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15 And I make known to you, brethren, the good news that I proclaimed to you, which also ye did receive, in which also ye have stood,

through which also ye are being saved, in what words I proclaimed good news to you, if ye hold fast, except ye did believe in vain,

for I delivered to you first, what also I did receive, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Writings,

and that he was buried, and that he hath risen on the third day, according to the Writings,

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve,

afterwards he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain till now, and certain also did fall asleep;

afterwards he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

And last of all -- as to the untimely birth -- he appeared also to me,

for I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I did persecute the assembly of God,

10 and by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace that [is] towards me came not in vain, but more abundantly than they all did I labour, yet not I, but the grace of God that [is] with me;

11 whether, then, I or they, so we preach, and so ye did believe.

12 And if Christ is preached, that out of the dead he hath risen, how say certain among you, that there is no rising again of dead persons?

13 and if there be no rising again of dead persons, neither hath Christ risen;

14 and if Christ hath not risen, then void [is] our preaching, and void also your faith,

15 and we also are found false witnesses of God, because we did testify of God that He raised up the Christ, whom He did not raise if then dead persons do not rise;

16 for if dead persons do not rise, neither hath Christ risen,

17 and if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins;

18 then, also, those having fallen asleep in Christ did perish;

19 if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.

20 And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead -- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became,

21 for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead,

22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive,

23 and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence,

24 then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power --

25 for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet --

26 the last enemy is done away -- death;

27 for all things He did put under his feet, and, when one may say that all things have been subjected, [it is] evident that He is excepted who did subject the all things to him,

28 and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all.

29 Seeing what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? why also are they baptized for the dead?

30 why also do we stand in peril every hour?

31 Every day do I die, by the glorying of you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord:

32 if after the manner of a man with wild beasts I fought in Ephesus, what the advantage to me if the dead do not rise? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!

33 Be not led astray; evil communications corrupt good manners;

34 awake up, as is right, and sin not; for certain have an ignorance of God; for shame to you I say [it].

35 But some one will say, `How do the dead rise?

36 unwise! thou -- what thou dost sow is not quickened except it may die;

37 and that which thou dost sow, not the body that shall be dost thou sow, but bare grain, it may be of wheat, or of some one of the others,

38 and God doth give to it a body according as He willed, and to each of the seeds its proper body.

39 All flesh [is] not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another of fishes, and another of birds;

40 and [there are] heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but one [is] the glory of the heavenly, and another that of the earthly;

41 one glory of sun, and another glory of moon, and another glory of stars, for star from star doth differ in glory.

42 So also [is] the rising again of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;

43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

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

45 so also it hath been written, `The first man Adam became a living creature,' the last Adam [is] for a life-giving spirit,

46 but that which is spiritual [is] not first, but that which [was] natural, afterwards that which [is] spiritual.

47 The first man [is] out of the earth, earthy; the second man [is] the Lord out of heaven;

48 as [is] the earthy, such [are] also the earthy; and as [is] the heavenly, such [are] also the heavenly;

49 and, according as we did bear the image of the earthy, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly.

50 And this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood the reign of God is not able to inherit, nor doth the corruption inherit the incorruption;

51 lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed;

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we -- we shall be changed:

53 for it behoveth this corruptible to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality;

54 and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, `The Death was swallowed up -- to victory;

55 where, O Death, thy sting? where, O Hades, thy victory?'

56 and the sting of the death [is] the sin, and the power of the sin the law;

57 and to God -- thanks, to Him who is giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ;

58 so that, my brethren beloved, become ye stedfast, unmovable, abounding in the work of the Lord at all times, knowing that your labour is not vain in the Lord.

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel(A) I preached to you,(B) which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved,(C) if you hold firmly(D) to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received(E) I passed on to you(F) as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins(G) according to the Scriptures,(H) that he was buried,(I) that he was raised(J) on the third day(K) according to the Scriptures,(L) and that he appeared to Cephas,[b](M) and then to the Twelve.(N) After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.(O) Then he appeared to James,(P) then to all the apostles,(Q) and last of all he appeared to me also,(R) as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles(S) and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted(T) the church of God.(U) 10 But by the grace(V) of God I am what I am, and his grace to me(W) was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them(X)—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.(Y) 11 Whether, then, it is I or they,(Z) this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead,(AA) how can some of you say that there is no resurrection(AB) of the dead?(AC) 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised,(AD) our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.(AE) But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.(AF) 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep(AG) in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.(AH)

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,(AI) the firstfruits(AJ) of those who have fallen asleep.(AK) 21 For since death came through a man,(AL) the resurrection of the dead(AM) comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.(AN) 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits;(AO) then, when he comes,(AP) those who belong to him.(AQ) 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom(AR) to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.(AS) 25 For he must reign(AT) until he has put all his enemies under his feet.(AU) 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.(AV) 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”[c](AW) Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.(AX) 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him,(AY) so that God may be all in all.(AZ)

29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?(BA) 31 I face death every day(BB)—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts(BC) in Ephesus(BD) with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”[d](BE)

33 Do not be misled:(BF) “Bad company corrupts good character.”[e](BG) 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God(BH)—I say this to your shame.(BI)

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask,(BJ) “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”(BK) 36 How foolish!(BL) What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.(BM) 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.(BN) 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor,(BO) the moon another and the stars another;(BP) and star differs from star in splendor.

42 So will it be(BQ) with the resurrection of the dead.(BR) The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;(BS) 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;(BT) it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.(BU)

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[f];(BV) the last Adam,(BW) a life-giving spirit.(BX) 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.(BY) 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth;(BZ) the second man is of heaven.(CA) 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.(CB) 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man,(CC) so shall we[g] bear the image of the heavenly man.(CD)

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood(CE) cannot inherit the kingdom of God,(CF) nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.(CG) 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery:(CH) We will not all sleep,(CI) but we will all be changed(CJ) 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,(CK) the dead(CL) will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable(CM) must clothe itself with the imperishable,(CN) and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h](CO)

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”[i](CP)

56 The sting of death is sin,(CQ) and the power of sin is the law.(CR) 57 But thanks be to God!(CS) He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.(CT)

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,(CU) because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(CV)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Or you at the first
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:5 That is, Peter
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:27 Psalm 8:6
  4. 1 Corinthians 15:32 Isaiah 22:13
  5. 1 Corinthians 15:33 From the Greek poet Menander
  6. 1 Corinthians 15:45 Gen. 2:7
  7. 1 Corinthians 15:49 Some early manuscripts so let us
  8. 1 Corinthians 15:54 Isaiah 25:8
  9. 1 Corinthians 15:55 Hosea 13:14