Paul from the city of Tarsus was the author. He had been known as Saul in his early life. Before becoming a Christian, Paul was a Pharisee. He persecuted Christians. After he began to trust in Jesus Christ, he traveled several times throughout the Roman Empire telling people about Jesus.
1 Corinthians is a letter that Paul wrote to the believers in the city of Corinth. Paul had heard that there were problems among the believers. They were arguing with each other. Some of them did not understand some of the Christian teachings. And some of them were behaving badly. In this letter, Paul responded to them and encouraged them to live in a way that pleases God.
Translators may choose to call this book by its traditional title, "First Corinthians." Or they may choose a clearer title, such as "Paul's First Letter to the Church in Corinth." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-names]])
Corinth was a major city located in ancient Greece. Because it was near the Mediterranean Sea, many travelers and traders came to buy and sell goods there. This caused the city to have people from many different cultures. The city was famous for having people who lived in immoral ways. The people worshipped Aphrodite, the goddess of love. As part of the ceremonies honoring Aphrodite, her worshipers had sexual intercourse with temple prostitutes.
Many animals were slaughtered and sacrificed to the gods in Corinth. Priests and worshipers kept some of the meat. And much of the meat was sold in markets. Many Christians disagreed with each other over whether it was right for them to eat this meat, because it had been dedicated to a false god. Paul writes about this problem in 1 Corinthians.
The scriptures use such words to indicate any one of various ideas. For this reason, it is often difficult for translators to represent them well in their versions. In translating into English, 1 Corinthians ULB uses the following principles:
* Sometimes the meaning in a passage implies moral holiness. Especially important for understanding the gospel is the fact that God considers Christians to be sinless because they are united to Jesus Christ. Another related fact is that God is perfect and faultless. A third fact is that Christians are to conduct themselves in a blameless, faultless manner in life. In these cases, the ULB uses "holy," "holy God," "holy ones," or "holy people." (See: 1:2; 3:17)
* Sometimes the meaning in a passage indicates a simple reference to Christians without implying any particular role filled by them. In these cases, the ULB uses "believer" or "believers." (See: 6:1, 2; 14:33; 16:1, 15)
* Sometimes the meaning in the passage implies the idea of someone or something set apart for God alone. In these cases, the ULB uses "set apart," "dedicated to," "reserved for," or "sanctified." (See: 1:2; 6:11; 7:14, 34)
Paul frequently used the terms "flesh" or "fleshly" to refer to Christians who did sinful things. However, it is not the physical world which is evil. Paul also described Christians who lived in a righteous way as "spiritual." This is because they did what the Holy Spirit taught them to do. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/flesh]], [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/spirit]])
This kind of expression occurs in 1:2, 30, 31; 3:1; 4:10, 15, 17; 6:11, 19; 7:22; 9:1, 2; 11:11, 25; 12:3, 9, 13, 18, 25; 14:16; 15:18, 19, 22, 31, 58; 16:19, 24. Paul meant to express the idea of a very close union with Christ and the believers. At the same time, he often intended other meanings as well. See, for example, "those who have been dedicated in Christ Jesus" (1:2), where Paul specifically meant that Christian believers have been dedicated to Christ.
* "I did this even though I myself was not under the law." (9:20) The ULB and UDB read in this way. However, some older versions leave this passage out.
* "For the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord." (10:28) Some older versions have this passage, but the best copies do not have it. The ULB and UDB do not have it.
* "and if I give my body to be burned." (13:3) Most versions, including the ULB and UDB, read in this way. However, some versions prefer, "and if I give my body so that I might boast."
* "But if anyone does not recognize this, let him not be recognized." (14:38) Most versions read in this way. However, some older versions read, "But if anyone is ignorant of this, let him be ignorant."
Translators are advised not to translate the passages that new translation of the Bible leave out. However, if in the translators' region there are older Bible versions that have one or more of the passages, the translators can include them. If they are translated, they should be put inside square brackets ([]) to indicate that they were probably not original to 1 Corinthians. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]])
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