The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Parallel translations
- WEB The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
- BSB The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
- NKJV The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
- NASB The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
- NLT And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The last enemy to be destroyed is death. It matters because Christ's victory will finally and fully abolish death itself.
Overview
Paul names death as the final foe that Christ will conquer. Already defeated in principle through the resurrection, death will be utterly abolished at the end. This promise crowns the believer's hope: the very enemy that ends earthly life will itself be done away with in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Tim 1:10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
- 1 Cor 15:55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
- Rev 21:4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
- Rev 20:14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
- Isa 25:8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
- Heb 2:14Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
- Luke 20:36Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
- Hos 13:14I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 15:26 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.