New Living Translation | International Standard Version |
1Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. | 1Now I'm making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand, |
2It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. | 2and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless. |
3I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. | 3For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, |
4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. | 4he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— |
5He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. | 5and he was seen by Cephas, and then by the Twelve. |
6After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. | 6After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. |
7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. | 7Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, |
8Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. | 8and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late. |
9For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. | 9For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God's church. |
10But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. | 10But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God's grace that was with me. |
11So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed. The Resurrection of the Dead | 11So, whether it was I or the others, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. |
12But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? | 12Now if we preach that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, how can some of you keep claiming there is no resurrection of the dead? |
13For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. | 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised, |
14And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. | 14and if the Messiah has not been raised, then our message means nothing and your faith means nothing. |
15And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. | 15In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God because we testified on God's behalf that he raised the Messiah —whom he did not raise if in fact it is true that the dead are not raised. |
16And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. | 16For if the dead are not raised, then the Messiah has not been raised, |
17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. | 17and if the Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still imprisoned by your sins. |
18In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! | 18Yes, even those who have died believing in the Messiah are lost. |
19And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. | 19If we have set our hopes on the Messiah in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people. |
20But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. | 20But at this moment the Messiah stands risen from the dead, the first one offered in the harvest of those who have died. |
21So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. | 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. |
22Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. | 22For as in Adam all die, so also in the Messiah will all be made alive. |
23But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back. | 23However, this will happen to each person in the proper order: first the Messiah, then those who belong to the Messiah when he comes. |
24After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. | 24Then the end will come, when after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power, the Messiah hands over the kingdom to God the Father. |
25For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. | 25For he must rule until God puts all the Messiah's enemies under his feet. |
26And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. | 26The last enemy to be done away with is death, |
27For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) | 27for "God has put everything under his feet." Now when he says, "Everything has been put under him," this clearly excludes the one who put everything under him. |
28Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. | 28But when everything has been put under him, then the Son himself will also become subject to the one who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. |
29If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again? | 29Otherwise, what will those people do who are being baptized because of those who have died? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they being baptized because of them? |
30And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? | 30And why in fact are we being endangered every hour? |
31For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. | 31I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers, as it is that I am proud of you in the Messiah, Jesus our Lord. |
32And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus —if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” | 32If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, "Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." |
33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” | 33Stop being deceived: "Wicked friends lead to evil ends." |
34Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. The Resurrection Body | 34Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—don't fully know God. |
35But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” | 35But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?" |
36What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. | 36You fool! The seed you plant does not come to life unless it dies, |
37And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. | 37and what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else. |
38Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. | 38But God gives the plant the form he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own form. |
39Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. | 39Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals in general have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. |
40There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. | 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of those in heaven is of one kind, and that of those on earth is of another. |
41The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. | 41One kind of splendor belongs to the sun, another to the moon, and still another to the stars. In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. |
42It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. | 42This is how it will be at the resurrection of the dead. What is planted is decaying, what is raised cannot decay. |
43Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. | 43The body is planted in a state of dishonor but is raised in a state of splendor. It is planted in weakness but is raised in power. |
44They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. | 44It is planted a physical body but is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. |
45The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. | 45This, indeed, is what is written: "The first man, Adam, became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. |
46What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. | 46The spiritual does not come first, but the physical does, and then comes the spiritual. |
47Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. | 47The first man came from the dust of the earth; the second man came from heaven. |
48Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. | 48Those who are made of the dust are like the man from the dust; those who are heavenly are like the man who is from heaven. |
49Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. | 49Just as we have borne the likeness of the man who was made from dust, we will also bear the likeness of the man from heaven. |
50What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. | 50Brothers, this is what I mean: Mortal bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what decays cannot inherit what does not decay. |
51But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! | 51Let me tell you a secret. Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed— |
52It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. | 52in a moment, faster than an eye can blink, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed. |
53For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. | 53For what is decaying must be clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying must be clothed with what cannot die. |
54Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. | 54Now, when what is decaying is clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying is clothed with what cannot die, then the written word will be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up by victory!" |
55O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ” | 55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" |
56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. | 56Now death's stinger is sin, and sin's power is the Law. |
57But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. | 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah! |
58So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. | 58Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted. |
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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