1 Corinthians 13:4-7 — Bible Verse Meaning & Context

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reads: "Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." — from the New Testament, 1 Corinthians (Pauline epistle). The full verse is shown above with both the World English Bible (WEB) and King James Version (KJV) translations side by side.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is in the book of 1 Corinthians, traditionally attributed to Paul and written around c. 55 AD. 1 Corinthians is pauline epistle in the New Testament, originally addressed to A divided, immature church in cosmopolitan Corinth. Best known for the "love" chapter (1 Corinthians 13).

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is primarily a Bible verse about Love, with related themes including Marriage. Within 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians addresses divisions, immorality, lawsuits, marriage, idol food, worship disorder, and confusion about the resurrection in a young church. Read the full passage above with surrounding context.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in the World English Bible (WEB) reads: "Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud, doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.". The King James Version (KJV) reads: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.". The WEB is a modern public-domain translation that updates the KJV's 1611 English while keeping a similar formal-equivalence style. Both render the same underlying Greek or Hebrew text.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is 53 words in the WEB translation (330 characters), broken into 14 clauses. It is a longer verse, often broken into smaller phrases for memorisation. Estimated reading time is about 16 seconds.

To memorise 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, split it into its 14 natural clauses and learn one at a time. Repeat the full verse out loud five times, then write it from memory. Saving the verse as a photo wallpaper using our verse image studio helps daily review — the visual association with a memorable background dramatically improves recall.

1 Corinthians addresses divisions, immorality, lawsuits, marriage, idol food, worship disorder, and confusion about the resurrection in a young church. It contains the great love chapter (13) and Paul's definitive teaching on the resurrection of the body (15). 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 sits within this larger story — 1 Corinthians as a whole emphasises unity, wisdom, cross.

Many readers use 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as a daily reminder verse — saving it as a phone wallpaper, sharing it on Pinterest, or memorising it for prayer. The verse studio on this page lets you download 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 on 52 different backgrounds for free. Pair the verse with the surrounding chapter context shown above to understand its full meaning before applying it.