental acumen and paradoxical susceptibility of learning, the students taught him his letters and gave him his first start in literature by way of sheer amusement, astounded at the wonderful quickness and perspicacity with which he would catch up and retain every little item they taught him. When preaching at Lowell, Mass., a few days ago I learned that the dust of this wonderful saint rests in the cemetery of a country church at the mouth of the Merrimac River. Oh, what a mighty man was George Whitfield in his day! — unparalleled since the apostolic age. It was nothing uncommon for fifty thousand people to gather, not in a building, as England had none sufficiently capacious, but in an open field, while this champion orator, standing on a scaffold in the center, held them spellbound two solid hours, penitential tears coursing down their cheeks like rivers. He crossed the Atlantic seventeen times, using the English-speaking world in both hemispheres as his field of labor. We cite him and could give others innumerable, literally illustrative of this Scripture. “Things which are not” (i. e., nobodies), “in order that he may confound the things which are” (i. e., the somebodies). Therefore, if you are actually no account and nobody, look out, you are on shouting ground; you are the one whom God delights to use. You are in the most available and auspicious environments. Hence look out for the hand of the Almighty to rest on you, His mighty providence pick you up, and His grace transform you into a world’s wonder. I could write a volume giving brief notices of personal verifications of this Scripture. Revelation Stephen Merritt is accosted by a beggar in New York City asking him for a contribution. The man of God, flooded with the Holy Spirit, at once interviews him in the interest of his soul. The beggar responds: “I am the most unfortunate man you ever saw, just out of eleven years service in the Sing Sing Penitentiary; meanwhile all of my old chums and acquaintances have gotten away, so I am here alone without a friend on the face of the earth; have walked the city two days and nights hunting work in vain, and am starving.” “Oh,” says the man of God, “I am glad I met you. You are actually in the best fix of any man I ever saw. You are nobody, and nothing but a bundle of meanness and shame, having nothing on the face of the earth, no hope for time nor eternity; so you are in the best fix of any man I ever saw, for you are the very man God wants to bless, lift up and honor, thus verifying His glorious redeeming grace, magnifying His mercy and exalting His great name in the earth.” With this introduction the conversation continues, the beggar stating that he had never heard anything about religion or salvation in all his life, born at the bottom of slumdom, brought up in thievery, never having earned an honest dollar; and all the time in the penitentiary, when a Catholic priest came round, playing Protestant, and when the preachers called on him playing Catholic, so he had dodged between them and never in all his life been interviewed in the interest of his soul. Brother Merritt was then in his glory. Oh! how he preached Jesus to him — the sinner’s Friend and the sinners Savior. Down on his knees the preacher prays, the beggar prays, both forgetting the contribution solicited. Brother Merritt goes on his way leaving the beggar in awful agony, like wrestling Jacob, crying to God. As the night watchers tread on their still and dreary march, the bottom of Heaven drops out, flooding his soul with grace and glory. He leaps and runs over the city till day dawns, and, seeing a man coming out to his work, he is again reminded of hunting a job. Therefore, accosting the man: “Ho! ho! don’t you want to hire a hand?” “Where is your recommendation?” “I have none.”
“Then I won’t take you.” “I was eleven years —” “Ho! ho! if you have followed any business eleven years, I will take you in.” So the beggar gets a good job, now full of religion and shouting happy; his new boss turning out to be a good Christian, they are mutually delighted. Weeks and months go by. They labor, talk and pray together, and fall much in love, like David and Jonathan. Ere long the beggar ventures to explain what he meant by the eleven years, — that he was going to say eleven years in the penitentiary.
Read full note →
“Oh,” says the man, “the Holy Ghost moved me that moment to stop you so that you could get a job; for if I had known that you were just out of eleven years in the penitentiary, I would not have touched you with a forty-foot pole; but now I want you to stay with me eleven years.”
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain and the base things of the world, and the…
and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not [the people whom the world called "nobodies"] , that he might bring to nought the things that are :
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 what is low and despised
what is low and despised
the people whom the world rejects. AT: "people who are humble and rejected"
Read full note →
things that are regarded as nothing
This can be stated in active form. AT: "that which people usually regard as without value" (See: Active or Passive)
nothing, to bring to nothing things that are held as valuable
"nothing. He did this so he could show that the things that are held as valuable are really worthless"
things that are held as valuable
This can be stated in active form. AT: "things that people think are worth money" or "things that people think are worth respect" (See: Active or Passive)
He did this
"God did this"
translationWords
world
boast
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.