1-corinthians 4:19

Translations

King James Version (KJV)

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.

American King James Version (AKJV)

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.

American Standard Version (ASV)

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and I will know, not the word of them that are puffed up, but the power.

Basic English Translation (BBE)

But I will come to you in a short time, if it is pleasing to the Lord, and I will take note, not of the word of those who are full of pride, but of the power.

Webster's Revision

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them who are puffed up, but the power.

World English Bible

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.

English Revised Version (ERV)

But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and I will know, not the word of them which are puffed up, but the power.

Clarke's 1-corinthians 4:19 Bible Commentary

But I will come to you shortly - God being my helper, I fully purpose to visit you; and then I shall put those proud men to the proof, not of their speech - eloquence, or pretensions to great knowledge and influence, but of their power - the authority they profess to have from God, and the evidences of that authority in the works they have performed. See the Introduction, Section 11.

Barnes's 1-corinthians 4:19 Bible Commentary

But I will come - It is from no fear of them that I am kept away; and to convince them of this I will come to them speedily.

If the Lord will - If the Lord permit; if by his providence he allows me to go. Paul regarded the entering on a journey as dependent on the will of God; and felt that God had all in his hand. No purpose should be formed without a reference to his will; no plan without feeling that he can easily frustrate it and disappoint us; see James 4:15.

And will know - I will examine; I will put to the test; I will fully understand,

Not the speech ... - Not their vain and empty boasting; not their confident assertions, and their self-complacent views.

But the power - Their real power. I will put their power to the proof: I will see whether they are able to effect what they affirm; whether they have more real power than I have. I will enter fully into the work of discipline, and will ascertain whether they have such authority in the church, such a power of party and of combination, that they can resist me, and oppose my administration of the discipline which the church needs. "A passage," says Bloomfield, "which cannot, in nerve and rigor, or dignity and composed confidence, be easily paralleled, even in Demosthenes himself."

Wesley's 1-corinthians 4:19 Bible Commentary

4:19 I will know - He here shows his fatherly authority Not the big, empty speech of these vain boasters, but how much of the power of God attends them.