Devine Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:42

What does 1 Corinthians 15:42 mean?

A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 15:42 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What 1 Corinthians 15:42 means

The resurrection of the dead mirrors the seed analogy: what is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. Our present bodies decay and die; the resurrection body will be free from corruption. This is not denial of continuity but proclamation of transformation. God will answer mortality with a kind of life untouched by decay. The shift from corruption to incorruption assures believers that their future is not endless aging, but a definitive deliverance from the forces that undo us. The destiny of those in Christ is a durable, death-proof existence that participates in the victory already displayed in His empty tomb.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

KJV

King James Version · 1611

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

So is it with the coming back from the dead. It is planted in death; it comes again in life:

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

So also <FI>is<Fi> the rising again of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption: it shall rise in incorruption.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

Thus also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruptibility.

Context

Paul now applies his analogies to the resurrection body (vv. 42–44), listing contrasts that include corruption/incorruption, dishonor/glory, weakness/power, and natural/spiritual. These verses conclude the nature illustrations (vv. 35–41) and set up the Adam–Christ theology that follows (vv. 45–49). The context weaves observable patterns (seeds and stars) into doctrinal claims about what God will do for believers in Christ.

v.41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.

v.42This passage

v.43it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

Cross references

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

  • Acts 2:27

    Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.

  • Acts 13:34

    And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.

  • 1 Peter 1:4

    unto an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

  • Romans 8:21

    that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

  • Philippians 3:20

    For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

  • Job 17:14

    If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, Thou artmy mother, and my sister;

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