At this point Paul begins to give the nonfigurative meaning of his illustrations. Translators should begin a new paragraph here. In the first sentence there is no verb in the Greek, but Good News Bible‘s “will be” is clearly implied.

So it is compares what follows with what precedes—the reality (resurrection) with the image (heavenly bodies).

The resurrection of the dead: in most languages it will be helpful to render resurrection as a verbal expression to show that it is an event: “when God raises the dead to life.” See comments on verse 12.

What is sown: Good News Bible has removed the metaphorical language to bring out the meaning of the passage: “When the body is buried.” Another solution is Barclay‘s translation: “what is buried in the earth, like a seed….” Such a translation keeps the figure of speech but expands it.

The words perishable and imperishable mean respectively “in a state of being subject to death and decay,” and the opposite. These words have to be understood in this particular context. Paul’s argument makes it clear that the resurrection body is imperishable or “immortal” (Good News Bible) because God has raised it to a new kind of life that it did not have before. Imperishable or “immortal” can also be expressed as “will never die.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .