52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
The now commonly-used English idiom “in the twinkling of an eye” (meaning immediately) was first coined in 1382 in the English translation by John Wycliffe (in the spelling in the twynklyng of an iye). (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 290)
In Russian, this phrase (в мгновение ока — v mgnoveniye oka) is also widely-used as an idiom. The wording of the quote originated in the Russian Synodal Bible (publ. 1876). (Source: Reznikov 2020, p. 47f.)
For other idioms in English that were coined by Bible translation, see here.
German Luther translation: Posaune, today: “trombone,” originally with the meaning of a wind instrument made from cow horn (from Latin bucina [bovi- / “cow” + the root of cano / “sing”]. Incidentally, bucina is also used in the Latin Vulgate translation). By the time of Luther’s translation it referred to the natural trumpet or a fanfare trumpet (see also trumpet). Once the meaning morphed to “trombone” in the 19th century, trombone ensembles started to play a central role in Protestant German churches and do so to the present day. In 2016, “Posaunenchöre” became added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list . (Note that Exodus 19:13 is the only exception in the Luther Bible. From the 1956 revision on, Widderhorn or “ram’s horn” is used here) (source: Zetzsche)
Description: The horn was a wind instrument made from the horn of an animal, usually a male sheep.
Usage: The animal horn was softened so that it could be shaped. The point of the horn was cut off to leave a small opening through which the user blew. The vibration of the lips produced the sound.
The ram’s horn served two general purposes:
1. It was blown in certain religious contexts, not as musical accompaniment to worship but as a signal for important events. Some of these events were the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Day of Atonement, the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, and the coronation of kings.
2. It also served as a signal or alarm when war was approaching. Such references are particularly common in the prophetic books, when the prophets are calling the people to repent (Hosea 5:8; 8:1; Joel 2:1; 2:15; Amos 3:6).
Translation: In many passages the purpose of the ram’s horn called shofar in Hebrew was to sound an alarm. This will be easy to express in those cultures where the horns of animals are used as musical instruments to give signals to large groups of people. In other cultures it may be possible to find another instrument that is used for an equivalent purpose. In some languages, for example, instruments such as bells or drums are the warnings for war. Some translations have transliterated the word shofar. Unless the instrument is well known, such a borrowing should normally be accompanied by a footnote or a glossary entry.
In some passages it will be necessary to expand the translation in order to indicate that the blowing of the ram’s horn was not just for music; for example, in Ezekiel 7:14Contemporary English Version has “A signal has been blown on the trumpet,” and the GermanContemporary English Version says “An alarm is sounded” [elsewhere, the same German version refers to the horns as Kriegshörner or “war horns.”]
Man blowing ram’s horn (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 15:52:
Uma: “This will happen suddenly, in the blink of an eye, when [the] sangkakala is blown the last time. [could also possibly mean: when the final sangkakala is blown.] For when that sangkakala is blown, the dead will be caused to live again with life that has no end. And we who are still alive will be changed as well.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This will happen fast, in only a twinkling of the eye. When God commands already to sound the thing like a tabuli’ (a big sea shell blown to give certain signals), all the ones trusting in Isa Almasi who have died will suddenly be made alive again and they will not die again. And we (incl.) the ones living, all our (incl.) bodies will be changed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For this will take place very quickly, just like the blink of an eye will be what happens here in the future when God causes a trumpet to sound which is a sign that it is already the last day here on the earth. For that trumpet will be sounded and the dead will rise up. Their bodies will be changed and they will no longer die anymore. And as for us who are still alive, our (incl.) our bodies will also be changed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “like the single-blink of an eye. This will happen on the last day when-God’s horn -will-be-heard. Because when the blast of that horn is heard, God will make-alive again the dead and will give them bodies that will never-die while at-the-same-time he will transform us who are still living.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “This will not take long for, when the time has arrived, it will be done in just a flash (lit. one passing) or one eye-blink, at-the-same-time-as the sound of a horn/siren which is a sign that the end of the world has arrived. When this horn/siren is sounded, as for those who have now died, their bodies will be made to live again and they will never die again. And as for those who have not yet died at that time, their bodies will also be made-new. Really, as for us, we will all be made-new.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “As quick as a person blinks, it will happen. That day at the end there will be heard the trumpet. When it has sounded those who have died will resurrect in order to live for ever. But the people who are still alive on that day will have their bodies changed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Description: The trumpet was a wind instrument, frequently used in signaling, especially in connection with war. It was made of metal (the trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10:2 et al. were made of silver). It was a straight, narrow tube, about 40-45 centimeters (16-18 inches) in length. One end had a mouthpiece, while the other end was widened into a bell shape.
Usage: The sound on the trumpet was made by blowing into the mouthpiece in such a way as to vibrate the lips. The vibrations were magnified as they passed along the widening body of the tube.
The purpose of the trumpet in Israel was primarily to signal. Numbers 10 lists a variety of occasions in which the trumpets were to be used, including signaling the people to break camp, calling all of the people together for a meeting, calling only the leaders together, sounding an alarm at the beginning of a battle, and blowing them for liturgical purposes during certain festivals. It is significant that it was the task of the priests to sound the trumpets.
Translation: Generally speaking, translators may distinguish between the Hebrew words chatsotsrah and shofar by rendering chatsotsrah as “trumpet” or “bugle” and shofar with a more generic word for “horn” or with “ram’s horn.” Note the following comment in Translation commentary on Psalm 98:4 – 98:6: “In some languages it will not be possible to make a distinction between the two Hebrew terms translated trumpets and horn. In such cases the local term for a horn will be used. The Greek Old Testament used only one term.”
The exact meaning of the Aramaic word qeren in Daniel 3:5 and following is debated. It probably refers to a brass wind instrument and is best rendered “horn.”
The present-day equivalent for the Greek word salpigx is “bugle.” A bugle is generally smaller than a trumpet and is often associated with the sounding of military signals.
Man blowing a trumpet (source: Horace Knowles (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1954, 1967, 1972)
It is important for translators to compare Good News Bible‘s restructured translation with Revised Standard Version‘s more literal version, and to consider what rearrangement may bring out the meaning most clearly in their own language.
Lo! is the Greek interjection traditionally translated “behold.” Both words are no longer used in everyday English. Good News Bible‘s “Listen” is good modern English. This word is used to call attention to the following words. Another possible rendering is “I want you to pay attention to this….”
Mystery here means a special teaching revealed to Paul so that he may pass it on. Jerusalem Bible, perhaps more precisely than Good News Bible, translates “I will tell you something that has been secret”; see comments on 2.7 and 13.2. “Will” in Jerusalem Bible means “about to,” as implied in the Greek.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed: manuscripts vary, probably because later scribes found the text difficult to understand or accept. The UBS Greek text gives an “A” rating to the text that is translated by Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible. This means that this text is virtually certain. For the variants, see Metzger and general commentaries.
The words translated We shall not all sleep would normally mean “none of us will sleep (that is, die) before the last judgment.” It is likely that Paul, when he wrote this letter, expected to be alive when Christ returned to earth. Nowhere else does he state that no further deaths would take place before Christ’s return. For this reason, all translations consulted, and most commentaries, understand the words to mean “we shall not all die” (Good News Bible), meaning that, although some of us may die, not all of us will die. In any case, throughout the verse “we” and “us” include both Paul and his readers.
We shall all be changed: see last paragraph of comments on these verses.
In a moment: literally “atom,” meaning here a unit of time, not of matter, so small that it cannot be divided again.
Twinkling: more precisely, “in the time it takes to cast a glance at something.”
At the last trumpet: Paul does not say who is to sound the trumpet. If it is necessary in translation to give the verb a subject, one may translate “when people hear the sound of the last trumpet” or “when they blow the last trumpet.”
Trumpet is the normal translation of the Greek word; “bugle” was chosen in 14.8 because that verse referred to a military instrument (see comments).
The phrase the dead will be raised may be rendered as “God will raise the dead to life.”
Imperishable is the opposite of the condition described as “mortal” (Good News Bible) in verse 42 (see the comments). The Greek therefore implies, not only that the dead will never die again (Good News Bible), but that they can never die again.
We shall be changed: this clause almost certainly refers to different people from the dead whom God will raise, never to die again. The people here are the ones mentioned in verse 51 who will still be alive when Christ returns. The we in Greek is emphatic, suggesting a change of subject. It is therefore significant that all is expressed in the Greek of verse 51, but not in verse 52. It may even be that we shall be changed is a clarification or correction by Paul of we shall all be changed in verse 51, to show that “we all” refers only to Christians who are still alive in the last days. Good News Bible‘s “all” is not in the Greek text of verse 52. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes this contrast clear: “when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be awakened to everlasting life. But we, who are still alive, (will) receive a new body.” Other translations are less explicit but do not follow Good News Bible in repeating “all” from verse 51. The distinction between the renderings of verses 51 and 52 should be kept in translation.
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 .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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