Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Parallel translations
- WEB Love 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.
- KJV Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
- BSB Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be restrained; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.
- NASB Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
- NLT Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Love never fails, but prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will pass away. Love is permanent; the gifts are temporary.
Overview
Paul now contrasts love's permanence with the gifts' temporary nature. Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge serve the present age and will one day cease, while love endures forever. Christians differ over precisely when the gifts cease, but Paul's main point is clear: love outlasts every gift and so deserves first place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Cor 13:13But now faith, hope, and love remain — these three. The greatest of these is love.
- 1 Cor 13:1–2If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
- Gal 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.
- 1 Cor 13:10but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.
- Acts 2:4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
- Heb 8:13In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
- 1 Cor 12:10and to another workings of miracles; and to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; to another different kinds of languages; and to another the interpretation of languages.
- Acts 19:6When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with other languages and prophesied.
- 1 Cor 12:28–30God has set some in the assembly: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracle workers, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, and various kinds of languages.
- Luke 22:32but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn’t fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers.”
- Jer 49:7Of Edom. Yahweh of Armies says: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
- 1 Cor 14:39Therefore, brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking with other languages.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 13:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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