1 Corinthians 3:19

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

Cross-reference

1 Corinthians 1:19 quotes a different OT verse (Isaiah 29:14) to the same effect: God destroys worldly wisdom, reinforcing Paul's argument here.

1 Corinthians 1:20 asks rhetorically where the wise are, asserting God has made worldly wisdom foolish — directly supporting the claim that it is folly to God.

1 Corinthians 2:6 contrasts worldly wisdom with true wisdom imparted to the mature — showing there is a different wisdom not of this age.

1 Corinthians 1:18 states the cross is foolishness to the world — the same contrast between worldly and divine wisdom.

Isaiah 44:25 says God makes wise men foolish and turns back their knowledge — a direct verbal parallel to 'wisdom of this world is folly with God'.

Psalm 141:10 asks for the wicked to fall into their own nets, a direct parallel to God trapping the crafty.

Psalm 9:16 Parallel

In Psalm 9:16, the wicked are snared by their own hands, reinforcing the theme of divine retribution through self-made traps.

Psalm 9:15 Parallel

Psalm 9:15 depicts the wicked sinking into their own pit, mirroring God catching the wise in their craftiness.

Job 5:13 Citation

Job 5:13 is the exact verse Paul quotes—God catches the wise in their own craftiness.

Esther 7:10 Parallel

In Esther 7:10, Haman is hanged on his own gallows—a vivid instance of the wise being trapped by their own plot.

In 2 Samuel 15:31, David prays that Ahithophel's wise counsel be turned to foolishness—God answering by taking the wise in their craftiness.

2 Samuel 17:23 describes Ahithophel's suicide after his counsel was rejected—the tragic end of worldly wisdom caught in its own craftiness.

2 Samuel 17:14 records that God appointed to defeat Ahithophel's good counsel—a direct narrative fulfillment of the principle in 1 Cor 3:19.

2 Samuel 16:23 highlights Ahithophel's reputation as an oracle-like counselor—making his later defeat a striking example of God frustrating worldly wisdom.

2 Corinthians 10:5 describes destroying proud arguments against God — directly opposing worldly wisdom.

Colossians 2:8 warns against deceptive human philosophy — exactly the worldly wisdom called foolish in 1 Cor 3:19.

Romans 12:2 Parallel

Romans 12:2 urges non-conformity to worldly patterns, aligning with rejecting worldly wisdom as foolish.

Acts 5:38 Parallel

Acts 5:38 states that human plans come to nothing — directly reinforcing that worldly wisdom is futile before God.

Luke 20:23 Parallel

Luke 20:23 uses the same Greek word 'craftiness' — Jesus perceives their cunning, demonstrating God detecting human scheming.

Obadiah 1:8 Parallel

Obadiah 1:8 declares God will destroy Edom's wise men—a direct OT example of God trapping the wise, closely aligning with Paul's point.

James 3:15 Parallel

James 3:15 describes earthly, unspiritual wisdom — directly opposing godly wisdom, paralleling Paul's claim that worldly wisdom is foolishness.

Isaiah 47:10 says wisdom perverted leads to destruction—directly parallel to worldly wisdom being foolishness to God.

Isaiah 19:3 Parallel

Isaiah 19:3 records God destroying Egypt's counsel—a specific instance of thwarting human wisdom, echoing Paul's theme.

Psalm 5:10 Parallel

Psalm 5:10 asks for the wicked to fall by their own counsels, a direct parallel to being caught in craftiness.

Job 18:7 Parallel

In Job 18:7, the wicked's own counsel casts him down, directly matching the trap of craftiness.

Nehemiah 4:15 Historical context

Nehemiah 4:15 shows God frustrating enemies' plans, a clear example of craftiness being thwarted.

Ezekiel 28:12 laments Tyre's pride in wisdom preceding its downfall—a parallel to the wise caught in their own schemes.

Isaiah 29:14-16 is the OT prophecy Paul quotes in 1 Corinthians 1:19, where God destroys the wisdom of the wise — closely related theme to this verse.

Isaiah 19:11-14 shows God making Egypt's wise counselors foolish — an OT illustration of the principle that worldly wisdom is folly with God.

John 11:49 Parallel

John 11:49 records Caiaphas's cynical political advice — an example of worldly wisdom that God overrules for His redemptive plan.

Proverbs 28:11 notes the rich man wise in his own conceit—parallel to the self-deceived wisdom God counts as foolishness.

Psalm 7:15 Parallel

Psalm 7:14 also says they bring forth falsehood—emphasizing the fruitless outcome of worldly scheming.

Romans 1:21 Parallel

Romans 1:21 explains that rejecting God leads to futile thinking and darkened hearts — the source of worldly wisdom's folly described here.

Proverbs 26:12 warns of the man wise in his own conceit—directly parallel to the pride that leads to being caught by God.

In 1 Timothy 6:20, Paul warns against 'falsely called knowledge' — the same worldly wisdom he calls foolishness in 1 Corinthians.

Proverbs 14:6 Related theme

Proverbs 14:6 says a scorner cannot find wisdom—similar to the futile worldly wisdom that God exposes as foolish.

Job 37:24 Related theme

Job 37:24 says God disregards the wise of heart, aligning with the foolishness of worldly wisdom.