Psalms 148; Psalms 149; Psalms 150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

1 Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens. Praise him in the heights above.

2 Praise him, all his angels. Praise him, his entire heavenly army.

3 Praise him, sun and moon. Praise him, all shining stars.

4 Praise him, you highest heaven and the water above the sky.

5 Let them praise the name of the LORD because they were created by his command.

6 He set them in their places forever and ever. He made it a law that no one can break.

7 Praise the LORD from the earth. Praise him, large sea creatures and all the ocean depths,

8 lightning and hail, snow and fog, strong winds that obey his commands,

9 mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedar trees,

10 wild animals and all domestic animals, crawling animals and birds,

11 kings of the earth and all its people, officials and all judges on the earth,

12 young men and women, old and young together.

13 Let them praise the name of the LORD because his name is high above all others. His glory is above heaven and earth.

14 He has given his people a strong leader, someone praiseworthy for his faithful ones, for the people of Israel, the people who are close to him. Hallelujah!

1 Hallelujah! Sing a new song to the LORD. Sing his praise in the assembly of godly people.

2 Let Israel find joy in their creator. Let the people of Zion rejoice over their king.

3 Let them praise his name with dancing. Let them make music to him with tambourines and lyres,

4 because the LORD takes pleasure in his people. He crowns those who are oppressed with victory.

5 Let godly people triumph in glory. Let them sing for joy on their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands

7 to take vengeance on the nations, to punish the people of the world,

8 to put their kings in chains and their leaders in iron shackles,

9 to carry out the judgment that is written against them. This is an honor that belongs to all his godly ones. Hallelujah!

1 Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy place. Praise him in his mighty heavens.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts. Praise him for his immense greatness.

3 Praise him with sounds from horns. Praise him with harps and lyres.

4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing. Praise him with stringed instruments and flutes.

5 Praise him with loud cymbals. Praise him with crashing cymbals.

6 Let everything that breathes praise the LORD! Hallelujah!

29 However, people are baptized because the dead [will come back to life]. What will they do? If the dead can't come back to life, why do people get baptized as if they can [come back to life]?

30 Why are we constantly putting ourselves in danger?

31 Brothers and sisters, I swear to you on my pride in you which Christ Jesus our Lord has given me: I face death every day.

32 If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus, what have I gained according to the way people look at things? If the dead are not raised, "Let's eat and drink because tomorrow we're going to die!"

33 Don't let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people.

34 Come back to the right point of view, and stop sinning. Some people don't know anything about God. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

35 But someone will ask, "How do the dead come back to life? With what kind of body will they come back?"

36 You fool! The seed you plant doesn't come to life unless it dies first.

37 What you plant, whether it's wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn't have the form that the plant will have.

38 God gives the plant the form he wants it to have. Each kind of seed grows into its own form.

39 Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have still another.

40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies don't all have the same splendor, neither do earthly bodies.

41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon has another kind of splendor, and the stars have still another kind of splendor. Even one star differs in splendor from another star.

42 That is how it will be when the dead come back to life. When the body is planted, it decays. When it comes back to life, it cannot decay.

43 When the body is planted, it doesn't have any splendor and is weak. When it comes back to life, it has splendor and is strong.

44 It is planted as a physical body. It comes back to life as a spiritual body. As there is a physical body, so there is also a spiritual body.

45 This is what Scripture says: "The first man, Adam, became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46 The spiritual does not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual.

47 The first man was made from the dust of the earth. He came from the earth. The second man came from heaven.

48 The people on earth are like the man who was made from the dust of the earth. The people in heaven are like the man who came from heaven.

49 As we have worn the likeness of the man who was made from the dust of the earth, we will also wear the likeness of the man who came from heaven.

50 Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. What decays cannot inherit what doesn't decay.

51 I'm telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed.

52 It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever.

53 This body that decays must be changed into a body that cannot decay. This mortal body must be changed into a body that will live forever.

54 When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true: "Death is turned into victory!

55 Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?"

56 Sin gives death its sting, and God's standards give sin its power.

57 Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, then, brothers and sisters, don't let anyone move you off the foundation [of your faith]. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless.