1 Corinthians 15
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached to you at first, which ye received, and wherein ye stand.
But let me recall to you, brethren, the Good News which I brought you, which you accepted, and on which you are standing,
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye retain it as I preached it to you: unless indeed ye have believed in vain.
through which also you are obtaining salvation, if you bear in mind the words in which I proclaimed it--unless indeed your faith has been unreal from the very first.
3 For in the first place I delivered to you, that which I also received, to wit, that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:
For I repeated to you the all-important fact which also I had been taught, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures;
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.
that He was buried; that He rose to life again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
5 And that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve:
and was seen by Peter, and then by the Twelve.
6 after that He appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain yet alive, but some are fallen asleep.
Afterwards He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once, most of whom are still alive, although some of them have now fallen asleep.
7 Afterwards He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.
Afterwards He was seen by James, and then by all the Apostles.
8 And last of all He appeared to me also, as one born out of due time: for I am the lest of the apostles,
And last of all, as to one of untimely birth, He appeared to me also.
9 not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
For I am the least of the Apostles, and am not fit to be called an Apostle--because I persecuted the Church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his favor to me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
But what I am I am by the grace of God, and His grace bestowed upon me did not prove ineffectual. But I labored more strenuously than all the rest--yet it was not I, but God's grace working with me.
11 Whether therefore I or they laboured most, thus we preach, and thus ye believed.
But whether it is I or they, this is the way we preach and the way that you came to believe.
12 Now if it be preached that Christ is risen from the dead, how say some among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead?
But if Christ is preached as having risen from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead?
13 for if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.
If there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, then Christ Himself has not risen to life.
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
And if Christ has not risen, it follows that what we preach is a delusion, and that your faith also is a delusion.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses concerning God, for we have testified of God, that He raised up Christ; whom He did not raise up, if indeed the dead do not rise.
Nay more, we are actually being discovered to be bearing false witness about God, because we have testified that God raised Christ to life, whom He did not raise, if in reality none of the dead are raised.
16 For if the dead rise not, then Christ is not raised:
For if none of the dead are raised to life, then Christ has not risen;
17 and if Christ be not risen, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
and if Christ has not risen, your faith is a vain thing--you are still in your sins.
18 Then they also that sleep in Christ, are perished.
It follows also that those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
If in this present life we have a hope resting on Christ, and nothing more, we are more to be pitied than all the rest of the world.
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and is become the first-fruits of them that slept:
But, in reality, Christ has risen from among the dead, being the first to do so of those who are asleep.
21 for as by man came death, by man cometh also the resurrection of the dead.
For seeing that death came through man, through man comes also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
For just as through Adam all die, so also through Christ all will be made alive again.
23 But each in their proper order: the first-fruits, Christ; afterwards they that are Christ's, at his coming.
But this will happen to each in the right order--Christ having been the first to rise, and afterwards Christ's people rising at His return.
24 Then will be the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father; when He shall have abolished all rule, and all authority, and power.
Later on, comes the End, when He is to surrender the Kingship to God, the Father, when He shall have overthrown all other government and all other authority and power.
25 For he must reign till He hath put all his enemies under his feet.
For He must continue King until He shall have put all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy that is destroyed is death:
The last enemy that is to be overthrown is Death;
27 for He hath put all things under his feet. But when He saith that all things are put under Him, it is plain that we are to except Him who put all things under Him.
for He will have put all things in subjection under His feet. And when He shall have declared that "All things are in subjection," it will be with the manifest exception of Him who has reduced them all to subjection to Him.
28 And when all things shall be subjected to Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject to Him, that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
But when the whole universe has been made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also become subject to Him who has made the universe subject to Him, in order that GOD may be all in all.
29 Besides, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why then are they baptized for the dead?
Otherwise what will become of those who got themselves baptized for the dead? If the dead do not rise at all, why are these baptized for them?
30 And why are we in danger every hour?
Why also do we Apostles expose ourselves to danger every hour?
31 I protest by your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I am even dying daily.
I protest, brethren, as surely as I glory over you--which I may justly do in Christ Jesus our Lord--that I die day by day.
32 If, to speak as a man, I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage have I, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. ---
If from merely human motives I have fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not rise, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we are to die.
33 Be not deceived, bad conversations corrupt good morals.
Do not deceive yourselves: "Evil companionships corrupt good morals."
34 Behave soberly, as ye ought to do, and sin not: for some of you have not the knowledge of God; to your shame I speak it.
Wake from this drunken fit; live righteous lives, and cease to sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak thus in order to move you to shame.
35 But some will say, How are the dead raised, and with what body do they come?
But some one will say, "How can the dead rise? And with what kind of body do they come back?"
36 Silly creature! that which thou sowest, is not quickened, except it die first.
Foolish man! the seed you yourself sow has no life given to it unless it first dies;
37 And as to what thou sowest, thou sowest not the very body that shall be produced, but a bare grain, it may be, of wheat, or any other corn:
and as for what you sow, it is not the plant which is to be that you are sowing, but a bare grain, of wheat (it may be) or of something else, and God gives it a body as He has seen fit,
38 and God giveth it a body as He pleaseth, and to every one of the seeds it's own body.
and to each kind of seed a body of its own.
39 All flesh is not the same kind of flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
All flesh is not the same: there is human flesh, and flesh of cattle, of birds, and of fishes.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and terrestrial bodies: but there is one glory of the celestial, and another of the terrestrial.
There are bodies which are celestial and there are bodies which are earthly, but the glory of the celestial ones is one thing, and that of the earthly ones is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: and one star differeth from another star in glory.
There is one glory of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So also will be the resurrection of the dead. Our body is sown in corruption, it is raised incorruptible: it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory:
It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in a state of decay, it is raised free from decay;
43 it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
44 it is sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body: for there is an animal body, and there is a spiritual body.
an animal body is sown, a spiritual body is raised. As surely as there is an animal body, so there is also a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam was made a living soul." But the last Adam is an enlivening spirit.
In the same way also it is written, "The first man Adam became a living animal"; the last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the animal; and afterwards the spiritual.
Nevertheless, it is not what is spiritual that came first, but what is animal; what is spiritual came afterwards.
47 The first man being made out of the earth, was earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
The first man is a man of earth, earthy; the second man is from Heaven.
48 Such as the earthy was, such are they also that are earthy: and such, as is the heavenly, are they also that are heavenly.
What the earthy one is, that also are those who are earthy; and what the heavenly One is, that also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
And as we have borne a resemblance to the earthy one, let us see to it that we also bear a resemblance to the heavenly One.
50 But this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor doth what is corruptible inherit incorruption.
But this I tell you, brethren: our mortal bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor will what is perishable inherit what is imperishable.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep; but we shall all be changed in a moment,
I tell you a truth hitherto kept secret: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet (for the trumpet shall sound) and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed:
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sounding of the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incapable of decay, and we shall be changed.
53 for this corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.
For so it must be: this perishable nature must clothe itself with what is imperishable, and this mortality must clothe itself with immortality.
54 And when this corruptible shall be clothed with incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory."
But when this perishable nature has put on what is imperishable, and this mortality has put on immortality, then will the words of Scripture be fulfilled, "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is thy victory? Where, O death, is thy sting?" (Hadēs g86)
56 the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law:
Now sin is the sting of death, and sin derives its power from the Law;
57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
but God be thanked who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Therefore, my dear brethren, be firm, unmovable, busily occupied at all times in the Lord's work, knowing that your toil is not fruitless in the Lord.
