1 Corinthians 15:37
What does 1 Corinthians 15:37 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 15:37 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Corinthians 15:37 means
When you plant, you do not sow the full plant but a bare seed—wheat or another kind. The future plant is not present in its mature form; it is latent within the seed’s life, awaiting God’s appointed growth. Likewise, our present body is not the body that shall be; it is the humble beginning. The analogy guards both continuity and discontinuity: the plant that emerges is related to the seed, yet far surpasses it in form and glory. So the resurrection body will be truly ours, yet new—no longer bound to the limits and frailties we now experience.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000and 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;
KJV
King James Version · 1611And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901and 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;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And when you put it into the earth, you do not put in the body which it will be, but only the seed, of grain or some other sort of plant;
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and that which thou dost sow, not the body that shall be dost thou sow, but bare grain, it may be of wheat, or of some one of the others,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be: but bare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And what thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain: it may be of wheat, or some one of the rest:
Context
Paul continues the seed analogy begun in v. 36, focusing on the difference between what is sown and what later appears (v. 37). This paves the way for attributing the new body to God’s creative will (v. 38), and then for broadening the comparison to varieties of flesh and celestial bodies (vv. 39–41). The context helps readers accept transformation without assuming mere repetition of present bodily conditions.
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