1   I may speak in tongues of men or of angels, but if I am without love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2   I may have the gift of prophecy, and know every hidden truth; I may have faith strong enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing. 3   I may dole out all I possess, or even give my body to be burnt, ^note but if I have no love, I am none the better.

4   Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude; 5   never selfish, not quick to take offence. 6   Love keeps no score of wrongs; does not gloat over other men's sins, but delights in the truth. 7   There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.

8   Love will never come to an end. Are there prophets? their work will be over. Are there tongues of ecstasy? they will cease. Is there knowledge? 9   it will vanish away; for our knowledge and our prophecy alike are partial, 10   and the partial vanishes when wholeness comes. 11   When I was a child, my speech, my outlook, and my thoughts were all childish. When I grew up, I had finished with childish things. 12   Now we see only puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face. My knowledge now is partial; then it will be whole, like God's knowledge of me. 13   In a word, there are three things that last for ever: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of them all is love.

Previous section

Next section