[See the commentary on Moroni 10:8-17]
“That the Grave Should Have No Victory and That Death Should Have No Sting”
In Mosiah 16:7 Abinadi says the following:
And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
Some have criticized these words because they are similar to the words of Paul in the book of 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
. . . 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.
However, Adam Clarke makes the following commentary in regards to this passage in 1 Corinthians:
These words are generally supposed to be taken from Hosea 13:14, where the Hebrew text is translated, "O death! I will be thy plagues; O grave! I will be thy destruction," and which the Septuagint translates very nearly as the Apostle Paul, "O death, where is thy revenge, or judicial process? O grave, where is thy sting?
The Septuagint, probably by mistake or corruption of copyists, have "revenge or a judicial process" for "victory." This is a mistake which the similarity of the words, both in letters and sound, might readily produce. . . . It may also be remarked that almost all the Manuscripts, versions, and many of the [writings of the] fathers interchange the two members of this sentence as they appear in the Septuagint, attributing victory to death; and the sting to the grave. [Adam Clarke, Clark's Commentary: The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, p. 292]
Note* The reader should also note the similarity of Abinadi's words to Isaiah 25:8, "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces." [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]