1 Corinthians 13

New American Standard Bible 1995

The Excellence of Love

13 If I speak with the ^(A)tongues of men and of ^(B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^(C)clanging cymbal. ² 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. ³ And if I ^(I)give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I ^(J)surrender my body ^[a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love ^(K)is patient, love is kind and ^(L)is not jealous; love does not brag and is not ^(M)arrogant, ⁵ does not act unbecomingly; it ^(N)does not seek its own, is not provoked, ^(O)does not take into account a wrong suffered, ^6 (P)does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^(Q)rejoices with the truth; ^7 [b](R)bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸ Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^[c](S)prophecy, they will be done away; if there are ^(T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. ⁹ For we ^(U)know in part and we prophesy in part; ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 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, love, abide these three; but the ^[f]greatest of these is ^(Y)love.