1 Corinthians 13
1 Corinthians 13 is the Bible's great 'love chapter' — love as patient, kind, never failing; greater than faith and hope; the indispensable mark of the Christian life.
The Book of 1 Corinthians · New Testament · chapter 13 of 16.
Where this chapter sits
Sandwiched between a chapter cataloguing spiritual gifts and a chapter regulating tongues and prophecy in worship, this passage answers a Corinthian church that was ranking members by which gift they displayed publicly. Rather than composed as a wedding text, it was written to correct that competition, arguing that gifts exercised without love amount to noise. The list of what love does and does not do sets the standard the next chapter applies to worship practice.
Key verses (KJV)
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind.” — 1 Corinthians 13:4 (KJV)
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)
What to notice as you read
Notice the repeated formula though I, each clause raising the stakes, tongues, prophecy, giving away everything, to argue that gifts and even sacrifice are empty without love. The chapter's middle list defines love by action rather than feeling, and it ends by naming love, not knowledge, as what remains.
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Frequently asked questions
Where does 1 Corinthians 13 come in 1 Corinthians?
It is chapter 13 of 16 in 1 Corinthians, a book of Epistle in the New Testament. The other widely-read chapters of 1 Corinthians are linked further down this page.
Where can I read 1 Corinthians 13?
Read the full text of 1 Corinthians 13 — and the whole Bible, offline, in your preferred translation — free in the Quiethaven app for iPhone.