1 Corinthians 15:30
in 1 Corinthians 15And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
KJV
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
⋯
This verse in 1 Corinthians 15
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd why stand we in jeopardy every hour? - Is there any reason why we should voluntarily submit to so many sufferings, and every hour be in danger of losing our lives, if the dead rise not? On the conviction of the possibility and certainty of the resurrection, we are thus baptized for the dead. We have counted the cost, despise sufferings, and exult at the prospect of death, because we know we shall have a resurrection unto eternal life.
This site's exposition
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
on 1 Corinthians 15:30-32
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? Paul turns from a debated Corinthian custom to his own daily experience, I die daily, kath hemeran apothnesko, apostolic ministry lived under constant threat of death that only a certain future resurrection could justify enduring. Verse 32 names a specific danger, fought with beasts at Ephesus, read by most of the bench as a figure for violent human opposition rather than the arena itself, since Roman citizenship would ordinarily have shielded Paul from that penalty, though some hold it literal. The verse's conclusion states the alternative starkly, if the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die, quoting Isaiah 22:13's own words for a doomed city, the logical end of Corinth's denial laid bare as despair dressed as philosophy.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
The theme here is that unless there is such a fact as the resurrection of the dead, all this is pointless.
"And why," he inquires, "stand we in jeopardy every hour? " -meaning, of course, through the flesh.
A commentator
Didymus the BlindPAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH · Written before 398.
proposed
If the soul is not immortal, if the body does not rise from the dead, there would be no point taking risks on behalf of the faith.
"Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? I protest by that glorying in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." See again whence he endeavors to establish the doctrine, from his own suffrage: or rather not from his only, but from that also of the other apostles. And this too is no small thing; that the teachers whom you produce were full of vehement conviction and signified the same not by words only, but also by very deeds. Therefore, you see, he doth not say simply, "we are persuaded," for this alone was not sufficient to persuade them, but he also furnishes the proof by facts; as if he should say, "in words to confess these things haply seems to you no marvel; but if we should also produce unto you the voice which deeds send forth, what can ye have to say against that? Hear ye then, how by our perils also day by day we confess these things?" And he said not "I," but "we," taking along with him all the apostles together, and thereby at once speaking modestly and adding credibility to his discourse. For what can ye have to say? that we are deceiving you when we preach these things, and that our doctrines come of vain-glory? Nay, our perils suffer you not to pass such a sentence. For who would choose to be in continual jeopardy to no purpose and with no effect? Wherefore also he said, "Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?" For if one should even choose it through vain-glory, such his choice will be but for once and again, not all his life long, like ours. For we have assigned our whole life to this purpose. "I protest by that glorying in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily:" by glorying here, meaning their advancement. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
If you do not accept as proof of the resurrection the verbal confession which those being baptized make, then you have witness in deeds as well. For all of us, the apostles, constantly suffer afflictions. And if there were no resurrection, for what reason would …
6 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
955. – Why am I in peril every hour? Here he presents the second incongruity. In regard to this he does two things: first, he mentions the incongruity in general; secondly, in special. 956. – He says, therefore: Not only are some baptized in vain …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And must he not fix this character on it if he give up his future hopes, and deny the resurrection of the dead? This argument the apostle brings home to himself: " I protest, " says he, " by your rejoicing in Jesus Christ, by all the comforts of Christianity, and all the peculiar succours and supports of our holy faith, that I die daily, "
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
He answers an objection against this truth, and takes occasion thence to show what a vast change will be made in the bodies of believers at the resurrection,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
A gradation from those who could only for a little time enjoy this life (that is, those baptized at the point of death), to us, who could enjoy it longer, if we had not renounced the world for Christ [BENGEL].
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And why stand we in jeopardy - Why do we constantly risk our lives, and encounter danger of every kind? This refers particularly to Paul himself and the other apostles, who were constantly exposed to peril by land or by sea in the arduous work of making known the gospel. The argument here is plain. It is, that such efforts would be vain, useless, foolish, unless there was to be a glorious resurrection. They had no other object in encountering these dangers than to make known the truths connected with that glorious future state; and if there were no such future state, it would be wise for them to avoid these dangers. “It would not be supposed that we would encounter these perils constantly, unless we were sustained with the hope of the resurrection, and unless we had evidence which convinced our own minds that there would be such a resurrection.” Every hour - Constantly; compare 2Co 11:26. So numerous were their dangers, that they might be said to occur every hour. This was particularly the case in the instance to which he refers in Ephesus, 1Co 15:32.
The words behind it
6 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τί | ti | Why | G5101 → | 563 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἡμεῖς | hemeis | we ourselves | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| κινδυνεύομεν | kinduneuomen | are in danger | G2793 → | |
| πᾶσαν | pasan | every | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| ὥραν; | horan | hour? | G5610 → |
τίWhy
tiG5101 →563 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἡμεῖςwe ourselves
hemeisG3165 →1936 times
κινδυνεύομενare in danger
kinduneuomenG2793 →
πᾶσανevery
pasanG3956 →1235 times
ὥραν;hour?
horanG5610 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 15:31I face death every day, brothers, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:10–11
We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 8:36
As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Corinthians 4:9–13
For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as…
- Philippians 3:3
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
- 1 Thessalonians 3:9
How can we adequately thank God for you in return for our great joy over you in His presence?
- 2 Corinthians 4:10–11
Through
2 Corinthians 6:9as unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
- 2 Corinthians 1:8–10
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired…
- 2 Corinthians 11:6
Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Didymus the Blind, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 40; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.