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OET (OET-LV) and if chosen_one/messiah not has_been_raised, vain consequently the proclamation of_us is, vain also the faith of_you_all is.
OET (OET-RV) and if Messiah hasn’t come back to life, then our preaching is meaningless and so is your faith!
In this section Paul reminded the Corinthian believers about the gospel and showed them that the resurrection from the dead was an important part of the gospel. First (15:1–11) he wrote about the evidence showing that God raised Christ from the dead. Then (15:12–34) he taught that God will raise believers from the dead. Finally (15:35–58) he taught about what the resurrection body will be like.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The resurrection
People who die will live again
Christ has risen and his people will rise also
In this paragraph Paul said that it is important to believe in the resurrection of the dead. If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised. If Christ was not raised, then his people are not saved.
And if Christ has not been raised,
And if Christ has not risen,
And if Christ has not become alive again,
And if Christ has not been raised: This is a repetition of the end of the previous verse. Paul continued to talk about a situation which is false. It may be natural to use the same form as in 13a.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
if Christ were not raised
suppose that Christ was not raised
if it is true that Christ has not been raised
Paul listed three things that result if there is no resurrection. This is what the situation would be if Christ has not been raised.
our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
our preaching and your(plur) faith are both worthless.
it is useless for us(excl) to preach the gospel to you, and it is useless for you to believe it.
our preaching is worthless: This is the first result. The phrase our preaching refers to the content of the apostles’ preaching. In some languages it may be natural to translate our preaching as a verb phrase:
what we(excl) preach about is worthless
worthless: The Greek word that the BSB translates as worthless can also be translated as:
empty
of no value/benefit
and so is your faith: This is the second result. The phrase and so is your faith is a short way to say, “and your faith is also useless.” In some languages it may be natural to translate your faith as a verb phrase:
it is also useless for you to believe the gospel
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo
εἰ & Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται
if & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
Here, Christ has not been raised repeats words found at the end of the last verse ([15:13](../15/13.md)). Paul repeats these words to make what he is arguing very clear. If your readers do not need these words to be repeated, and if they would be confused about why Paul is repeating himself, you could refer back to the words in the previous verse with a short phrase. Alternate translation: [if that were true]
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-contrary
εἰ & Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται
if & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
Here Paul is making a conditional statement that sounds hypothetical, but he is already convinced that the condition is not true. He knows that Christ really has been raised. He uses this form to continue to show the Corinthians the implications of their claim about resurrection. Use a natural form in your language for introducing a condition that the speaker believes is not true. Alternate translation: [if Christ has not actually been raised]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive here to focus on Jesus, who was raised, rather than focusing on the one doing the “raising.” If you must state who did the action, Paul implies that “God” did it. Alternate translation: [God has not raised Christ]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / parallelism
κενὸν & τὸ κήρυγμα ἡμῶν, κενὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
Here Paul repeats in vain and the same structure in two connectd clauses. This was worded powerfully in his culture. If it would be helpful in your language, and if it would not be worded powerfully in your culture, you could indicate why Paul repeats words and structure by eliminate some or all of the repetition and by making the statements powerful in another way. Alternate translation: [our preaching and your faith are all in vain]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive
ἡμῶν
˱of˲_us_‹is›
Here, our refers to Paul and the other apostles mentioned in earlier verses (See: [15:11](../15/11.md)). It does not include the Corinthians.
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
κενὸν & τὸ κήρυγμα ἡμῶν, κενὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
If your language does not use abstract nouns for the ideas behind preaching and faith, you can express the ideas by using verbs such as “preach” and “believe.” Alternate translation: [we preached in vain, and you believed in vain]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
κενὸν & κενὴ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ δέ Χριστός οὐκ ἐγήγερται κενόν ἄρα τό κήρυγμα ἡμῶν κενή καί ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν)
Here, in vain identifies a cause that does not have its intended effect. In this case, the apostles’ preaching and the Corinthians’ faith would not lead to salvation if Christ has not been raised. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express in vain with a word or phrase that identifies a cause that does not have its intended effect. Alternate translation: [is useless … is useless] or [has no meaning … has no meaning]
OET (OET-LV) and if chosen_one/messiah not has_been_raised, vain consequently the proclamation of_us is, vain also the faith of_you_all is.
OET (OET-RV) and if Messiah hasn’t come back to life, then our preaching is meaningless and so is your faith!
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.