The first paragraph of 1 Corinthians was a common way of opening a letter in the ancient Near East.
Some translations prefer to set apart quotations of the Old Testament. The ULB and many other English translations indent the lines of 1:19, which is a quotation from the Old Testament.
#### Special concepts in this chapter ####
##### Disunity #####
In this chapter, Paul scolds the church for their disunity and their claims to follow different apostles. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/apostle]])
##### Spiritual gifts #####
Spiritual gifts are specific supernatural abilities given to Christians after they come to faith in Jesus. This is not an exhaustive list of the spiritual gifts. Some scholars believe some of these gifts were only given in the early church because they were foundational to the development of the church. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith]])
#### Important figures of speech in this chapter ####
##### Idioms #####
The return of Christ to the earth is mentioned in two very different phrases: "the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" and "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-idiom]])
##### Rhetorical questions #####
Paul uses rhetorical questions to scold them for dividing into factions and to say human wisdom is not enough to understand God's plans. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])
#### Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter ####
==Stumbling block ==
A stumbling block is a rock people stumble over. Here it means the Jews have a problem believing that God would allow his Messiah to be crucified and so refuse to believe. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
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