1 Corinthians 15:51-53
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
51 [a]Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,(A) 52 in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.(B) 53 For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.(C)
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- 15:51–52 A mystery: the last moment in God’s plan is disclosed; cf. notes on 1 Cor 2:1, 7–10a. The final trumpet and the awakening of the dead are stock details of the apocalyptic scenario. We shall not all fall asleep: Paul expected that some of his contemporaries might still be alive at Christ’s return; after the death of Paul and his whole generation, copyists altered this statement in various ways. We will all be changed: the statement extends to all Christians, for Paul is not directly speaking about anyone else. Whether they have died before the end or happen still to be alive, all must be transformed.
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