And now I will show you the best way of all.
13 1 I may speak in tongues of men or of angels, but if I am without love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
13 2 I may have the gift of prophecy, and know every hidden truth; I may have faith strong enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing.
13 3 I may dole out all I possess, or even give my body to be burnt, Some witnesses read: even seek glory by self-sacrifice. but if I have no love, I am none the better.
13 4 Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one. Love is never boastful, nor conceited, 13 5 nor rude; never selfish, not quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs; 13 6 does not gloat over other men's sins, but delights in the truth. 13 7 There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, and its endurance.
13 8 Love will never come to an end. Are there prophets? their work will be over. Are there tongues of ecstasy? they will cease. Is there knowledge? it will vanish away; 13 9 for our knowledge and our prophecy alike are partial, 13 10 and the partial vanishes when wholeness comes.
13 11 When I was a child, my speech, my outlook, and my thoughts were all childish. When I grew up, I had finished with childish things. 13 12 Now we see only puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face. My knowledge now is partial; then it will be whole, like God's knowledge of me.
13 13 In a word, there are three things that last for ever: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of them all is love.