“Love is patient, love is kind” is often read as a stand-alone poem about love. In 1 Corinthians it is part of an argument. Paul writes it in the middle of a three-chapter answer about spiritual gifts, to a church he has already rebuked for quarrels (1:10–11) and pride (5:2).

Quick Answer

First Corinthians 13:4–7 describes what love does and refuses to do: it is patient and kind, does not envy, boast, or puff itself up, does not insist on its own way, and does not keep a tally of wrongs. Paul places this portrait between chapter 12 (gifts given “for the common good”) and chapter 14 (gifts that “build up the church”). His point is that gifts without love are worthless, and several of the lines answer problems he has already named in Corinth.

The Verses in Full

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7, BSB)

The King James Version begins, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” “Charity” and “love” translate the same Greek word, agapē.

Where Chapter 13 Sits

Chapters 12–14 are one unit about spiritual gifts and worship. Chapter 13 is the hinge.

  • Chapter 12 says the gifts come from one Spirit and are given “for the common good” (12:7). The church is a body: “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I do not need you’” (12:21). It ends, “And now I will show you the most excellent way” (12:31).
  • Chapter 13:1–3 says the most impressive gifts, including tongues “of angels,” prophecy, faith that moves mountains, and giving everything away, are worth nothing without love.
  • Chapter 13:8–13 says gifts are partial and temporary, but “Love never fails.”
  • Chapter 14 opens, “Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts” (14:1), and judges gifts by whether they “build up the church” (14:12). It ends, “But everything must be done in a proper and orderly manner” (14:40).

Read this way, verses 4–7 are the “most excellent way” of 12:31: the way to use any gift.

A Portrait Aimed at Corinth

Several of the lines in verses 4–7 echo problems Paul has already named earlier in the letter.

Love… (13:4–5) Earlier in 1 Corinthians
“does not envy” “There is jealousy and dissension among you” (3:3)
“is not proud” (puffed up) “You are proud!” (5:2); “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (8:1)
“is not self-seeking” “No one should seek his own good, but the good of others” (10:24)
“keeps no account of wrongs” Lawsuits between believers: “Why not rather be wronged?” (6:7)

The clearest link is “proud.” The Greek verb physioō, “to puff or blow up,” appears seven times in the New Testament according to Bible Hub’s concordance, and six of them are in 1 Corinthians (4:6, 4:18, 4:19, 5:2, 8:1, 13:4; the seventh is Colossians 2:18). In 8:1 Paul had already set it against love: knowledge puffs up, love builds up. When he writes that love “is not proud” (in Greek, is not puffed up), the word points back to a problem he has named again and again in the letter.

The same pattern shows up with “self-seeking.” The Greek of 13:5 says love “does not seek the things of its own,” using the same verb and reflexive pronoun as 10:24, “Let no one seek his own [good].”

The Key Words

The Bible Hub interlinear shows the Greek behind the BSB’s English. Definitions below are the NAS Exhaustive Concordance glosses given on Bible Hub.

English (BSB) Greek Definition Note
“love” agapē love, goodwill KJV: “charity”
“is patient” makrothymeō to persevere, to be patient KJV: “suffereth long”
“is kind” chrēsteuomai to be kind Only use in the New Testament
“does not boast” perpereuomai to boast Only use in the New Testament
“is not proud” physioō to puff or blow up Six of seven uses in 1 Corinthians
“keeps no account” logizomai to reckon, to consider Thayer: “to pass to one’s account” (13:5)

Two of these verbs appear nowhere else in the New Testament. Most of the list is also negative: in the Greek of verses 4–6, eight of the descriptions say what love does not do.

Verse 7: “Bears All Things”

Verse 7 is the most often stretched. “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” can be read as love never drawing a line. Verse 6, just before it, rules that out: love “takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth.” Love that believes all things does not believe lies or call evil good. Paul himself, in this same letter, tells the church to remove a man from its fellowship over sexual immorality (5:1–2).

Verse 7 describes love’s staying power: it keeps bearing with people, keeps trusting and hoping, and does not quit. That is why verse 8 follows with “Love never fails.”

Common Misreadings

Reading it as a definition of romance

Nothing in the chapter is about courtship or marriage. Its first audience was a congregation, and its first test was how they used gifts in worship and treated one another. The description applies to marriage and every other relationship, but that is an application, not the setting.

Using it to measure other people

The portrait was written to correct the church that received it. Paul’s question is not “Is that person loving enough?” but “Are you using your gifts with love?”

Separating it from chapters 12 and 14

Without its frame, chapter 13 becomes a general meditation. With it, the chapter answers a practical problem: gifted people in a divided church.

Settling “when the perfect comes” from this passage alone

Verses 8–12 say prophecy, tongues, and knowledge are partial and will pass away “when the perfect comes” (13:10). Christians disagree about what “the perfect” refers to, and the answer affects whether some gifts are expected to continue today. The debate is set out in our cessationism vs. continuationism comparison.

  • John 13:34–35: “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
  • Romans 12:9–10: “Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.”
  • Colossians 3:14: “Over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.”
  • 1 John 4:7–8: “Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God.”

On this site, see John 13:34 and the new commandment, 1 Peter 4:8, “love covers over a multitude of sins”, and Galatians 5:14 on love fulfilling the law.

Final Thoughts

First Corinthians 13:4–7 is a portrait of love drawn for a proud, divided church that prized spectacular gifts. Paul tells them that love is patient and kind, refuses to puff itself up or seek its own advantage, keeps no score, and never gives up. Read with chapters 12 and 14, it is not a detour from his argument about gifts. It is the point of it.

FAQ

Is 1 Corinthians 13 about romantic love?

Not first of all. Paul wrote it to a church arguing over spiritual gifts, between chapter 12 on the body of Christ and chapter 14 on tongues and prophecy in worship. Its description of love applies to every relationship, but its original target is how believers treat one another in the church.

Why does the King James Version say “charity”?

The KJV translates the Greek word agapē as “charity” in this chapter (“Charity suffereth long, and is kind”). Modern translations such as the BSB use “love.” The Greek word is the same one translated “love” elsewhere in the New Testament.

Does “keeps no account of wrongs” mean ignoring harm?

No. The verb means “to reckon” or “count,” and Thayer’s lexicon glosses its use here as “to pass to one’s account.” The point is not keeping a running tally against someone. Verse 6 says love “takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth,” so love does not call wrong right.

What does “when the perfect comes” mean in 1 Corinthians 13:10?

Christians disagree. The answer affects whether some spiritual gifts are expected to continue today, which is the cessationist and continuationist debate.

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