13 If I speak in the tongues[a](A) of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy(B) and can fathom all mysteries(C) and all knowledge,(D) and if I have a faith(E) that can move mountains,(F) but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor(G) and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b](H) but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient,(I) love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.(J) It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,(K) it is not easily angered,(L) it keeps no record of wrongs.(M) Love does not delight in evil(N) but rejoices with the truth.(O) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.(P)

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,(Q) they will cease; where there are tongues,(R) they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part(S) and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes,(T) what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood(U) behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;(V) then we shall see face to face.(W) Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.(X)

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.(Y) But the greatest of these is love.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 13:1 Or languages
  2. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts body to the flames

13 If ean I speak laleō in the ho tongues glōssa of ho men anthrōpos and kai of ho angels angelos, but de do echō not have echō love agapē, I am ginomai a resounding ēcheō gong chalkos or ē a clanging alalazō cymbal kymbalon. And kai if ean I have echō the gift of prophecy prophēteia, and kai understand oida · ho all pas mysteries mystērion and kai all pas · ho knowledge gnōsis, and kai if ean I have echō all pas · ho faith pistis so that hōste I can remove methistēmi mountains oros, but de do echō not have echō love agapē, I am eimi nothing outheis. If I kan give away psōmizō everything pas · ho I egō own hyparchō, and kai if ean I surrender paradidōmi · ho my egō body sōma to hina be burned kauchaomai, but de do echō not have echō love agapē, it benefits me ōpheleō nothing oudeis.

· ho Love agapē is patient makrothumeō, love agapē is kind chrēsteuomai, · ho it does not ou envy zēloō. · ho Love agapē does not ou brag perpereuomai, it is not ou arrogant physioō, it is not ou rude aschēmoneō, it is not ou self-seeking zēteō, · ho it is not ou easily angered paroxynō, it keeps no ou account logizomai of ho wrongs kakos, it takes no ou pleasure chairō in epi · ho wrongdoing adikia, but de rejoices synchairō in the ho truth alētheia. Love bears stegō all pas things , believes pisteuō all pas things , hopes elpizō all pas things , endures hypomenō all pas things .

· ho Love agapē never oudepote comes to an end piptō. But de if eite there are prophecies prophēteia, they will be set aside katargeō; if eite there are tongues glōssa, they will cease pauō; if eite there is knowledge gnōsis, it will be set aside katargeō. For gar we know ginōskō in ek part meros and kai we prophesy prophēteuō in ek part meros, 10 but de when hotan what ho is complete teleios comes erchomai, the ho partial ek meros will be set aside katargeō. 11 When hote I was eimi a child nēpios, I talked laleō like hōs a child nēpios, I thought phroneō like hōs a child nēpios, I reasoned logizomai like hōs a child nēpios. When hote I became ginomai a man anēr, I set aside katargeō childish nēpios ways ho. · ho 12 For gar the present arti we are looking blepō through dia a mirror esoptron obscurely en ainigma, but de then tote face prosōpon to pros face prosōpon. Now arti I know ginōskō in ek part meros; then tote · de I will know fully epiginōskō, just as kathōs · kai I have been fully known epiginōskō. 13 And de now nyni remain menō faith pistis, hope elpis, and love agapē; · ho these houtos three treis. And de the greatest megas of these houtos is · ho love agapē.

The Excellence of Love

13 If I speak with the (A)tongues of mankind and of (B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a (C)clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of (D)prophecy and know all (E)mysteries and all (F)knowledge, and if I have (G)all faith so as to (H)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I (I)give away all my possessions to charity, and if I (J)surrender my body so that I may [a]glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

Love (K)is patient, love is kind, it (L)is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not (M)arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it (N)does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, (O)does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, (P)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but (Q)rejoices with the truth; it [b](R)keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails; but if there are gifts of [c](S)prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are (T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. For we (U)know in part and prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I [d]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we (V)see in a mirror [e]dimly, but then (W)face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also (X)have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the [f]greatest of these is (Y)love.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 I.e., in martyrdom
  2. 1 Corinthians 13:7 Lit covers all things
  3. 1 Corinthians 13:8 Lit prophecies
  4. 1 Corinthians 13:11 Lit have become...have done away with
  5. 1 Corinthians 13:12 Lit in a riddle
  6. 1 Corinthians 13:13 Lit greater

Love: The Superior Way

13 If I speak human or angelic languages
but do not have love,(A)
I am a sounding gong(B) or a clanging cymbal.
If I have the gift of prophecy(C)
and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith
so that I can move mountains(D)
but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I donate all my goods to feed the poor,
and if I give my body in order to boast[a]
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient,(E) love is kind.
Love does not envy,(F)
is not boastful, is not conceited,(G)
does not act improperly,
is not selfish,(H) is not provoked,(I)
and does not keep a record of wrongs.
Love finds no joy in unrighteousness
but rejoices in the truth.(J)
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures(K) all things.

Love never ends.(L)
But as for prophecies,
they will come to an end;
as for languages, they will cease;
as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
For we know in part,
and we prophesy in part.
10 But when the perfect comes,
the partial will come to an end.
11 When I was a child,
I spoke like a child,
I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man,
I put aside childish things.
12 For now we see indistinctly,[b] as in a mirror,[c]
but then face to face.(M)
Now I know in part,
but then I will know fully,(N)
as I am fully known.(O)
13 Now these three remain:
faith, hope,(P) and love.
But the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Other mss read body to be burned
  2. 1 Corinthians 13:12 Or indirectly
  3. 1 Corinthians 13:12 Ancient mirrors were normally made out of polished metals and were not as clear as modern ones.

Christian love—the highest and best gift

13 1-3 If I speak with the eloquence of men and of angels, but have no love, I become no more than blaring brass or crashing cymbal. If I have the gift of foretelling the future and hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but the very secrets of God, and if I also have that absolute faith which can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all. If I dispose of all that I possess, yes, even if I give my own body to be burned, but have no love, I achieve precisely nothing.

This love of which I speak is slow to lose patience—it looks for a way of being constructive. It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.

5-6 Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage. It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people. On the contrary, it is glad with all good men when truth prevails.

7-8a Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.

All gifts except love will be superseded one day

8b-10 For if there are prophecies they will be fulfilled and done with, if there are “tongues” the need for them will disappear, if there is knowledge it will be swallowed up in truth. For our knowledge is always incomplete and our prophecy is always incomplete, and when the complete comes, that is the end of the incomplete.

11 When I was a little child I talked and felt and thought like a little child. Now that I am a man my childish speech and feeling and thought have no further significance for me.

12 At present we are men looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. The time will come when we shall see reality whole and face to face! At present all I know is a little fraction of the truth, but the time will come when I shall know it as fully as God now knows me!

13 In this life we have three great lasting qualities—faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.