What Does 1 Corinthians 2:15 Mean?
But the one of the breath judges all things, yet he himself is judged by no one.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.THE KEY
The same Greek verb describes both the breath-shaped person’s discernment and the human scrutiny that cannot fully measure them.
THE MEANING
The person of the breath can discern all things, while no human examiner can fully assess that person. The same verb names both actions, setting a limit on human appraisal: another person’s judgment does not encompass what the breath reveals.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse undoes the belief that another person’s judgment can fully measure what the breath reveals.
THE ROOT
ἀνακρίνει
anakrinei
GROWS FROM
κρίνω (krinō), in ἀνακρίνω (anakrinō)
To distinguish, decide, examine, or judge.
“judges” in this verse is anakrinei. Both “judgeth” and “is judged” translate forms of ἀνακρίνω, built on κρίνω. The sentence turns the same act of examination in two directions: the breath-shaped person examines all things, but human examination does not encompass that person.
ALSO GROWS
diakrinō: To distinguish or discern.
διακρίνω
It shows how this word family can describe making distinctions, not only issuing a verdict.
krisis: Judgment or decision.
κρίσις
This branch makes visible the evaluative sense carried by the repeated verb in the verse.
πνευματικός
pneumatikos
GROWS FROM
πνεῦμα
pneuma
Breath, wind, or spirit.
“of the breath” in this verse is pneumatikos. The person called “spiritual” is breath-shaped: pneuma holds breath, wind, and spirit in one word. The verse presents discernment as perception arising from the breath, not merely as a human verdict.
ALSO GROWS
pneuma: Breath, wind, or spirit.
πνεῦμα
This is the seed word behind “spiritual,” restoring the breath within the English rendering.
pneumatikōs: Spiritually; by the breath.
πνευματικῶς
This related form appears in the preceding verse for how the things of God are discerned.
THE PATTERN
Heart-level reality exceeds what appearance-based human judgment can measure.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have pushed him away. The LORD does not see as the human sees. The human sees what is outside, but the LORD sees the heart.To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, you probe me, and you perceive me.Do not judge by what the eye sees, but judge the judgment of alignment.THE THREAD
But the man of the living soul does not take in the things of the breath of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because they are sifted through the breath.“Spiritually discerned” in verse 14 uses the same Greek verb as “judgeth” and “is judged” in verse 15. Verse 15 carries that discernment forward: the breath-shaped person examines, while human scrutiny cannot fully take their measure.
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