1 Corinthians 15:29

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Else	Ἐπεὶ Epei	G1893	thereupon · conjunction
what	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
do	ποιήσουσιν poiēsousin	G4160	to make or do (in a very wide application · verb — future active indicative, 3rd person plural
which	οἱ hoi	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative plural masculine
baptized	βαπτιζόμενοι baptizomenoi	G907	to immerse · verb — present passive participle, nominative plural masculine
for	ὑπὲρ huper	G5228	"over" · preposition
dead	νεκρῶν; nekrōn	G3498	dead (literally or figuratively · adjective — genitive plural masculine
if	εἰ ei	G1487	if · conditional particle
dead	νεκροὶ nekroi	G3498	dead (literally or figuratively · adjective — nominative plural masculine
rise	ἐγείρονται· egeirontai	G1453	to waken (transitively or intransitively) · verb — present passive indicative, 3rd person plural
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
all	ὅλως holōs	G3654	completely · adverb
why	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
they	βαπτίζονται baptizontai	G907	to immerse · verb — present passive indicative, 3rd person plural
then	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
baptized	βαπτίζω baptízō	G907	to immerse
for	ὑπὲρ huper	G5228	"over" · preposition
dead	νεκρός nekrós	G3498	dead (literally or figuratively

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Romans 6:3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
1 Corinthians 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the bap…
1 Corinthians 15:32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

In this passage the apostle establishes the truth of the resurrection of the dead, the holy dead, the dead in Christ, I. On the resurrection of Christ. 1. Because he is indeed the first-fruits of those that slept, Co1 15:20. He has truly risen himself, and he has risen in this very quality and character, as the first-fruits of those who sleep in him. As he has assuredly risen, so in his resurrection there is as much an earnest given that the dead in him shall rise as there was that the Jewish harvest in general should be accepted and blessed by the offering and acceptance of the first-fruits. The whole lump was made holy by the consecration of the first-fruits (Rom 11:16), and the whole body…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:29

Else--if there be no resurrection. what shall they do?--How wretched is their lot! they . . . which are baptized for the dead--third person; a class distinct from that in which the apostle places himself, "we" (Co1 15:30); first person. ALFORD thinks there is an allusion to a practice at Corinth of baptizing a living person in behalf of a friend who died unbaptized; thus Paul, without giving the least sanction to the practice, uses an ad hominem argument from it against its practicers, some of whom, though using it, denied the resurrection: "What account can they give of their practice; why are they at the trouble of it, if the dead rise not?" [So Jesus used an ad hominem argument, Mat 1…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:29

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead - This is certainly the most difficult verse in the New Testament; for, notwithstanding the greatest and wisest men have labored to explain it, there are to this day nearly as many different interpretations of it as there are interpreters. I shall not employ my time, nor that of my reader, with a vast number of discordant and conflicting opinions; I shall make a few remarks: 1. The doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord was a grand doctrine among the apostles; they considered and preached this as the demonstration of the truth of the Gospel. 2. The multitudes who embraced Christianity became converts on the evidence of this resurrecti…

The Church Fathers

The Marcionites baptize the living on behalf of dead unbelievers, not knowing that baptism saves only the person who receives it.
— Didymus the Blind, Pauline Commentary From the Greek Church: Collected and Edited Catena Writings, page 8 - original source unclear

It seems that some people were at that time being baptized for the dead because they were afraid that someone who was not baptized would either not rise at all or else rise merely in order to be condemned.
— Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul's Epistles, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum 81.175

It also seemed good that the Eucharist should not be given to the bodies of the dead. For it is written: "Take, Eat," but the bodies of the dead can neither "take" nor "eat." Nor let the ignorance of the presbyters baptize those who are dead.
— Council of Carthage of 419, The Canons, Canon XVIII

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Adam — Red, a Babylonian word, the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian languages. It was the name given to the first man, whose creation, fall, and subsequent…
Baptism for the dead — Only mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:29. This expression as used by the apostle may be equivalent to saying, “He who goes through a baptism of blood in order to join a glorified church which has no existence…
Immortality — Perpetuity of existence. The doctrine of immortality is taught in the Old Testament. It is plainly implied in the writings of Moses (Gen. 5:22, 24; 25:8; 37:35; 47:9; 49:29, comp. Heb. 11:13-16; Ex.…
Sin — Is “any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God” (1 John 3:4; Rom. 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by…
Baptism · 1:5,22;2:38,41;8:12,13,16,36-38;9:18;10:46-48;16:14,15,33;18:8,25;19:4,5;22:16; — 1:5,22;2:38,41;8:12,13,16,36-38;9:18;10:46-48;16:14,15,33;18:8,25;19:4,5;22:16;
Body · Resurrection of — Resurrection of
Immortality · 2:11; — 2:11;
Resurrection · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Corinthians 15:29

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:29

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:29

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 15:29

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:29

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:29

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15:29

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 15:29-34

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 15:29