1 Corinthians 15:36 BSB

1 Corinthians 15:36

You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:

KJV

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

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Commentary

1 voice

Irenaeus

Against Heresies Book V (202)

We must therefore conclude that it is in reference to the flesh that death is mentioned; which [flesh], after the soul's departure, becomes breathless and inanimate, and is decomposed gradually into the earth from which it was taken. This, then, is what is mortal. And it is this of which he also says, "He shall also quicken your mortal bodies." And therefore in reference to it he says, in the first [Epistle] to the Corinthians: "So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption."

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

That which thou sowest, is not quickened into new life and verdure, except it die - Undergo a dissolution of its parts, a change analogous to death. Thus St. Paul inverts the objection; as if he had said, Death is so far from hindering life, that it necessarily goes before it.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Thou fool - Αφρον. If this be addressed, as it probably is, to the false apostle, there is a peculiar propriety in it; as this man seems to have magnified his own wisdom, and set it up against both God and man; and none but a fool could act so. At the same time, it is folly in any to assert the impossibility of a thing because he cannot comprehend it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Death, so far from preventing quickening, is the necessary prelude and prognostication of it, just as the seed "is not quickened" into a new sprout with increased produce, "except it die" (except a dissolution of its previous organization takes place).

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

9 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἄφρων,	aphrōn	Fool	G878 →
σὺ	su	you yourself	G4771 →
ὃ	ho	What	G3739 →
σπείρεις,	speireis	you sow	G4687 →
οὐ	ou	not	G3756 →
ζῳοποιεῖται	zōopoieitai	does come to life	G2227 →
ἐὰν	ean	only	G1437 →
μὴ	mē	unless	G3361 →
ἀποθάνῃ·	apothanē	it may die;	G599 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
John 12:24
Truly, 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.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 15:36–38
  You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
- Isaiah 53:10–12
  Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,…
- Hebrews 2:9–10
  But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death…
Through
Ephesians 5:15
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
leads to
- Colossians 4:5
  Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- James 3:13
  Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- Philippians 1:27
  Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm…
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
  Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Proverbs 14:8
  The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.

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The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Corinthians

Where the connections lead

The record, by era

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Corinthians