Father's Heart Bible™ (FHB)

1 Corinthians 13:4–7

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It isn't rude, doesn't seek its own, isn't provoked, keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 · Father's Heart Bible™

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What 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 means

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 is Paul’s portrait of love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” It isn’t rude, doesn’t seek its own, keeps no record of wrongs, and “does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” It ends, “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

It is often read at weddings, but Paul wrote it to a church that was quarreling. The Corinthians prized spiritual gifts, and in the chapters around it Paul is setting those gifts in order. Just before it he says, “I’ll show you a surpassing way.” Then: without love, speaking in tongues is “a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal,” and even with faith enough to move mountains, “I am nothing.” Love is not one gift among the others; it is the way every gift is meant to be used.

Verse 6 is easy to pass over: love “does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Love is not the same as approving of everything; it is glad when what is true and right wins. Most of the list says what love does not do, which makes it a mirror more than a greeting card. The chapter gives love the last word: “But the greatest of these is love.”

Written by Spirit Media Publishing · Edited by Kevin White · Published November 6, 2026

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 in context

1 If I speak in the tongues of people and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal.

2 If I can prophesy, understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and have all faith, enough to move mountains, but lack love, I am nothing.

3 If I give away everything I own, and if I hand over my body that I may boast, but have no love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It isn't rude, doesn't seek its own, isn't provoked, keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Love does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But prophecies will end, tongues will stop, and knowledge will end.

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Questions about 1 Corinthians 13:4–7

What does 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 say?

In Father's Heart Bible™, 1 Corinthians 13:4–7 reads: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It isn't rude, doesn't seek its own, isn't provoked, keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

What does 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 mean?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes what love is and does: it is patient and kind, free of envy, boasting and pride, keeps no record of wrongs, rejoices with the truth, and always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Paul wrote it to a divided church to show that love is the way every gift is meant to be used.

What does 1 Corinthians 13:6 mean?

1 Corinthians 13:6 says love “does not delight in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Love takes no pleasure in what is wrong, whether done by us or done to someone else, and it is glad when the truth wins out. Love and truth stand together; love is not approval of everything.

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