OET interlinear 1COR 15:36

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular

ἄφρων! σὺ ὃ σπείρεις

foolish you what ˱you˲_/are/_sowing

Here Paul addresses the person who asked the question in the previous verse (15:35). That person is a hypothetical “someone,” but Paul still addresses the answer to you in the singular.

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations

ἄφρων! σὺ

foolish you

Here Paul calls the hypothetical “someone” who asked the questions (15:35) a foolish one. He does not mean that the questions are wrong, for he spends many of the next verses answering these questions. Rather, he means that someone who does not know the answers to these questions is foolish. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express foolish one with a word or phrase that identifies someone who should know something but does not. Alternate translation: “You silly person” or “You know nothing”

ὃ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται, ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ

what ˱you˲_/are/_sowing not /is_being/_given_life if not ˱it˲_/may/_die_off

In 15:36–38, Paul speaks about how farmers sow seeds as an analogy for understanding how the dead resurrect. In this verse, the point is that seeds have a new kind of “life” after they are buried in the ground and thus “die.” Just like this, humans also have a new kind of “life” after they “die.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this to make it clear that Paul is using an analogy. Alternate translation: “Here is an example: what you sow is not caused to live unless it dies”

Note 3 topic: translate-unknown

ὃ σπείρεις, οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται, ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ

what ˱you˲_/are/_sowing not /is_being/_given_life if not ˱it˲_/may/_die_off

Here Paul speaks about farming practices that were common in his culture. A farmer would sow seeds on the dirt in a field, and the seed would sink into the field and seemingly “die.” Only after a period where it lies “dead” in the ground does the seed live in new form as a plant. You could use words or phrases that describe these kinds of farming practices in your culture. Paul specifically uses live and die to connect the farming practices to human life and death, so if possible use terms that can apply to both humans and seeds. Alternate translation: “The seeds that you plant do not live as plants unless they are first buried in the ground”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται

not /is_being/_given_life

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 form here to focus on how What you sow ends up “living” rather than focusing on what or who causes it to live. If you must state who does the action, Paul implies that “God” or the plant itself does it. Alternate translation: “God does not cause to live” or “does not begin to live”

Note 5 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

οὐ ζῳοποιεῖται, ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ

not /is_being/_given_life if not ˱it˲_/may/_die_off

If it would appear in your language that Paul was making a statement here and then contradicting it, you could reword this sentence to avoid using an exception clause. Alternate translation: “only is caused to live once it dies”