World English Bible · Under Rome
1 Corinthians 1
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, called to be of through the will of , and our brother , to of which is at —those who are in Christ , called , with all who of our in every place, both theirs and ours: to you and peace from and . I always thank my concerning you for the of which was given you in Christ , that in everything you were enriched in him, in all speech and all knowledge— even as the of Christ was confirmed in you— so that you come behind in no gift, for the of our , who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the day of our . is , through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, our . Now I beg you, brothers, through the name of our , , that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same and in the same . For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers, by those who are from Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you says, "I follow ," "I follow ," "I follow ," and, "I follow Christ." Is Christ divided? Was for you? Or were you into the name of ? I thank that I none of you except and , so that no one should say that I had you into my own name. (I also the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don't know whether I any other.) For Christ sent me not to , but to preach the —not in of words, so that of Christ wouldn't be made void. For the word of is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are being it is the of . For , "I will destroy the of . I will bring the discernment of the discerning to nothing." Where is ? Where is the ? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't made foolish the of this world? For seeing that in the of , the world through its didn't know , it was good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to those who . For ask for signs, seek after , but we preach Christ , a stumbling block to and foolishness to , but to those who are called, both and , Christ is the of and the of ; because the foolishness of is wiser than men, and the weakness of is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are according to , not many mighty, and not many noble; but chose the foolish things of the world that he might those who are . chose the weak things of the world that he might the things that are strong. 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, that no should boast before . Because of him, you are in Christ , who was made to us from , and and sanctification, and , that, as , "He who boasts, let him boast in ."
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.