1 Corinthians 13 · KJV

1 Corinthians 13

The Love Chapter

1 Corinthians 13 defines love: patient, kind, not envious or proud, keeping no record of wrongs, and never failing. Known as "the love chapter," it teaches that without love, everything else is empty.

1 Corinthians 13 (KJV)

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.

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What 1 Corinthians 13 means

Paul begins by stripping away every impressive thing — eloquence, prophecy, knowledge, faith to move mountains, even great sacrifice — and declaring that without love, it is all "nothing." Love is the one thing that gives everything else meaning.

Then comes the famous portrait: love "suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not… beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things." It closes on love's permanence — "charity never faileth" — and its supremacy: "now abideth faith, hope, charity… but the greatest of these is charity." It is the most-read passage at weddings.

Key verses

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

    1 Corinthians 13:4 · KJV"Charity suffereth long, and is kind."

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

    1 Corinthians 13:13 · KJV"The greatest of these is charity."

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A prayer from 1 Corinthians 13

Lord, teach me to love as You describe — patient, kind, humble, and enduring. Let love shape everything I do, for without it I am nothing. Amen.

Themes in this passage

LovePatienceKindnessMarriage

Related passages

Proverbs 31Psalm 139Galatians 5:22-23

Frequently asked

What does 1 Corinthians 13 mean?

1 Corinthians 13 defines love: patient, kind, not envious or proud, keeping no record of wrongs, and never failing. Known as "the love chapter," it teaches that without love, everything else is empty.

What is 1 Corinthians 13 about?

Paul begins by stripping away every impressive thing — eloquence, prophecy, knowledge, faith to move mountains, even great sacrifice — and declaring that without love, it is all "nothing." Love is the one thing that gives everything else meaning.

What is the key verse in 1 Corinthians 13?

1 Corinthians 13:4 — “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,”

Is 1 Corinthians 13 in the King James Version?

Yes. The full text of 1 Corinthians 13 on this page is the King James Version (KJV), which is in the public domain.