English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 15:51
51Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
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—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
- New Living Translation (NLT)But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
Context of 1 Corinthians 15:51
49Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
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 impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
- 1 Corinthians 4:1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
- 1 Corinthians 13:2And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
- Ephesians 1:9making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
- Ephesians 3:3how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
- Ephesians 5:32This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
- 1 Corinthians 15:6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
- Philippians 3:21who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
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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