24 but the next day, while it was still very early, they took the spices they had prepared, went to the tomb, ² and found the stone rolled away from the tomb! ³ On entering, they discovered that the body of the Lord Yeshua was gone! ⁴ They were standing there, not knowing what to think about it, when suddenly two men in dazzlingly bright clothing stood next to them. ⁵ Terror-stricken, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. The two men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has been raised. Remember how he told you while he was still in the Galil, ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be executed on a stake as a criminal, but on the third day be raised again’?” ⁸ Then they remembered his words; ⁹ and, returning from the tomb, they told everything to the Eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ The women who told the emissaries these things were Miryam of Magdala, Yochanah, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and the others in their circle.

¹¹ But the emissaries didn’t believe them; in fact, they thought that what they said was utter nonsense! ¹² However, Kefa got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping down, he saw only the burial cloths and went home wondering what had happened.

¹² But if it has been proclaimed that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, how is it that some of you are saying there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised; ¹⁴ and if the Messiah has not been raised, then what we have proclaimed is in vain; also your trust is in vain; ¹⁵ furthermore, we are shown up as false witnesses for God in having testified that God raised up the Messiah, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then the Messiah has not been raised either; ¹⁷ and if the Messiah has not been raised, your trust is useless, and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Also, if this is the case, those who died in union with the Messiah are lost. ¹⁹ If it is only for this life that we have put our hope in the Messiah, we are more pitiable than anyone.