You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
Parallel translations
- WEB You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies.
- KJV Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
- NKJV Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
- NASB You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;
- NLT What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul answers that a seed must die before it comes to life. It matters because death is the doorway to resurrection life, not its end.
Overview
Calling the questioner foolish, Paul uses the familiar image of a seed that must be buried and 'die' before sprouting. The analogy shows that the body's death is not the final word but a sowing for new life. This natural pattern illustrates God's design for resurrection through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- John 12:24Truly, truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
- Luke 11:40You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
- Eph 5:15Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
- Luke 12:20But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Luke 24:25Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, how slow are your hearts to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
- Rom 1:22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 15:36 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.