^15:50Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters:²⁸ Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ^15:51Listen,²⁹ I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,³⁰ but we will all be changed—^15:52in a moment, in the blinking³¹ of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ^15:53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ^15:54Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”³²

^15:55“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”³³

^15:56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ^15:57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! ^15:58So then, dear brothers and sisters,³⁴ be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Read in Logos

1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Footnotes

28 Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in .
29 Grk “Behold.”
30 The manuscripts are grouped into four basic readings here: (1) א C 0243* 33 1739 have “we all will sleep, but we will not all be changed” (πάντες κοιμηθησόμεθα, οὐ πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθα); (2) 𝔓46 Ac (F G) have “we will not all sleep, but we will not all be changed” (πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα, οὐ πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθα); (3) D* lat Tert Ambst Spec read “we will all rise, but we will not all be changed.” (4) The wording πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα, πάντες δὲ ἀλλαγησόμεθα (“we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed”) is found in B D2 Ψ 075 0243c 1881 𝔐 sy co. How shall we interpret such data? In light of the fact that Paul and his generation did in fact die, early scribes may have felt some embarrassment over the bald statement, “We will not all sleep” (πάντες οὐ κοιμηθησόμεθα). This could account for the first variant. Although the second variant could be viewed as a conflation of (1) and (4) (so ; G. D. Fee, First Corinthians [], ), it could also have arisen consciously, to guard against the notion that all whom Paul was addressing should regard themselves as true believers. The third variant, prominent in the Western witnesses, may have arisen to counter those who would deny the final resurrection (so ). In any event, since the fourth reading has the best credentials externally and best explains the rise of the others it should be adopted as the authentic wording here. See the note on the word “asleep” in .
31 The Greek word ῥιπή (rhipē) refers to a very rapid movement ( ). This has traditionally been translated as “twinkling,” which implies an exceedingly fast—almost instantaneous—movement of the eyes, but this could be confusing to the modern reader since twinkling in modern English often suggests a faint, flashing light. In conjunction with the genitive ὀφθαλμοῦ (ophthalmou, “of an eye”), “blinking” is the best English equivalent (see, e.g., L&N 16.5), although it does not convey the exact speed implicit in the Greek term.
32 A quotation from Isa 25:8.
33 A quotation from Hos 13:14.
34 Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in .