1 Corinthians 15:55 (LSB)

Passage

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on the incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this corruptible puts on the incorruptible, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the word that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

1 Corinthians 15:56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

1 Corinthians 15:57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "death", "where", "victory", and "sting". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "death" and "where", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 54's "But when this corruptible puts on the..." into verse 56's "Now the sting of death is sin...", so "death" and "where" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "death" and "where" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.