The complexities and ambiguities of ascertaining the use of texts found in the “New Testament” (NT) within the “Apostolic Fathers” (AF) are well known. Most studies have explored the reception of the NT within a specific AF (i.e., the reception of the NT within 1 Clement, etc.). This paper will take a different approach by tracing the possible use of one NT text (1 Corinthians 2:9) within the various works among the AF, exploring the relevant materials in 1 Clement 34.8; 2 Clement 11.7; and Martyrdom of Polycarp 2.3. The investigation will highlight the numerous difficulties inherent in this exploration: For example, (1) 1 Corinthians 2:9 itself is quoting from elsewhere. (2) Similar (but not parallel) notions are found in LXX Isaiah 64:1-5. (3) Patristic authors (like Origen, Ambrosiaster, and Jerome) noted that relevant materials were also found in the Apocalypse of Elijah, although the extant apocalypse does not contain such materials. (4) Comparable notions also appear in Gospel of Thomas 17; Ascension of Isaiah 8.11; b. Sanh. 99a; and several other works. Moreover, (5) The exact wording of the 1 Clement, 2 Clement, and Martyrdom of Polycarp texts all differ from one another. (6) In multiple passages, 1 Clement reflects a familiarity with 1 Corinthians. (7) The Martyrdom of Polycarp contains a few parallels with 1 Clement elsewhere. (8) 2 Clement seems to evidence knowledge of traditions within or behind the Gospel of Thomas, and it does not patently reflect the use of Pauline materials. (9) Citations took on their own “life” in a culture of orality and memory. After exploring this manifold data, the paper will suggest what (if anything) can be known about the possible use of 1 Corinthians 2:9 in the AF (and with what degree of confidence in each particular case).