1 Corinthians 15:55 (WEB)

Passage

“Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”compare Hosea 13:14

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”Isaiah 25:8

1 Corinthians 15:55 “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”compare Hosea 13:14

1 Corinthians 15:56 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", "sting", "hades", "victory", "compare", and "hosea". 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 perishable body will have..." into verse 56's "The sting of death is sin and...", 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.