1 Corinthians 15:38

1 Corinthians 15:38 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
• New International Version (NIV)But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

Context of 1 Corinthians 15:38

36You fool! Every time you plant seed you sow something that does not come to life [germinating, springing up and growing] unless it first dies. 37The seed you sow is not the body (the plant) which it is going to become, but it is a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body just as He planned, and to each kind of seed a body of its own [is given]. 39All flesh is not the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are also heavenly bodies [sun, moon and stars] and earthly bodies [humans, animals, and plants], but the glory and beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the glory of the earthly is another.

1 Corinthians 15:38 word by word

ὁ δὲ θεὸς δίδωσιν αὐτῷ σῶμα καθὼς ἠθέλησεν καὶ ἑκάστῳ τῶν σπερμάτων ἴδιον σῶμα.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• givethδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• itαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• a bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
• it hath pleased himθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to everyἕκαστοςhekastos · eachG1538
• seedσπέρμαsperma · seed(s)G4690
• his ownἴδιοςidios · one's own/privateG2398

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 15:38

• 1 Corinthians 3:7So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth.
• Genesis 1:11So God said, “Let the earth sprout [tender] vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to (limited to, consistent with) their kind, whose seed is in them upon the earth”; and it was so.
• Psalms 104:14He causes grass to grow for the cattle, And all that the earth produces for cultivation by man, So that he may bring food from the earth—
• Isaiah 61:11For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, And as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, So the Lord God will [most certainly] cause righteousness and justice and praise To spring up before all the nations [through the power of His word].
• Mark 4:26Then He said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who throws seed on the ground;

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15:38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 38But God giveth it a body - And is there any other way of accounting for it but by the miraculous working of God's power? For out of that one bare grain is produced a system of roots, a tall and vigorous stalk, with all its appendages of leaves, etc., besides the full corn in the ear; the whole making several hundred times the quantum of what was originally deposited. There are no proofs that what some call nature can effect this: it will ever be a…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 38But God giveth it a body … - God gives to the seed sown its own proper body, formation, and growth. The word body here, as applied to grain, seems to mean the whole system, or arrangement of roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, and kernels that start out of the seed that is sown The meaning is, that such a form is produced from the seed sown as God pleases. Paul here traces the result to God, to show that there is no chance, and that it did not depend on the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 35-50Verses 35-50 1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means? How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 37-39Just as a plant's shape does not look like its seed, the seed still determines the plant's growth. Similarly, the resurrection body will differ from the current body but will still be recognizable as the same person.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3838. as it hath pleased him--at creation, when He gave to each of the (kinds of) seeds (so the Greek is for "to every seed") a body of its own (Ge 1:11, "after its kind," suited to its species). So God can and will give to the blessed at the resurrection their own appropriate body, such as it pleases Him, and such as is suitable to their glorified state: a body peculiar to the individual, substantially the same as the body sown.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 15:38

• Body
• Botany
• God
• Immortality
• Resurrection
• Seed

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Adam
• Awake
• Corrupt
• Corruptible
• Die
• Differ
• Flesh
• Immortality

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings