Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings or of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. ² Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don’t have love, I am nothing at all. ³ Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give myself over to a difficult life so I can brag. If I don’t have love, I get nothing at all.

⁴ Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. ⁶ Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. ⁷ It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.

⁸ Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away. ⁹ What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect. ¹⁰ But when what is complete comes, the things that are not complete will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I had the understanding of a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.

¹³ The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.