Which Bible translation is shown on 1 Corinthians 13?

This page reproduces the public-domain World English Bible Protestant edition.

How should I cite a verse in 1 Corinthians 13?

Use the book, chapter, and verse, and name the World English Bible when the wording matters.

1 Corinthians 13 (WEB) — Full Text

New Testament

1 Corinthians 13

1If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

3If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

4Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,

5doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

6doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

9For we know in part and we prophesy in part;

10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

13But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Paul addresses division, holiness, worship, gifts, love, and resurrection in a troubled church. Read 1 Corinthians 13 within the complete 1 Corinthians overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in 1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 contains 13 verses and about 254 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 13 closes: “But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include love, away, doesn’t, things, will, know. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About 1 Corinthians 13

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, 1 Corinthians 13:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.