1 Corinthians 4:7

Bible in Basic English (1941)

For who made you better than your brother? or what have you that has not been given to you? but if it has been given to you, what cause have you for pride, as if it had not been given to you?

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Τίς γάρ σε διακρίνει; τί δὲ ἔχεις ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες; εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔλαβες, τί καυχᾶσαι, ὡς μὴ λαβών;

Transliteration

Tis gar se diakrinei? ti de echeis ho ouk elabes? ei de kai elabes, ti kauchasai, as mē labōn?

Grammar Details

• *Tis*: interrogative pronoun, nominative, masculine, singular - who?
• *gar*: conjunction - for
• *se*: accusative, 2nd singular - you
• *diakrinei*: present indicative, 3rd singular, active - distinguishes/makes different
• *ti*: interrogative pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular - what?
• *de*: conjunction - and/but
• *echeis*: present indicative, 2nd singular, active - you have
• *ho*: relative pronoun, accusative, neuter, singular - which
• *ouk*: negative particle - not
• *elabes*: aorist indicative, 2nd singular, active - you received
• *ei de kai*: conjunction phrase - but if indeed/and if
• *kauchasai*: present indicative, 2nd singular, middle - you boast
• *mē labōn*: negative particle + aorist participle, nominative, masculine, singular - not having received

Word Meanings

• *diakrinei*: distinguishes/differentiates/sets apart/judges between
• *echeis*: have/possess/hold
• *elabes*: received/got/obtained
• *kauchasai*: boast/glory/take pride

Referenced Verses

• John 3:27 : 27 And this was John's answer: A man is unable to have anything if it is not given to him from heaven.
• 1 Pet 4:10 : 10 Making distribution among one another of whatever has been given to you, like true servants of the unmeasured grace of God;
• Rom 12:6 : 6 And having different qualities by reason of the grace given to us, such as the quality of a prophet, let it be made use of in relation to the measure of our faith;
• Jas 1:17 : 17 Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.
• 1 Chr 29:11-16 : 11 Yours, O Lord, is the strength and the power and the glory, and the authority and the honour: for everything in heaven and on earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are lifted up as head over all. 12 Wealth and honour come from you, and you are ruler over all, and in your hand is power and strength; it is in your power to make great, and to give strength to all. 13 So now, our God, we give you praise, honouring the glory of your name. 14 But who am I and what is my people, that we have power to give so freely in this way? for all things come from you, and what we have given you is yours. 15 For we, as all our fathers were, are like men from a strange country before you, who have got a place for a time in the land; our days on the earth are like a shade, and there is no hope of going on. 16 O Lord our God, all this store, which we have made ready for the building of a house for your holy name, comes from your hand and is yours.
• Prov 2:6 : 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and reason:
• Ezek 28:2-5 : 2 Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, This is what the Lord has said: Because your heart has been lifted up, and you have said, I am a god, I am seated on the seat of God in the heart of the seas; but you are man and not God, though you have made your heart as the heart of God: 3 See, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret which is deeper than your knowledge: 4 By your wisdom and deep knowledge you have got power for yourself, and put silver and gold in your store-houses: 5 By your great wisdom and by your trade your power is increased, and your heart is lifted up because of your power:
• Ezek 29:3 : 3 Say to them, These are the words of the Lord: See, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great river-beast stretched out among his Nile streams, who has said, The Nile is mine, and I have made it for myself.
• Dan 4:30-32 : 30 The king made answer and said, Is this not great Babylon, which I have made for the living-place of kings, by the strength of my power and for the glory of my honour? 31 While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice came down from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is said: The kingdom has gone from you: 32 And they will send you out from among men, to be with the beasts of the field; they will give you grass for your food like the oxen, and seven times will go by you, till you are certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure.
• Dan 5:18 : 18 As for you, O King, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your father, the kingdom and great power and glory and honour:
• Dan 5:23 : 23 But you have been lifting yourself up against the Lord of heaven, and they have put the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your women, have taken wine in them; and you have given praise to gods of silver and gold, of brass and iron and wood and stone, who are without the power of seeing or hearing, and without knowledge: and to the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, you have not given glory;
• Matt 25:14-15 : 14 For it is as when a man, about to take a journey, got his servants together, and gave them his property. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to everyone as he was able; and he went on his journey.
• Luke 19:13 : 13 And he sent for ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds and said to them, Do business with this till I come.
• John 1:16 : 16 From his full measure we have all been given grace on grace.
• 1 Cor 3:5 : 5 What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.
• 1 Cor 5:6 : 6 This pride of yours is not good. Do you not see that a little leaven makes a change in all the mass?
• 1 Cor 7:7 : 7 It is my desire that all men might be even as I am. But every man has the power of his special way of life given him by God, one in this way and one in that.
• 1 Cor 12:4-9 : 4 Now there are different qualities given to men, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are different sorts of servants, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different operations, but the same God, who is working all things in all. 7 But to every man some form of the Spirit's working is given for the common good. 8 For to one are given words of wisdom through the Spirit; and to another words of knowledge through the same Spirit: 9 To another faith in the same Spirit; and to another the power of taking away disease, by the one Spirit; 10 And to another the power of working wonders; and to another the prophet's word; and to another the power of testing spirits; to another different sorts of tongues; and to another the power of making clear the sense of the tongues: 11 But all these are the operations of the one and the same Spirit, giving to every man separately as his pleasure is.
• 1 Cor 15:10 : 10 But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
• Eph 3:3-5 : 3 How by revelation the secret was made clear to me, as I said before in a short letter, 4 By the reading of which you will be clear about my knowledge of the secret of Christ; 5 Which in other generations was not given to the sons of men, but the revelation of it has now been made to his holy Apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
• 2 Thess 2:12-14 : 12 So that they all may be judged, who had no faith in what is true, but took pleasure in evil. 13 But it is right for us to give praise to God at all times for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because it was the purpose of God from the first that you might have salvation, being made holy by the Spirit and by faith in what is true: 14 And in this purpose he gave you a part through the good news of which we were the preachers, even that you might have part in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 1 Tim 1:12-15 : 12 I give praise to him who gave me power, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he took me to be true, making me his servant, 13 Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith; 14 And the grace of our Lord was very great, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a true saying, in which all may put their faith, that Christ Jesus came into the world to give salvation to sinners, of whom I am the chief:
• Titus 3:3-7 : 3 For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another. 4 But when the mercy of God our Saviour, and his love to man was seen, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but in the measure of his mercy, he gave us salvation, through the washing of the new birth and the giving of new life in the Holy Spirit, 6 Which he gave us freely through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 So that, having been given righteousness through grace, we might have a part in the heritage, the hope of eternal life.
• 2 Chr 1:7-9 : 7 In that night God came to Solomon in a vision, and said to him, Say what I am to give you. 8 And Solomon said to God, Great was your mercy to David my father, and you have made me king in his place. 9 Now, O Lord God, let your word to David my father come true; for you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in number. 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours? 11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king: 12 Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.
• 2 Chr 32:23-29 : 23 And great numbers came to Jerusalem with offerings for the Lord, and things of great price for Hezekiah, king of Judah: so that he was honoured among all nations from that time. 24 In those days Hezekiah was ill and near death; and he made prayer to the Lord, and the Lord in answer gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not do as had been done to him; for his heart was lifted up in pride; and so wrath came on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But then, Hezekiah, in sorrow for what he had done, put away his pride; and he and all Jerusalem made themselves low, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come on them in Hezekiah's life-time. 27 And Hezekiah had very great wealth and honour; and he made himself store-houses for his gold and silver and jewels and spices, and for body-covers and all sorts of beautiful vessels. 28 And store-houses for the produce of grain and wine and oil; and buildings for all sorts of beasts and flocks. 29 And he made towns for himself, and got together much property in flocks and herds: for God had given him great wealth.
• Rom 1:5 : 5 Through whom grace has been given to us, sending us out to make disciples to the faith among all nations, for his name:
• Rom 9:16-18 : 16 So then, it is not by the desire or by the attempt of man, but by the mercy of God. 17 For the holy Writings say to Pharaoh, For this same purpose did I put you on high, so that I might make my power seen in you, and that there might be knowledge of my name through all the earth. 18 So then, at his pleasure he has mercy on a man, and at his pleasure he makes the heart hard.
• Rom 12:3 : 3 But I say to every one of you, through the grace given to me, not to have an over-high opinion of himself, but to have wise thoughts, as God has given to every one a measure of faith.
• Acts 12:22-23 : 22 And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man. 23 And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end.