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1 Corinthians 15:40
ESV There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.
NIV There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
NASB There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.
CSB There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones.
NLT There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.
KJV There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

What does 1 Corinthians 15:40 mean?

Using a shallow objection for contrast (1 Corinthians 15:35), Paul is helping the Corinthians understand the resurrection of the believer's body. They should not be thinking of a decaying corpse returning to life and staggering around like a zombie. Nor should they wonder how or if God can restore life to a burnt or crushed form. Instead, they should be thinking of the resurrected body as something new, springing to life out of the seed of the pre-death body.

He has shown in the previous verses that bodies can be very different depending on the species. Human bodies are different from animals, bird bodies are different than fish bodies.

Now Paul begins to bring this analogy home, saying there are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, each with their own kind of glory. He seems to mean there is a difference between the bodies of people and animals on earth and the bodies of stars and planets that occupy the heavens. The bodies of God's earthly creation reveal His glory in a different way than the heavenly bodies He has made. Paul will go on to suggest a connection between these heavenly bodies and the resurrected bodies of believers. They will have a glory all their own.
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