1 Corinthians 3:18–20
18 eLet no one deceive himself. fIf anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For gthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, h“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, i“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — The New International Version (NIV)
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,
“He traps the wise
in the snare of their own cleverness.”
20 And again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise;
he knows they are worthless.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — New Century Version (NCV)
18 Do not fool yourselves. If you think you are wise in this world, you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, 19 because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches those who are wise in their own clever traps.” 20 It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — American Standard Version (ASV)
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: 20 and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
18 Let no one deceive himself: if any one thinks himself to be wise among you in this world, let him become foolish, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, He who takes the wise in their craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain.
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
18 Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. 19 The wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “God catches the wise in their cleverness.” 20 Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
18 No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, since it is written: He catches the wise in their craftiness; 20 and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are meaningless.
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
“He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
20 and again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks himself to be wise among you in this age, let him become a fool, in order that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, “The one who catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
18 Don’t fool yourselves. Suppose some of you think you are wise by the standards of the world. Then you should become a “fool” so that you can become wise.
19 The wisdom of this world is foolish in God’s eyes. It is written, “God catches wise people in their own tricks.” 20 It is also written, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise don’t amount to anything.”
1 Corinthians 3:18–20 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”;
20 and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”