Is 1 Corinthians 15:33 mistranslated?

A commonly-used Bible text is probably mistranslated in nearly all Bible translations!

1 Corinthians 15:33 is usually translated to say:

• NIV: Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

• ESV: Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

• NWT: Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.

• BSB: Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

What’s the problem? When ancient Christian writers quoted the verse, their version was a little different from what it says in modern Bibles. For example, when quoted by the 5th century AD Church historian Socrates of Constantinople, in his book Historia Ecclesiastica, it reads as:

• Evil communications corrupt good manners

Yes, not “company” or “associations,” but “communications.” In other words, it refers to evil ideas or teachings, not to evil people.

After all, even an otherwise good person may be misled by a wrong teaching.

Further, the phrase is not unique to the Bible. It appears to be a common phrase in the ancient world. For example, the Hermeneia Bible Commentary says, ‘This saying was widely known as a familiar quotation.’ Then it gives an example of its use by the 1st century BC historian Diodorus Siculus who used it to speak about King Philip II of Macedon. Yes – that’s a century before Paul used it in 1 Corinthians!

So what went wrong? Why do most modern Bibles translate it differently?

The problem is that the Greek words of 1 Corinthians have multiple definitions – just like many English words do today. It seems that modern translators have simply chosen the wrong ones – definitions that don’t match what the early Christian writers reported the verse as saying.

The translators’ choices also don’t agree with the ancient Aramaic texts of 1 Corinthians 15:33, which says:

• Be not deceived, evil discourse corrupts pleasant minds.

Yet again, it seems the evil is not the people, but their ideas, arguments, or talk.

So if we choose definitions that agree and harmonize all the sources (the Aramaic text, the Early Christian writers, and the alternative definitions in the Greek lexicons), then the verse reads differently, and suddenly it completely agrees with the surrounding context!

That’s why in our 2001 Translation, the verse reads:

• So, don’t allow [anyone] to mislead you about this… Remember:

  ‘Evil communications corrupt good morals!’

Of course, association or company with evil people is still bad. That fact is made very clear in the Proverbs, the Psalms, and other Bible texts. But that doesn’t seem to be the subject of 1 Corinthians 15:33 – it’s a warning about bad ideas, arguments, or messages, and how what you believe may affect your moral standards.

Want to learn more? Please see our translator note https://2001translation.org/notes/evil-communications

Warm regards

Alfred Larsen
Editor