There is a difference in opinion as to whether the words As in all the churches of the saints belong with the first part of verse 33 or with verse 34 (see footnotes on punctuation in the UBS Greek text). The problem is complicated by the fact that some manuscripts place verses 34-35 at the end of the chapter, following verse 40. If this is done, verse 33b must be taken with verse 33a. However, if verses 34-35 are kept in their traditional place, as the weight of manuscript evidence suggests, the question of the punctuation of verse 33 remains open. In favor of dividing verse 33 as in the UBS Greek text is the fact that verse 33a reads like the climax or conclusion of an argument and does not connect well with verse 33b.
In favor of linking verse 33b with 33a, it may be said (1) that the repetition of the phrases in all the churches (verse 33b) and in the churches (verse 34) is awkward; and (2) that Paul uses expressions very similar to verse 33b in 4.17 (“in every church”) and 7.17 (“in all the churches”). In both cases these occur at the end of a sentence. It seems preferable, then, to link verse 33b with 33a. In this case, verse 33b will form the conclusion, not only of verses 32-33a, but also of the whole paragraph, and should be translated as a separate sentence. One may say, for example, “This is what happens in all the churches of God’s people.”
If, however, translators take verse 33b with verse 34, as Good News Bible and many other translations have done, then translators may need to use different words for the two occurrences of churches. The first, in verse 33b, would refer to Christian communities everywhere, and the second to meetings of the particular community at Corinth. Translator’s New Testament restructures: “the women must keep silent in the congregations, for they are not permitted to speak. This is the practice in all the congregations of God’s people.” The question of punctuation in verse 33, and the textual problem of the position of verses 34-35, should be distinguished from the question of whether Paul is the author of verses 34-35. Some commentators believe that Paul could not have written in this way, and that these verses crept into the text from a marginal note by a scribe, influenced perhaps by 1 Timothy 2.11-12. In many translations it may be good to state in a note that some manuscripts place verses 34-35 at the end of the chapter. However, there is no manuscript evidence for the omission of these verses, and where manuscript evidence is lacking, it is not advisable for translators, even in readers’ helps, to enter into questions of authenticity. Quite apart from this, it may be said that the similarity of language between verses 34 and 35 and 1 Timothy 2.11-12 is not striking, and that there are several points of contact, indicated in the notes, between verses 34-35 and the wider context.
Confusion: the same word is used in 2 Cor 12.20. It is possible that Paul means “God does not give spiritual gifts that are in conflict with one another.” However, it is simpler to understand the text to mean “God is not a source of disorder in the Christian community.” Therefore a translation similar to Good News Bible‘s will fit the meaning more closely.
Peace: early Christian writers were very likely thinking of the Hebrew word for peace when they used the Greek word. The Hebrew had a wider meaning than that of the Greek or English. Peace for Christians, as in the Old Testament, was more than an absence of war or a peaceful feeling that an individual might have inside himself (see comments on 1.3; 7.15).
The first part of this verse can be restructured as “because God wants us to have harmony and peace among ourselves rather than confusion.”
Churches clearly refers to local Christian communities.
Saints refers to God’s people, meaning Christians everywhere. The meaning is similar to “God’s holy people” in 1.2.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .