NET Bible | New Living Translation |
1Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, | 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. |
2and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. | 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. |
3For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received--that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, | 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. |
4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, | 4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. | 5He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. |
6Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. | 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. |
7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. | 7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. |
8Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. | 8Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. |
9For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. | 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. |
10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In fact, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God with me. | 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. |
11Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is the way you believed. | 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 |
12Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? | 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? |
13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. | 13For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. |
14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. | 14And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. |
15Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. | 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. |
16For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. | 16And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. |
17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. | 17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. |
18Furthermore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. | 18In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! |
19For if only in this life we have hope in Christ, we should be pitied more than anyone. | 19And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. |
20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. | 20But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. |
21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. | 21So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. |
22For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. | 22Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. |
23But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. | 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. |
24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. | 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. |
25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. | 25For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. |
26The last enemy to be eliminated is death. | 26And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. |
27For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says "everything" has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. | 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.) |
28And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all. | 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. |
29Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they baptized for them? | 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? |
30Why too are we in danger every hour? | 30And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? |
31Every day I am in danger of death! This is as sure as my boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. | 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. |
32If from a human point of view I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what did it benefit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. | 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!” |
33Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." | 33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” |
34Sober up as you should, and stop sinning! For some have no knowledge of God--I say this to your shame! | 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 |
35But someone will say, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" | 35But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” |
36Fool! What you sow will not come to life unless it dies. | 36What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. |
37And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare seed--perhaps of wheat or something else. | 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. |
38But God gives it a body just as he planned, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. | 38Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. |
39All flesh is not the same: People have one flesh, animals have another, birds and fish another. | 39Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. |
40And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The glory of the heavenly body is one sort and the earthly 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. |
41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory. | 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. |
42It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. | 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. |
43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; | 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. |
44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. | 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. |
45So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living person"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. | 45The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. |
46However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. | 46What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. |
47The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. | 47Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. |
48Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly. | 48Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. |
49And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, let us also bear the image of the man of heaven. | 49Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. |
50Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. | 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. |
51Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- | 51But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! |
52in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we 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. |
53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. | 53For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. |
54Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen, "Death has been swallowed up in victory." | 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. |
55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" | 55O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ” |
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. | 56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. |
57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! | 57But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. |
58So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. | 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. |
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