Amplified Bible
1 Corinthians 15:51
51Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed],
1 Corinthians 15:51 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
- New International Version (NIV)Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
Context of 1 Corinthians 15:51
49Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven]. 50Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal). Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 53For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death].
Read all of 1 Corinthians 151 Corinthians 15:51 word by word
ἰδοὺ μυστήριον ὑμῖν λέγω· πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα, πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθαRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 15:51
- 1 Corinthians 2:7but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom once hidden [from man, but now revealed to us by God, that wisdom] which God predestined before the ages to our glory [to lift us into the glory of His presence].
- 1 Corinthians 4:1So then, let us [who minister] be regarded as servants of Christ and stewards (trustees, administrators) of the mysteries of God [that He chooses to reveal].
- 1 Corinthians 13:2And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing.
- Ephesians 1:9He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ,
- Ephesians 3:3and that by [divine] revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have already written in brief.
- Ephesians 5:32This mystery [of two becoming one] is great; but I am speaking with reference to [the relationship of] Christ and the church.
- 1 Corinthians 15:6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [as in fact He did], even so God [in this same way—by raising them from the dead] will bring with Him those [believers] who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
- Philippians 3:21who, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself, will [not only] transform [but completely refashion] our earthly bodies so that they will be like His glorious resurrected body.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15:51
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 51I show you a mystery - That is, a thing which you have never known before. But what is this mystery? Why, that we shall not all sleep; we shall not all die; but we shall all be changed: of this the Jews had not distinct notions. For, as flesh and blood cannot inherit glory, and all shall not be found dead at the day of judgment, then all must be changed - undergo such a change that their bodies may become spiritual, like the bodies of those who shall be…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 51Behold I show you - This commences the third subject of inquiry in the chapter, the question, what will become of those who are alive when the Lord Jesus shall return to raise the dead? This was an obvious inquiry, and the answer was, perhaps, supposed to be difficult. Paul answers it directly, and says that they will undergo an instantaneous change, which will make them like the dead that shall be raised. A mystery - On the meaning of this word, see the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-58Verses 51-58 All the saints should not die, but all would be changed. In the gospel, many truths, before hidden in mystery, are made known. Death never shall appear in the regions to which our Lord will bear his risen saints. Therefore let us seek the full assurance of faith and hope, that in the midst of pain, and in the prospect of death, we may think calmly on the horrors of the tomb; assured that our bodies will there sleep, and in the mean time our…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 51The good news about Jesus reveals the once unknown secret of resurrection. We will not all sleep: Paul might have expected the future resurrection during his own lifetime (compare 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5151. Behold--Calling attention to the "mystery" heretofore hidden in God's purposes, but now revealed. you--emphatical in the Greek; I show (Greek, "tell," namely, by the word of the Lord, 1Th 4:15) YOU, who think you have so much knowledge, "a mystery" (compare Ro 11:25) which your reason could never have discovered. Many of the old manuscripts and Fathers read, "We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed"; but this is plainly a corrupt reading…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 15:51
In the dictionaries
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
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