And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else.
Parallel translations
- WEB That which you sow, you don’t sow the body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind.
- KJV And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
- NKJV And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.
- NASB and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
- NLT And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.
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
What is sown is a bare seed, not the full body that will grow. It matters because the resurrection body will be gloriously different from the one buried.
Overview
Paul develops the seed analogy: one plants a bare grain, not the mature plant that emerges. So too the buried body is not identical in form to the resurrection body to come. The image prepares believers to expect transformation, not mere resuscitation, in the resurrection.
Cross-references & the web
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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 15:37 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
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