1 Corinthians 15:50-57

Contemporary English Version

⁵⁰My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means they cannot share in God's kingdom, which lasts forever. ⁵¹^(A) I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. ⁵²It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so we will never die again. ⁵³Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won't die or decay. ⁵⁴^(B) The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,

“Death has lost the battle!
⁵⁵^(C) Where is its victory?
Where is its sting?”

⁵⁶Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin. ⁵⁷But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!

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1 Corinthians 15:50-57

New International Version

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood^(A) cannot inherit the kingdom of God,^(B) nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.^(C) ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery:^(D) We will not all sleep,^(E) but we will all be changed^(F)— ⁵²in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,^(G) the dead^(H) will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable^(I) must clothe itself with the imperishable,^(J) and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”^[a]^(K)

⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”^[b]^(L)

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin,^(M) and the power of sin is the law.^(N) ⁵⁷But thanks be to God!^(O) He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.^(P)