1 Corinthians 15:26

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1 Corinthians 15:26, King James Version

1 Corinthians 15:26 in other translations

BSB	The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
WEB	The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
ASV	The last enemy that shall be abolished is death.
YLT	the last enemy is done away--death;
DARBY	The last enemy that is annulled is death.
BBE	The last power to come to an end is death.
Webster	The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

What does 1 Corinthians 15:26 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

26. shall be--Greek, "is done away with" (Re 20:14; compare Re 1:18). It is to believers especially this applies (1Co 15:55-57); even in the case of unbelievers, death is done away with by the general resurrection. Satan brought in sin, and sin brought in death! So they shall be destroyed (rendered utterly powerless) in the same order (1Co 15:56; He 2:14; Re 19:20; 20:10, 14).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 26. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. The other foes of God should be subdued before the final resurrection. The enmity of the human heart should be subdued by the triumphs of the gospel. The sceptre of Satan should be broken and wrested from him. The false systems of religion that had tyrannized over men should be destroyed. The gospel should have spread everywhere, and the world be converted to God. And nothing should remain but to subdue or destroy death, and that would be by the resurrection. It would be,

(1.) because the resurrection would be a triumph over death, showing that there was one of greater power, and that the sceptre would be wrested from the hands of death.

(2.) Because death would cease to reign. No more would ever die. All that should be raised up would live for ever; and the effects of sin and rebellion in this world would be thus for ever ended, and the kingdom of God restored. Death is here personified as a tyrant, exercising despotic power over the human race; and he is to be subdued.

(b) "be destroyed is death" Hoss 13:14, 2Ti 1:10, Rev 20:14

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 26 The last enemy - Death, shall be destroyed; καταργειται, shall be counter-worked, subverted, and finally overturned. But death cannot be destroyed by there being simply no farther death; death can only be destroyed and annihilated by a general resurrection; if there be no general resurrection, it is most evident that death will still retain his empire. Therefore, the fact that death shall be destroyed assures the fact that there shall be a general resurrection; and this is a proof, also, that after the resurrection there shall be no more death.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34

All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the…

Read the full comment on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34 →

1 Corinthians 15:26 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἔσχατοςeschatos[The] lastG2078

ἐχθρὸςechthrosenemyG2190

καταργεῖταιkatargeitaito be abolished [is]G2673

ὁho<the>G3588

θάνατος.thanatosdeath.G2288

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Corinthians 15:26

2 Timothy 1:10
But 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 Corinthians 15:55
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Revelation 21:4
And 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.
Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Isaiah 25:8
He 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.
Hebrews 2:14
Forasmuch 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;
Hosea 13:14
I 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.
Luke 20:36
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

55; Isa 25:8; Ho 13:14; Lu 20:36; 2Ti 1:10; Heb 2:14; Re 20:14; 21:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Corinthians 15:25
For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:27
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

Read all of 1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15:26 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y el postrer enemigo que será deshecho, será la muerte.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	le dernier ennemi qui sera aboli, c’est la mort.
German Elberfelder 1871	Der letzte Feind, der weggetan wird, ist der Tod.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Novissima autem inimica destruetur mors: omnia enim subjecit pedibus ejus. Cum autem dicat: