Good News Translation GNT
Revised Standard Version RSV
1 And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm.
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Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand,
2 That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it - unless it was for nothing that you believed.
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by which you are saved, if you hold it fast--unless you believed in vain.
3 I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures;
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For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
4 that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures;
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that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
5 that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles.
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and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died.
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Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.
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Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
8 Last of all he appeared also to me - even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal.
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Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
9 For I am the least of all the apostles - I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's church.
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For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.
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But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.
11 So then, whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, and this is what you believe.
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Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
12 Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life?
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Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised;
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But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised;
14 and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe.
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if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
15 More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death - but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then he did not raise Christ.
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We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.
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For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins.
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If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
18 It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost.
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Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.
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If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20 But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.
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But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man.
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For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ.
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For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But each one will be raised in proper order: Christ, first of all; then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him.
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But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
24 Then the end will come; Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, and will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father.
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Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.
25 For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet.
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For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be defeated will be death.
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The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For the scripture says, "God put [all] things under his feet." It is clear, of course, that the words "all things" do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ.
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"For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection under him," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him.
28 But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.
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When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.
29 Now, what about those people who are baptized for the dead? What do they hope to accomplish? If it is true, as some claim, that the dead are not raised to life, why are those people being baptized for the dead?
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Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
30 And as for us - why would we run the risk of danger every hour?
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Why am I in peril every hour?
31 My friends, I face death every day! The pride I have in you, in our life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord, makes me declare this.
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I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!
32 If I have, as it were, fought "wild beasts" here in Ephesus simply from human motives, what have I gained? But if the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die."
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What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
33 Do not be fooled. "Bad companions ruin good character."
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Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."
34 Come back to your right senses and stop your sinful ways. I declare to your shame that some of you do not know God.
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Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
35 Someone will ask, "How can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have?"
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But some one will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?"
36 You fool! When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life unless it dies.
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You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 And what you plant is a bare seed, perhaps a grain of wheat or some other grain, not the full-bodied plant that will later grow up.
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And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 God provides that seed with the body he wishes; he gives each seed its own proper body.
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But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
39 And the flesh of living beings is not all the same kind of flesh; human beings have one kind of flesh, animals another, birds another, and fish another.
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For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; the beauty that belongs to heavenly bodies is different from the beauty that belongs to earthly bodies.
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There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
41 The sun has its own beauty, the moon another beauty, and the stars a different beauty; and even among stars there are different kinds of beauty.
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There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal.
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So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
43 When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong.
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It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body.
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It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.
45 For the scripture says, "The first man, Adam, was created a living being"; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit.
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Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 It is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.
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But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual.
47 The first Adam, made of earth, came from the earth; the second Adam came from heaven.
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The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
48 Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven.
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As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.
49 Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.
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Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 What I mean, friends, is that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God's Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality.
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I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed.
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Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
53 For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die.
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For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.
54 So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: "Death is destroyed; victory is complete!"
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When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "Where, Death, is your victory? Where, Death, is your power to hurt?"
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"O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?"
56 Death gets its power to hurt from sin, and sin gets its power from the Law.
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The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
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But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless.
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Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.