Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageAnd I, brothers, was unable to speak to you as spiritual people — I had to speak to you as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GAnd I, brothers, could not speak to you as spiritual people but as fleshly ones — as infants in the Messiah.
KJV
King James VersionAnd I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleBrothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
Footnotes
Paul uses σαρκίνοις here ('made of flesh,' pointing to constitution and immaturity) rather than σαρκικοί, the stronger word that appears in v. 3. σαρκίνοις is not yet a moral accusation — these are milk-dependent infants, not rebels; Paul is being pastoral. The F.O.G renders it 'fleshly ones' to preserve the bodily, material sense; the F.O.G Message uses 'people of the flesh' to carry the same idea with slightly more immediacy. The upgrade in severity at v. 3 is the dynamic this word sets in motion.