1 Corinthians 15:51–58 — Death Is Swallowed Up in Victory

King James Version · hope

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Why families choose it

The old prayer books appointed this chapter at the burial of the dead, and these closing verses are the reason: this is where Scripture taunts death to its face. 'O death, where is thy sting?' is not consolation — it is a challenge issued across an open grave. And it ends on labour: for a life spent in steady, unglamorous work, 'your labour is not in vain in the Lord' says what a eulogy takes twenty minutes to say.

Reading it aloud

It opens like a confidence — 'Behold, I shew you a mystery' — so begin quietly and let the reading grow. The two questions are addressed to death itself; read them that way, straight and unsoftened, because they are meant to sound like winning. Then lower the voice for the last verse: 'Therefore, my beloved brethren' turns from the grave to the living, and it should sound like it.

In the programme, list it in the order of service as “Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:51–58” with the reader’s name beside it. The full text is public domain and may be printed on the life-story or back page.

Often read alongside: 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 John 11:21–27 Job 19:25–27

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