1 Korin 1

1 Sithaw koehhhaih baktiah patoeh ih kami ah oh hanah, Jesu Kri mah kawk ih Pawl hoi aicae nawkamya Sothena loe,

I, Paul, [am writing this letter]. Sosthenes, our fellow believer, is with [me as I write it]. [God] appointed me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what God desired.

2 Kri Jesu rang hoiah zaehaih ciim boeh moe, kaciim kami ah kawk ih, Korin vangpui ah kaom Sithaw kricaabunawk, ahmuen kruekah nihcae hoi aicae ih, Angraeng Jesu Kri hmin kawk kaminawk boih:

[I am sending this letter] to all you who are God’s believers in Corinth [city]. You have been set apart [by God] {[God] has set you apart} for himself because (of your close relationship with/you belong to) Christ Jesus. God has appointed you to be his people and to live in a morally pure way, just like he has appointed all the people everywhere who belong to him to live in a morally pure way. You and they have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [MTY]. He is their sovereign Lord as well as the sovereign Lord of all of us [(inc)] who have trusted in him.

3 aicae ampa Sithaw, Angraeng Jesu Kri khae hoi ih tahmenhaih hoi angdaehhaih nangcae khaeah om nasoe.

We [(exc)] desire that God, who is our [heavenly] Father, and Jesus Christ, who is our sovereign Lord, will continue to act kindly toward you and cause you to experience [inner] peace.

4 Kri Jesu rang hoiah Sithaw tahmenhaih nangcae khaeah paek boeh pongah, nangcae zuengah Sithaw khaeah kawnhaih lawk ka thuih toepsoep;

I very often [HYP] thank God for you because he has acted toward you kindly, acting in ways that you do not deserve. He has done this because of your (having a close relationship with/being united to) Christ Jesus.

5 lokthuihaih hoi panoekhaih boih ah, Anih rang hoi hmuen boih ah na koep o boeh;

That is, [God] has [HYP] helped you spiritually very much because of your (having a close relationship with/being united to) Christ. Specifically, God has very much [HYP] enabled you to speak messages [that his Spirit revealed to you], and he has very much enabled you to know many things [HYP] that his Spirit revealed to you.

6 ka thuih ih Kri tamthanglok doeh nangcae khaeah caksak boeh:

In that way, [he] confirmed to you that what we [(exc)] proclaimed about Christ is true.

7 to pongah aicae Angraeng Jesu Kri angzoh lethaih na zing o naah, tangqum maeto doeh pathlong ai ah na oh o:

As a result, while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to return, within your group you truly have [LIT] every ability that [God’s] Spirit gives [to believers].

8 aicae Angraeng Jesu Kri ih niah coek koi om ai ah na oh o thai hanah, boeng khoek to Anih mah na cak o sak tih.

God will also cause you to steadfastly [trust Christ to the very end of your lives] [EUP]. The result will be that God will not consider you guilty [of any sin] when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth [MTY].

9 Sithaw loe oepthoh, Anih rang hoiah ni a Capa, aicae Angraeng Jesu Kri hoi angkom hanah nangcae to ang kawk.

You can depend on God to do that. He is the one who chose you to become intimately associated with his Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord.

10 Nawkamyanawk, nangcae salakah ampraekhaih oh han ai ah, lok maeto ah na thuih o moe, poekhaih maeto tawnh pacoengah, lok na takroek o hanah, aicae Angraeng Jesu Kri hmin hoiah kang pacae o.

My fellow believers, by the authority of [MTY] our Lord Jesus Christ, I urgently appeal to all of you to agree with one another. What I mean is, stop dividing into groups. Instead, be united [MET] concerning what you understand [about spiritual matters], and be united in what you decide.

11 Nawkamyanawk, nangcae thungah lok angaekhaih oh ti, tiah Khaloe imthung takohnawk mah ang thuih o.

My fellow believers, [I urge this] because some members of Chloe’s household have told me that you are quarreling among yourselves.

12 Nangcae thung ih thoemto kaminawk mah, Kai loe Pawl ih kami ni, kai loe Apollo ih kami ni, kai loe Kipha ih kami ni, kai loe Kri ih kami ni, tiah thuih o pongah, vaihi hae lok hae kang thuih o.

That is, some of you say, “Paul is the one to whom we [are loyal],” and others say, “Peter is the one to whom we [are loyal],” and still others say, “Christ is the one to whom we [are loyal].”

13 Kri loe ampraek phang maw? Nangcae zuengah Pawl maw takhing o? To ai tih boeh loe Pawl ih ahmin hoiah maw tuinuemhaih na hnuk o?

[It is ridiculous that] [RHQ] [you are quarreling and] dividing up [into groups instead of being loyal to] Christ alone. Christ certainly has not divided himself into parts and distributed those parts out [to groups of people who oppose each other]! [MET, RHQ] I, Paul, certainly did not die on the cross for you! [RHQ] When you were baptized {When someone baptized you}, you certainly did not promise that you were submitting to me! [RHQ]

14 Krispa hoi Kaia thui ai ah, nangcae thung ih kami maeto doeh tuinuemhaih kang paek o ai pongah, Sithaw khaeah kawnhaih lawk ka thuih;

I thank [God] that Crispus and Gaius were the only ones from among you whom I baptized.

15 To tih ai nahaeloe minawk mah kaimah ih ahmin hoiah tuinuemhaih ka paek, tiah thui o moeng tih.

As a result, no one [there in Corinth except those two] can say, “Paul baptized me so that I would become (his disciple/submissive to him).”

16 Stephen cakawhnawk doeh tuinuemhaih ka paek: nihcae ai ah loe kalah kaminawk tuinuem paekhaih ka panoek ai.

[Now I remember that] I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I do not remember baptizing anyone else [there].

17 Kri mah tuinuem hanah na patoeh ai, lokthui kophaih hoiah lok taphong hanah doeh na patoeh ai, kahoih tamthanglok taphong han ih ni ang patoeh; to tih ai nahaeloe Kri ih thinglam to azom pui ah om moeng tih.

Christ sent me not [primarily] to baptize people but to preach the good message about him. When I do that, he does not want me to use words that human philosophers [consider] wise [IRO]. I do not want the message about [what] he [accomplished when he was nailed to] the cross [MTY] to lose its power.

18 Thinglam tamthanglok loe anghmaa kaminawk hanah amthuhaih ah oh; toe aicae pahlong caanawk hanah loe Sithaw thacakhaih ah oh.

Those who are perishing spiritually [because they do not believe that message consider] that the message [about what Christ accomplished when he was nailed to the] cross [MTY] [is] foolish. But to us who are being saved {whom [God] is saving} [spiritually because we believe that message], it [demonstrates that] God acts powerfully [in order to save us].

19 Palungha kami palunghahaih to kam rosak moe, khopoek thaih kami panoekhaih doeh kang hmatsak han, tiah tarik ih oh.

[It is like what God said that] a prophet wrote long ago, [By the things that I will do], I will show that the ideas of those who [think] [IRO] they are wise are completely useless. I will ignore the ideas that they think are [IRO] so smart.

20 Palungha kami loe naah maw oh? Ca tarik kami loe naah maw oh? Hae long nui ih angaek kop kami loe naah maw oh? Hae long nui palunghahaih loe Sithaw mah amthuhaih ah ni oh, tiah amtuengsak na ai maw? (aiōn g165)

So, do you know [what God thinks] about what [RHQ] people who [IRO] consider themselves to be wise and scholars and philosophers say? [He does not pay attention to what they say, because] [RHQ] he has shown clearly that what unbelievers [think is] [IRO] wise is [not wise at all], but is really foolish. (aiōn g165)

21 Sithaw palunghahaih loe long palunghahaih mah pha thai ai pongah, long palunghahaih hoiah Sithaw panoek thai ai, Sithaw mah loe kamthu tamthanglok taphonghaih rang hoiah tanghaih tawn kaminawk pahlong hanah koeh.

God, acting very wisely, made it impossible for unbelievers to know God by doing what they thought was [IRO] wise. Instead, he was happy to save those who trust [in Christ] as the result of their hearing [the message that] was proclaimed to them, a message that others consider to be foolish.

22 Judahnawk mah loe angmathaih to pakrong o moe, Griknawk mah loe palunghahaih to pakrong o:

The Jews want [people to prove, by performing] miracles, [that their message is true]. The non-Jews want to hear only messages consisting of talk that they consider to be very wise.

23 toe aicae loe Kri takhinghaih tamthanglok ni a thuih o, Judahnawk hanah amtimhhaih ah oh moe, Griknawk hanah loe amthuhaih ah oh;

As for us, we proclaim [the message about what] Christ [accomplished for us when] he was nailed {[when they] nailed him} to the cross. That message offends Jews [because they do not think that the Messiah will die, and] non-Jews think it is [IRO] a foolish message.

24 Judahnawk hanah doeh, Gentelnawk hanah doeh, Kri loe kawk ih kaminawk hanah Sithaw thacakhaih hoi Sithaw palunghahaih ah oh.

But to us whom God has chosen to belong to himself, both Jews and non-Jews, that message shows that God acted powerfully and wisely [by sending] Christ [to die] for us.

25 Sithaw amthuhaih loe kaminawk palunghahaih pongah palungha kue; Sithaw thazokhaih loe kami pongah thacak kue.

[Unbelievers may think] [IRO] [that] God was [acting] foolishly [by doing that], but [the truth is that] he was acting more wisely than unbelievers who [just think that] [IRO] they are wise. And unbelievers may think that God was [acting] weakly [by sending his son to die], but he was acting more powerfully than unbelievers who [just think] [IRO] [that they] act powerfully.

26 Nawkamyanawk, tipongah taksa ah palungha parai kaminawk, thacak parai kaminawk hoi kahoih phi kaminawk to kawk ai ah, nangcae ang kawk lathaih kawng to poek oh:

My fellow believers, remember what [kind of people you] were when God chose you. [Not many of you] whom he chose are people whom [unbelievers considered to be] wise. Very few of you were considered to be important. Very few of you came from families with a high social standing.

27 toe palungha kaminawk azatsak hanah, Sithaw mah long kamthu kaminawk to qoih boeh; thacak kaminawk azatsak hanah, Sithaw mah long thazok kaminawk to qoih boeh;

Instead, it was [usually] those whom [unbelievers considered to be] foolish whom God chose. He did that in order to shame/discredit those whom [unbelievers consider] [IRO] wise. It was [usually] those [whom unbelievers] considered [IRO] unimportant whom God chose, in order to shame/discredit those whom unbelievers consider important.

28 long ah kaom lokpui parai ah poek ih hmuennawk to amrosak hanah, long nui ih amtang kaminawk, patoek koi kaom kaminawk, tidoeh tawn ai kaminawk to Sithaw mah qoih boeh:

It was usually those who are despised and considered {whom [unbelievers] despise and consider} worthless whom God chose, in order to make completely ineffective [what unbelievers consider to be important].

29 mi kawbaktih doeh Anih hmaa ah amoek o thai han ai ah to tiah a sak.

[He did that] in order that no one could boast to God about being wise or important.

30 Toe nangcae loe angmah rang hoiah Kri Jesu ah na oh o, anih loe Sithaw mah sak ih baktih toengah, aicae hanah palunghahaih, toenghaih, ciimcaihaih hoi akranghaih ah oh.

It is because of what God [has done] that you (have a close relationship with/belong to) Christ Jesus. God [put into effect] his wise [plan to save us] by what Christ did for us. As a result of what Christ did, God erases the record of our sins, sets us apart for himself, and frees us from our being guilty [for our sins].

31 To pongah, amoek kami loe Angraeng ah amoek nasoe, tiah tarik ih oh.

So, it is the Lord whom we should boast about, [not about one spiritual leader being better than another]. We should do as ([a prophet/Jeremiah]) wrote [in the Scriptures that we should do]: Those who boast should boast [only] about what the Lord [has done].