Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 15:32
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church during a structured defense of bodily resurrection, placing this rhetorical question immediately after noting his daily peril and just before warning against corrupting influences.
The words — ἐθηριομάχησα (ethēriomachēsa) translates literally to “I fought wild beasts,” while κατὰ ἄνθρωπον (kata anthrōpon) means “according to human [motives].”
The thread — The quoted maxim “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” appears verbatim in Isaiah 22:13 and Isaiah 56:12, and parallels the self-preserving logic Jesus critiques in Luke 12:19.
Why it lands — The text states that denying resurrection renders present suffering meaningless and reduces rational life to immediate gratification; it therefore asks the reader to evaluate whether their current sacrifices are grounded in a future reality or merely human calculation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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 morrow we die.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 22:13 But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
- Isaiah 56:12 “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- 2 Corinthians 1:8 We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
- 2 Peter 2:12 These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed.
- Acts 18:19 When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.
- Jude 1:10 These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively.
- Malachi 3:14 You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
- Luke 9:25 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
- Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples