1 Corinthians 13:4
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
Study Note
Study Note
The description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 — 'love is patient, love is kind...' — is arguably the most celebrated passage in Paul's letters, its style remarkably different from his usual argumentative prose. The chapter functions rhetorically as the center of a three-chapter argument (12-14) about spiritual gifts, insisting that love is the more excellent way regardless of which gifts are exercised. Paul defines love entirely through behavior (fifteen verbs/adjectives in verses 4-7) rather than feeling — love as a pattern of acting rather than a state of emotion. Its use in wedding ceremonies represents a contextual shift, since Paul wrote it to correct boastful charismatics, not to describe romantic love.
Other Translations
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up,
Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride;
Cross References
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all …
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay …
If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.
Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the …