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1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 is called the love chapter: thirteen verses in which Paul describes the love that comes from God and says it outlasts everything else. Its best-known line in the KJV, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind” (verse 4), is what modern translations render “Love is patient, love is kind”; the KJV calls this love “charity”.

1 Corinthians 13 · King James Version

1Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Without love, even great gifts and great sacrifices add up to nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Love described in actions: patient, kind, not proud, thinking no evil. Bearing all things is never a call to stay in harm.

1 Corinthians 13:8
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

Love never fails. Everything else we have is for now; love lasts for ever.

1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Now we see only in part, as in a dim mirror; one day we will see face to face, and know as we are known.

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Faith, hope and love remain, and the greatest of these is love.

What 1 Corinthians 13 means

Paul wrote this letter in the mid-50s AD, from Ephesus, to the church he had founded in Corinth, a busy port city. It was a gifted church and a divided one, and chapter 13 sits in the middle of his answer about spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 ends “yet shew I unto you a more excellent way”, and chapter 14 begins “Follow after charity”. Love is the way the gifts are meant to be used.

The chapter moves in three steps. Verses 1-3: without love, the most impressive things are empty. Eloquence is “sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal”, knowledge and mountain-moving faith are “nothing”, and even giving everything away “profiteth me nothing”. Verses 4-7: what love does and does not do, fifteen short descriptions in which many readers see a portrait of Christ. Verses 8-13: love lasts. Prophecy, tongues and knowledge are partial and will pass. Now we see “through a glass, darkly”, as in the dim mirrors of polished metal of Paul’s day, but then “face to face”.

It ends with three things that remain, “faith, hope, charity, these three”, and the greatest is love. In the traditional reading, faith and hope reach toward what we do not yet see, and love is what will still be there when we see. That is why it is the greatest: it is the life of God Himself, for “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In the KJV, charity translates the Greek agape. It means love, not donations.

Most people hear 1 Corinthians 13 at weddings, and it belongs there; it is also read at funerals, because it promises that love does not end. But it was not written about romance. It was written to a quarrelling church about how to treat people you disagree with, in worship, in arguments and in daily life. Read that way it is harder and better: a description of love for a difficult neighbor as much as for a spouse. And “beareth all things” is not a call to put up with abuse. This love “rejoiceth in the truth”, and it does not ask anyone to stay in harm.

A prayer

Lord, without love I am nothing, whatever I know or give. Teach me the love that suffers long and is kind, that does not envy or boast, that is not easily provoked and thinks no evil. Let me rejoice in the truth, and bear, believe, hope and endure. While I see through a glass, darkly, keep me in faith and hope until I see You face to face. And above all, make me loving. Amen.

Related verses

1 John 4:7-8
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Love comes from God, because God Himself is love.

John 13:34-35
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Jesus’ new command: love one another as He loved you.

Questions people ask

Why is 1 Corinthians 13 called the love chapter?

Because the whole chapter is about love: why nothing counts without it, what it looks like in daily life, and why it lasts for ever.

Why does the KJV say charity instead of love?

The translators followed the Latin caritas for the Greek agape. In 1611 charity meant love in its highest sense; today it suggests giving to the poor, which is why modern Bibles say love.

Is 1 Corinthians 13 only for weddings?

No. It is read at weddings and funerals, but Paul wrote it to a divided church about how believers should treat one another. It describes love for anyone, including people you find difficult.

Who wrote 1 Corinthians 13?

The apostle Paul, in a letter to the church in Corinth, written from Ephesus in the mid-50s AD (1 Corinthians 16:8).

What does “through a glass, darkly” mean?

A glass was a mirror, usually polished metal in Paul’s day, which gave a dim, imperfect image. Paul means that for now we know God only in part; one day we will see Him “face to face”.

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By the Verse Path editors · Updated · How we choose and explain verses