1CO 13:1-13

Love

1If I utter the languages of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become resounding brass or a clanging cymbal. [13:2] And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [13:3] And if I dole out all I have piece by piece, and if I hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, it benefits me nothing. [13:4] Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not puffed up. [13:5] It does not behave dishonorably, it does not seek its own things, it is not provoked, it does not account the evil. [13:6] It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices together with truth. [13:7] It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [13:8] Love never falls. But whether prophecies — they will be rendered powerless; whether tongues — they will cease; whether knowledge — it will be rendered powerless. [13:9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part. [13:10] But when the complete comes, the partial will be rendered powerless. [13:11] When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I thought as an infant, I reasoned as an infant. When I became a man, I rendered powerless the things of the infant. [13:12] For now we see by means of a polished-metal mirror, obscurely — but then, face to face. Now I know in part — but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. [13:13] And now these three remain: faith, hope, love. And the greatest of these is love.

In the world it was spoken into

In 1st-century Corinth, a bustling urban center with diverse religious and philosophical influences, the concept of love (agape) would have stood in stark contrast to the prevailing cultural norms. Greco-Roman society often valued rhetoric, wisdom, and displays of power, as seen in the city’s philosophical schools and civic pride. The Corinthians, familiar with ecstatic speech (tongues) and prophetic claims, might have viewed such gifts as markers of spiritual superiority. Yet, Paul’s description of love as patient, kind, and selfless would have challenged their honor-shame culture, where self-promotion and reciprocity were central. The imagery of clanging brass and noisy cymbals evokes the chaotic, self-serving displays common in public gatherings. Paul’s emphasis on love as the ultimate virtue aligns with the early Christian ethic of communal care, contrasting sharply with the competitive individualism of Roman patronage and Stoic detachment. For Corinthian believers, this passage redefined spiritual maturity, shifting focus from personal achievement to relational integrity.

›See the receipts

How other translations render this

1CO 13:1

KJV: 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.
BSB: If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
Koinōnos: If I utter the languages of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become resounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

1CO 13:2

KJV: 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.
BSB: If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Koinōnos: And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

1CO 13:3

KJV: 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.
BSB: If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Koinōnos: And if I dole out all I have piece by piece, and if I hand over my body to be burned, but do not have love, it benefits me nothing.

1CO 13:4

KJV: Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
BSB: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Koinōnos: Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, love does not boast, it is not puffed up.

1CO 13:5

KJV: Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
BSB: It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
Koinōnos: It does not behave dishonorably, it does not seek its own things, it is not provoked, it does not account the evil.

1CO 13:6

KJV: Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
BSB: Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.
Koinōnos: It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices together with truth.

1CO 13:7

KJV: Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
BSB: It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Koinōnos: It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1CO 13:8

KJV: 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.
BSB: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.
Koinōnos: Love never falls. But whether prophecies — they will be rendered powerless; whether tongues — they will cease; whether knowledge — it will be rendered powerless.

1CO 13:10

KJV: But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
BSB: but when the perfect comes, the partial passes away.
Koinōnos: But when the complete comes, the partial will be rendered powerless.

1CO 13:11

KJV: When 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.
BSB: 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 set aside childish ways.
Koinōnos: When I was an infant, I spoke as an infant, I thought as an infant, I reasoned as an infant. When I became a man, I rendered powerless the things of the infant.

1CO 13:12

KJV: 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.
BSB: Now we see but a dim reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Koinōnos: For now we see by means of a polished-metal mirror, obscurely — but then, face to face. Now I know in part — but then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

1CO 13:13

KJV: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
BSB: And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.
Koinōnos: And now these three remain: faith, hope, love. And the greatest of these is love.

Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.

Translator's notes

1CO 13:1

I shall speak:The word translated 'I shall speak' often referred to uttering sounds or engaging in conversation, sometimes without the emphasis on conveying a specific message that other words for 'speaking' carried.

1CO 13:3

all:The word translated 'all' here literally means to feed someone by doling out small portions, like a nurse feeding a baby. It emphasizes a complete and sacrificial act of giving everything away.

1CO 13:11

a child,:The word translated 'a child' refers specifically to an infant or a very young child, emphasizing immaturity and lack of developed understanding or reasoning.

1CO 13:12

a glass:The word translated 'a glass' refers to an ancient mirror, which was typically made of polished metal and provided an unclear, distorted reflection compared to modern glass mirrors.