This verse and verse 15 state a negative consequence of something that has already been proved in verse 13. However, as verses 18-19 make clear, these are matters of life and death to Paul and his readers. Therefore they should not be underemphasized in translation. Because verses 14-15 depend logically on verses 12-13, Good News Bible‘s translation of the opening words “and if” is stronger and clearer than Revised Standard Version‘s if.
If Christ has not been raised: see comment on translating this phrase in verse 12.
Our preaching may be a little more specific than “is preached” in verse 12. It probably includes all the evangelists who worked in Corinth, but excludes the readers (compare verse 11).
Just as 13a repeated 12b, so 14a repeats 13b. Before taking a new step, Paul, so to speak, brings his second foot up to the step on which he is standing.
Our preaching is in vain is literally “our preaching is empty”; similarly your faith is in vain is literally “your faith is empty.” It is possible to understand “empty” as the opposite of verse 10, where the “grace of God” is “effectual” or “produces results.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “then neither our preaching nor your faith would have any meaning”; Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “our preaching is without foundation and your faith is without value”; Revised English Bible translates “our gospel is null and void”; New International Version uses the word “useless”; New Jerusalem Bible “without substance.” Both preaching and faith here refer to the content of what is preached and believed, rather than to the actual act of preaching and believing.
Some manuscripts have an additional “and” that somewhat changes the structure of the sentence. The UBS Greek text prints it in square brackets. If the additional “and” is taken as part of the text, the meaning will be “Both our preaching and your faith are empty” (“both … and…” linking two whole clauses, as in 1.22). If the “and” is omitted, the meaning will be “our preaching is empty, and your faith also.”
Some manuscripts have “our faith” instead of your faith; the Greek words for “our” and “your” were often confused. Your faith makes a better balance with our preaching; compare verses 11 and 17.
An alternative translation model for this verse is:
• And if Christ has not been raised from death, then the message we preach and your belief in Christ have no meaning at all.
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 .