1MOREOVER, my brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, and which you have accepted, and for which you have stood firm;
2By which also you are saved if you keep in remembrance that very word which I have preached to you, and if your conversion has not been in vain. 3For I delivered to you first of all that which I had also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve: 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at once; of whom a great many are still living though some are dead. 7And after that, he appeared to James; then to all the apostles. 8And last of all he appeared to me also, ignorant and imperfectly developed as I was. 9For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace that is in me has not been in vain; for I labored more abundantly than them all: yet not I, but God’s grace that is within me. 11Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preached and so you believed. 12Now if it is preached that Christ rose from the dead, how can some say among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ also has not risen: 14And if Christ is not risen, then is our preaching in vain, and your faith is also in vain; 15And we are also found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ when he had not raised him. 16For if the dead rise not, then neither did Christ rise: 17And if Christ did not rise, your belief is in vain; and you are yet in your sins. 18And also, then, those who have died in Christ have perished. 19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most miserable. 20But now we know Christ is risen from the dead and become the first-fruits of those who have died. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they who belong to Christ at his coming. 24Then will come 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. 25For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. 26And the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27For he has put all things under his feet. But when he said all things are put under him, it is clear that he, who put all things under him, is excepted. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all. 29Else, what shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? 30And why do we continue to stand in danger every hour? 31I swear by your pride, my brethren, which I have in our LORD Jesus Christ, I die daily. 32If, after the manner of men, I were thrown to wild beasts at Eph'e-sus, what good would come to me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. 33Do not be deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 34Awake your hearts to righteousness and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I say this to your shame. 35But some of you will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? 36Thou fool, the seed which you sow, is not quickened, except it die. 37And that which you sow is not the body that shall be, but the bare grain; it may chance to be of wheat or barley, or some other seed. 38But God gives it a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed, its own natural body. 39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of birds, and another of fishes. 40There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differs from another star in glory. 42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the LORD 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 as we have borne the image of the earthy we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50Now this I say, my brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I tell you a mystery; We shall not all die, but we shall all 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. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 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. 55O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our LORD Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the LORD. Holy Bible From The Ancient Eastern Texts: Aramaic Of The Peshitta by George M. Lamsa (1933) |