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.

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