1 Corinthians 15:51 (DBY)

Passage

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed,

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the [one] made of dust, we shall bear also the image of the heavenly [one].

1 Corinthians 15:50 But this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom, nor does corruption inherit incorruptibility.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed,

1 Corinthians 15:52 in an instant, in [the] twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and *we* shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must needs put on incorruptibility, and this mortal put on immortality.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "tell", "mystery", "shall", "fall", "asleep", and "changed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "tell", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "But this I say brethren that flesh..." into verse 52's "in an instant in the twinkling of...", so "behold" and "tell" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "behold" and "tell" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.