Devine Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:36

What does 1 Corinthians 15:36 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 15:36 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 Corinthians 15:36 means

Paul rebukes the skeptic as foolish and points to a seed’s pattern: it is not made alive unless it first “dies.” The seed must be sown and lose its former form for new life to emerge. This does not mean the seed becomes nothing; rather, it undergoes a necessary transformation. The analogy shows that death is not an obstacle to God but part of His design for bringing forth greater life. Resurrection follows this divine pattern. The present body, like a seed, is sown in death to be raised in a more glorious form. Nature itself teaches that apparent loss precedes richer life.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

Foolish man, it is necessary for the seed which you put into the earth to undergo death in order that it may come to life again:

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

unwise! thou--what thou dost sow is not quickened except it may die;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

Senseless man, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die first.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Fool; what thou sowest is not quickened unless it die.

Context

Responding to the questions in v. 35, Paul begins with a seed analogy (vv. 36–38). The emphasis is on transformation through death, leading to the gift of a new body from God. These images lay groundwork for contrasting different kinds of bodies and glories (vv. 39–41) and for the sown/raised contrasts applied to the resurrection body (vv. 42–44). The flow uses common experience to make the doctrine plausible and vivid.

v.35But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come?

v.36This passage

v.37and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind;

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Luke 12:20

    But God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?

  • John 12:24

    Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit.

  • Luke 11:40

    Ye foolish ones, did not he that made the outside make the inside also?

  • Luke 24:25

    And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

  • Romans 1:22

    Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

  • Ephesians 5:15

    Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise;

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