1 Corinthians 15

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you. You accepted it, and you are standing firm in it.

1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2This good news is what saves you, if you hold on to the message I preached to you. Otherwise you believed for nothing.

2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

Note"In vain" in the King James means empty, to no purpose. It carries no sense of vanity or conceit. Paul uses the same word again in verses 10, 14, 17 and 58.

3I passed on to you, as the most important thing, what I also received: that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

NoteWhen Paul writes "the scriptures" he means the Jewish scriptures, what Christians later called the Old Testament. No Christian writings yet existed as a recognized collection.

4He was buried, and he was raised on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

5He appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.

5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

NoteCephas is Aramaic for "rock," the nickname Jesus gave Simon; Peter is the Greek form of the same word. Paul usually calls him by the Aramaic name. "The twelve" was the standing title of the group of disciples Jesus chose, and the name stuck to the group even when it was briefly short of twelve men.

6After that he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time. Most of them are still alive, though some have died.

6After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

Note"Fallen asleep" is an ordinary ancient way of saying died. Paul's point in mentioning that most are still living is that these witnesses could still be found and questioned.

7After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

7After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

NoteNot James the apostle, son of Zebedee, who was killed early. This is most likely James the brother of Jesus, who led the church in Jerusalem. "All the apostles" names a wider circle than the Twelve; Paul uses the word for commissioned messengers generally, including himself.

8And last of all he appeared to me too, as to someone born at the wrong time.

8And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Note"Born out of due time" translates a blunt Greek word used for a miscarriage or a birth wrenched out too early. It is not a gentle image, and Paul may be picking up a taunt his opponents used against him.

9For I am the least of the apostles. I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I hunted down and harmed God's church.

9For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Note"Meet" in the King James means fit or worthy. It has nothing to do with meeting someone.

10But by God's kindness I am what I am, and his kindness to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all of them, yet it was not me, but God's kindness that was with me.

10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Note"Grace" is favor given freely to someone who has done nothing to earn it, and in Paul's usage it also means the active help that comes with that favor.

11So whether it was me or them, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

11Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

12Now if we preach that Christ was raised from the dead, how can some of you say that dead people are never raised?

12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

NoteMany Greeks of the time accepted that the soul survives death, but found the raising of a body repellent, since the body was precisely what the soul was glad to be rid of. That is the position Paul is arguing against here.

13If dead people are never raised, then Christ was not raised either.

13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14And if Christ was not raised, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is empty too.

14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

15More than that, we would be shown to be liars about God. We testified that God raised Christ up, and he did not raise him, if in fact the dead are not raised.

15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised either.

16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17And if Christ was not raised, your faith is useless, and you are still in your sins.

17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

18It would also mean that those who have died trusting Christ are lost for good.

18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then we deserve more pity than anyone else.

19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

NoteIn 1611 "miserable" meant deserving of pity, an object of others' sympathy. It did not mean feeling unhappy.

20But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first part of the harvest of those who have died.

20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

NoteFirstfruits were the first portion of a harvest, brought to God before the rest was gathered in. The offering was both a gift and a marker that the full harvest was already under way and would follow.

21Since death came through a man, the raising of the dead also comes through a man.

21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

23But each one in his own turn: Christ is the first part of the harvest; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

Note"His coming" translates a Greek word used for the official arrival of a king or emperor at a city, a state visit with all its ceremony.

24Then the end will come. He will hand the kingdom over to God the Father, after he has put down every ruler and every authority and power.

24Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Note"Rule," "authority" and "power" are used here as titles for ranks of powers rather than as abstract qualities. Paul's readers would have heard them as names for forces, human and spiritual, that hold sway over the world.

25For he must rule until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

NoteThe wording echoes Psalm 110:1. Putting enemies "under his feet" was a standard image of total conquest; a victorious king might literally set his foot on a defeated ruler's neck.

26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27For God has put everything under his feet. But when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God, who put everything under him.

27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

NoteThe quoted line is from Psalm 8:6, where it describes humanity being given charge over creation. The argument turns on pressing the word "all": the one who does the subjecting obviously cannot be among the things subjected.

28And when everything has been placed under him, then the Son himself will be placed under God, who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

29If none of this is so, what will people do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are never raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

29Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

NotePaul refers to this practice in passing and never describes it, and no other writer of his century explains it either. Proposals include being baptized on behalf of believers who died before they could be baptized, and being baptized because of the dead, out of a wish to be with them. He argues from the practice here without saying anything about whether he approved of it.

30And why do we put ourselves in danger every hour?

30And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31I face death every day. That is as certain as the pride I take in you because of Christ Jesus our Lord.

31I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our LORD, I die daily.

Note"I protest" in the King James means I swear solemnly, and "rejoicing" here means boasting. Paul is taking an oath by the pride he takes in the Corinthians. "I die daily" means he is in danger of death every day, not that he dies in some inward sense.

32If I fought wild animals in Ephesus for only human reasons, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, then, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

32If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

NoteCondemned criminals were thrown to wild animals in the arena, but a Roman citizen like Paul would not normally have been sentenced to that, and he lived to write the letter, so many read the phrase as a figure of speech for savage opposition at Ephesus. "Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die" is quoted from Isaiah 22:13, where it is the talk of people in a city about to fall.

33Do not be fooled: "Bad company ruins good character."

33Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

NoteThis is a quoted proverb, a line from the Greek comic playwright Menander. "Communications" means the company you keep, and "manners" means character and habits, not politeness or table etiquette.

34Come to your senses and live right, and stop sinning. Some of you do not know God at all. I say this to make you ashamed.

34Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Note"Awake to righteousness" translates a Greek word that means to sober up from drunkenness. The image is of someone coming out of a stupor.

35But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?"

35But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36You fool! What you plant does not come to life unless it first dies.

36Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

Note"Quickened" in the King James means made alive. "Quick" in this older sense means living, as in the phrase "the quick and the dead."

37And what you plant is not the body it will become. You plant only a bare seed, maybe of wheat or of some other grain.

37And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

Note"It may chance" means perhaps. "Bare grain" is a naked seed, with nothing yet of the plant it will become.

38But God gives it a body just as he decided, and he gives each kind of seed its own body.

38But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39Not all flesh is the same. People have one kind of flesh, animals another, fish another, and birds another.

39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The brightness of the heavenly ones is one kind, and the brightness of the earthly ones is another.

40There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

Note"Celestial" means heavenly and "terrestrial" means earthly. "Bodies" covers both the sun, moon and stars and the bodies of living creatures; the single word holding both is what lets the comparison work. "Glory" here means visible brightness or splendor, not honor.

41The sun has one kind of brightness, the moon another, and the stars another. And one star differs from another star in brightness.

41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42That is how it will be when the dead are raised. The body is planted as something that decays; it is raised as something that cannot decay.

42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

Note"Sown" is the farming word for planting seed, carrying on the image from verses 36 to 38. "Corruption" means decay, the physical process of rotting, and has no moral sense here.

43It is planted in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is planted in weakness; it is raised in power.

43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

Note"Dishonour" refers to the indignity of a dead body being put in the ground, not to disgraceful conduct.

44It is planted as a natural body; it is raised as a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is also a spiritual body.

44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

NoteThe Greek contrasts a body animated by ordinary human life with a body animated by God's Spirit. "Spiritual body" does not mean a body made of spirit, or a ghost; it names what powers the body, not what it is made of.

45So it is written: "The first man, Adam, became a living being." The last Adam became a spirit who gives life.

45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

NoteThe quotation is Genesis 2:7. "Living soul" renders a Hebrew phrase meaning simply a living creature; it does not describe a soul housed inside a body. "Quickening" means life-giving. "The last Adam" is Paul's title for Christ, set deliberately against the first man.

46The spiritual did not come first. The natural came first, and after that the spiritual.

46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47The first man came from the earth, made of dust. The second man came from heaven.

47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Note"Earthy" means made of earth or dust, recalling Genesis 2:7, where the first man is formed out of the ground. It does not mean coarse or crude.

48The people made of dust are like the man made of dust, and the people who belong to heaven are like the man from heaven.

48As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49And just as we have carried the likeness of the man made of dust, we will also carry the likeness of the man from heaven.

49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50Now I am telling you this, brothers and sisters: flesh and blood cannot receive God's kingdom, and what decays cannot receive what never decays.

50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Note"Flesh and blood" was a standard Jewish expression for a human being considered as a mortal, physical creature.

51Listen, I will tell you a secret. Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed

51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Note"Mystery" translates a Greek word meaning a secret that was hidden and is now being disclosed, not something baffling or beyond understanding. "Sleep" again means die, as in verse 6. "Shew" is the older spelling of show.

52in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet blast. The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised never to decay again, and we will be changed.

52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Note"Trump" is simply trumpet. Trumpet blasts summoned armies and called assemblies together, and in Jewish expectation a trumpet announced the day when God would act. "Last" marks it as the final signal.

53For this body that decays must be clothed with what never decays, and this body that dies must be clothed with life that never ends.

53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Note"Put on" is the ordinary word for putting on a garment. The image is of one thing being pulled on over another rather than of a replacement.

54When the body that decays has been clothed with what never decays, and the body that dies has been clothed with life that never ends, then these written words will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

NoteThe quoted line is from Isaiah 25:8.

55"Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?"

55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

NoteThe lines are drawn from Hosea 13:14. "Grave" translates a word for the realm of the dead, Hades in Greek and Sheol in Hebrew, the place where all the dead were thought to go, rather than a burial plot. Some early manuscripts read "death" in both lines and put "victory" first.

56The sting of death is sin, and the power sin has comes from the law.

56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Note"The law" means the Law of Moses, the commandments given to Israel.

57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58So then, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the Lord's work, because you know that your work for the Lord is never wasted.

58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Note"Stedfast" is the older spelling of steadfast. "In vain" again means empty, producing nothing, the same word that ran through verses 2, 10, 14 and 17.