1 Corinthians 15:51

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

ASV

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,

YLT

lo, I tell you a secret; we indeed shall not all sleep, and we all shall be changed;

DBT

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed,

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Commentary voices

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Voices5

On this verse

You ask in what sense it was said, and how it should be read in the first letter of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians: "We shall all indeed rise again, but we shall not all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:5). Or according to some examples: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all indeed be changed," for both are found in Greek manuscripts. Concerning this, Theodore Heracleotes, who was from the city once called Perinthus, spoke in the Apostle's little commentaries: "We shall all indeed not sleep, but we shall all be changed."

Jerome· Letter 119, 420patristic

Related commentary

Behold, I show you a mystery,....

John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)reformed

Behold 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 note on 1Co 2:

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

English Version is supported by some of the oldest manuscripts and Fathers. The Greek is literally "We all shall not sleep, but," &c. The putting off of the corruptible body for an incorruptible by an instantaneous change will, in the case of "the quick," stand as equivalent to death, appointed to all men (Heb 9:27); of this Enoch and Elijah are types and forerunners.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown· Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871reformed

He sums up the argument with a very serious exhortation to Christians, to be resolved and diligent in their Lord's service, because they know they shall be so gloriously rewarded by him,

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

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Cross-references

25 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
1 Thessalonians 4:15
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:14–17
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
Philippians 3:21
who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
Daniel 12:2
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Romans 8:11
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.
Job 14:14
When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
Matthew 27:52
The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
1 Corinthians 15:20
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Matthew 13:11
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
1 Peter 4:5
But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

13 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

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About this book

The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

1 Corinthians — A pastoral letter answering a long list of questions and problems — unity, ethics, worship, and the resurrection — written to a gifted but divided church.

Canon: New Testament
Author: Paul, with Sosthenes (1:1)
Date: c. AD 55, from Ephesus

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Philippians 3:21
who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
leads to
- 1 John 3:2
  Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as…
- Colossians 3:4
  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
- 1 Corinthians 15:42–56
  So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.
- Romans 8:29
  For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
Through
1 Corinthians 4:1
So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
leads to
- 1 Peter 4:10
  As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.
Through
Ephesians 1:9
And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ
leads to
- Colossians 1:26–28
  the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.
- Romans 16:25–27
  Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past
- Ephesians 3:3–9
  that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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