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

36Do not think like a fool! When you plant a seed in the ground, it has to die first. Then it can become alive again and grow into a new plant. 37You put just a seed into the ground. It might be wheat or it might be another kind of seed. You do not put into the ground the whole plant that the seed will become. But God makes that seed become a plant. Each plant has its own special body that God has chosen for it. 39Also, things that are alive do not have the same kind of body. People have one kind of body. Animals have a different kind of body. Birds and fish also have a different kind of body. 40Also, there are things up in the sky that are different from the things here on the earth. They have different bodies. Also, the things in the sky are beautiful in a different way from the things on the earth.

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 3:7The person who plants the seeds is not important. The person who gives water to the plants is not important. The important person is God, because he causes everything to grow.
• Genesis 1:11Then God said, ‘The land will cause plants to grow. There will be plants with their seeds and trees with their fruits. Each kind of plant and tree will have its own seeds and fruits.’ And what God said happened.
• Psalms 104:14You give grass for farm animals to eat. You give crops for people to plant. In that way, people get food from the ground.
• Isaiah 61:11The Almighty Lord will cause his righteousness to grow everywhere. It will grow like crops in the fields, and like plants that grow in a garden. Then his people will praise him, and all the nations will see it!
• Mark 4:26Then Jesus said, ‘I will tell you a story about the kingdom of God. It is like this: A man throws seeds in his field.

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