ris3n's Apologetics Codex
1 Corinthians 15.19
Page Nav

Passage

1 Corinthians 15.19

Book: 1 Corinthians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

17. and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

  1. But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:17-21, ASV)
WEB

17. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. 18. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.

  1. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. (1 Corinthians 15:17-21, WEB)
KJV

17. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

19. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

  1. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:17-21, KJV)
YLT

17. and if Christ hath not risen, vain is your faith, ye are yet in your sins; 18. then, also, those having fallen asleep in Christ did perish;

19. if in this life we have hope in Christ only, of all men we are most to be pitied.

  1. And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead, the first-fruits of those sleeping he became, 21. for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, (1 Corinthians 15:17-21, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the apostle, writing with Sosthenes (1 Corinthians 1:1)
  • Audience: the church of God at Corinth, some of whom said "there is no resurrection of the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:12)
  • Location: written from Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8)
  • Time period: c. AD 53-55, during Paul's stay in Ephesus

Theological reading

"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." (1 Corinthians 15:19, KJV).

If this life is all. Paul says that if Christian hope reaches only to this life, believers are "of all men most miserable." He does not treat faith as worthwhile only for its present comfort; its worth depends on the resurrection being true.

Hope tied to history. The verse belongs to Paul's argument that if Christ has not been raised, faith is in vain (15:14, 17). The next verse answers: "But now is Christ risen from the dead" (15:20). See Resurrection of Jesus.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Guides:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.