King James Version
1 Corinthians 13
13 verses with commentary
The Way of Love
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels</strong> (ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων... καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, <em>tais glōssais tōn anthrōpōn... kai tōn angelōn</em>)—Paul begins his love discourse by relativizing the Corinthians' most prized gift. <em>Glōssais</em> encompasses both human languages and ecstatic utterance. The hyperbolic "tongues of angels" (possibly referencing celestial p...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XIII.
(1) **Though I speak . . .**—The more excellent way is “Love.” Without it all moral and intellectual gifts are valueless. If there be love—the love of God, and the love of our brethren—in our hearts, all will be well. This hymn of praise in honour of love is remarkable. (1) as coming from St. Paul, and not from St. John, from whose pen we might naturally have looked for it; and (2), occurrin...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**30. they that weep ... wept not--**(Compare 2Co 6:10).
**they that buy ... possessed not--**(Compare Is 24:1, 2). Christ specifies as the condemning sin of the men of Sodom not merely their open profligacy, but that "they bought, they sold," &c., as men whose all was in this world (Lu 17:28). "Possessed" in the Greek implies a holding fast of a possession; this the Christian will not do, f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And though I have the gift of prophecy</strong> (καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω προφητείαν, <em>kai ean echō prophēteian</em>)—Paul now addresses a gift he ranked highest for edification (14:1-5). <em>Prophēteia</em> means inspired proclamation of God's truth, not merely prediction. Even this supremely valuable gift becomes worthless without love.<br><br><strong>And understand all mysteries, and all knowledg...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Prophecy.**—The Apostle valued the gift of prophecy—*i.e.,* preaching—more highly than the gift of tongues, which stood first in Corinthian estimation. He therefore naturally selects it as coming into the same condemnation, if unaccompanied by love. All the secrets of God’s providence and complete knowledge (see 1Corinthians 12:8), even such a transcendent faith as Christ had spoken of as ca...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. not abusing it--**not abusing it by an overmuch using of it. The meaning of "abusing" here is, not so much perverting, as using it to the full [Bengel]. We are to use it, "not to take our fill" of its pursuits as our chief aim (compare Lu 10:40-42). As the planets while turning on their own axis, yet revolve round the sun; so while we do our part in our own worldly sphere, God is to be the c...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor</strong> (κἂν ψωμίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου, <em>kan psōmisō panta ta hyparchonta mou</em>)—<em>Psōmizō</em> literally means "to feed morsel by morsel," suggesting gradual, deliberate distribution of one's entire estate. This is radical generosity, total divestment for charity—the highest imaginable sacrifice in a patronage-based society wh...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Bestow all my goods.**—The Greek word literally means to feed others by giving them morsels of food, and so we have the thought of a charity extensive in its diffusion, as well as complete in its self-sacrifice. The whole of the bestower’s property given in charity, and so divided as to reach the largest number.
**I give my body to be burned.**—A still greater proof of devotion to some perso...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. without carefulness--**I would have you to be not merely "without trouble," but "without distracting cares" (so the Greek).
**careth--**if he uses aright the advantages of his condition.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, vaunteth: or, is not rash
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Charity suffereth long</strong> (ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, <em>hē agapē makrothymei</em>)—Paul begins defining love's positive qualities. <em>Makrothymeō</em> means "long-tempered" (literally "long passion"), the opposite of quick-tempered. It's patience under provocation, enduring difficult people without retaliation. God's own <em>makrothymia</em> delays judgment to allow repentance (Romans 2:...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Charity suffereth long.**—Better, *Love is long-suffering.* Here follows a description of love. Descriptions of positive characteristics and negations of evil qualities are now employed by the Apostle in what he would have us believe to be his impossible task of adequately describing true love.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Doth not behave itself unseemly</strong> (οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, <em>ouk aschēmonei</em>)—<em>Aschēmoneō</em> means to act dishonorably, rudely, or indecently (cf. 7:36). Love respects propriety and others' dignity, refusing to shame or disgrace. This contrasts with the Corinthians' shameful behavior at the Lord's Supper (11:20-22) and chaotic worship (14:23, 40).<br><br><strong>Seeketh not her ow...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Thinketh no evil.**—That is, does not dwell upon the evil done to her.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. difference also--**Not merely the unmarried and the married man differ in their respective duties, but also the wife and the virgin. Indeed a woman undergoes a greater change of condition than a man in contracting marriage.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; in the truth: or, with the truth
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Rejoiceth not in iniquity</strong> (οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, <em>ou chairei epi tē adikia</em>)—<em>Adikia</em> is unrighteousness, injustice, wrongdoing. Love finds no joy when evil occurs, even when it might benefit oneself. This confronts the human tendency toward schadenfreude—pleasure at enemies' failures—and the Corinthian factions who likely celebrated rival groups' moral stumbles.<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Rejoiceth not in iniquity.**—The attitude of our mind towards sin is a great test of the truth of our religious feeling.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. for your own profit--**not to display my apostolic authority.
**not ... cast a snare upon you--**image from throwing a noose over an animal in hunting. Not that by hard injunctions I may entangle you with the fear of committing sin where there is no sin.
**comely--**befitting under present circumstances.
**attend upon--**literally, "assiduously wait on"; sitting down to the duty. Compa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Beareth all things</strong> (πάντα στέγει, <em>panta stegei</em>)—<em>Stegō</em> has two possible meanings: (1) "to cover" (as a roof covers), suggesting love protects others by covering their faults (cf. 1 Peter 4:8, "love covers a multitude of sins"); (2) "to bear up under," suggesting endurance. Both nuances fit: love both shields and endures.<br><br><strong>Believeth all things</strong...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Beareth all things.**—The full thought of the original here is that love silently endures whatever it has to suffer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**36. behaveth ... uncomely--**is not treating his daughter well in leaving her unmarried beyond the flower of her age, and thus debarring her from the lawful gratification of her natural feeling as a marriageable woman.
**need so require--**if the exigencies of the case require it; namely, regard to the feelings and welfare of his daughter. Opposed to "having no necessity" (1Co 7:37).
**let t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 13
Chapter Outline
The duty of subjection to governors.(1-7)
Exhortations to mutual love.(8-10)
To temperance and sobriety.(11-14)
**Verses 1-7**
The grace of the gospel teaches us submission and quiet, where pride and the carnal mind only see causes for murmuring and discontent. Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have...
Read full commentary →Love Never Ends
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. fail: Gr. vanish away
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Charity never faileth</strong> (ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτει, <em>hē agapē oudepote piptei</em>)—<em>Piptō</em> means "to fall" or "fail." Love never collapses, expires, or becomes obsolete. Unlike gifts that are temporary tools for this age, love is eternal. This introduces the contrast between transient gifts and permanent love (verses 8-13).<br><br><strong>But whether there be prophecies, th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Charity never faileth.**—From the positive and negative qualities of love described and enumerated in the preceding passage, the Apostle now turns to contrast the imperishable character of love and other graces with the ephemeral nature of gifts. The Corinthians held an exaggerated estimate of the value of gifts such as tongues and prophecy, and under-valued the graces of faith and love. Now...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**37. steadfast--**not to be turned from his purpose by the obloquy of the world.
**having no necessity--**arising from the natural inclinations of the daughter.
**power over his ... will--**when, owing to his daughter's will not opposing his will, he has power to carry into effect his will or wish.
**decreed--**determined.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10**
Christians must avoid useless expense, and be careful not to contract any debts they have not the power to discharge. They are also to stand aloof from all venturesome speculations and rash engagements, and whatever may expose them to the danger of not rendering to all their due. Do not keep in any one's debt. Give every one his own. Do not spend that on yourselves, which you o...
Read full commentary →For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For we know in part</strong> (ἐκ μέρους γινώσκομεν, <em>ek merous ginōskomen</em>)—<em>Ek merous</em> means "from a part" or "partially." <em>Ginōskō</em> is experiential, relational knowledge. Our current theological understanding, biblical expertise, and spiritual insight are fragmentary, incomplete. Even our best grasp of God's truth is like seeing individual puzzle pieces without the f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **We know in part.**—Knowledge and preaching are incomplete; therefore, when this dispensation ends, and the complete dispensation is brought in, these imperfect gifts shall cease. Gifts are but the implements of the divine husbandry; graces are the seeds themselves. When the great harvest-time comes, the instruments, however useful, will be cast aside altogether; the seeds will, by the very p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**38. her--**The oldest manuscripts have "his own virgin daughter."
**but--**The oldest manuscripts have "and."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10**
Christians must avoid useless expense, and be careful not to contract any debts they have not the power to discharge. They are also to stand aloof from all venturesome speculations and rash engagements, and whatever may expose them to the danger of not rendering to all their due. Do not keep in any one's debt. Give every one his own. Do not spend that on yourselves, which you o...
Read full commentary →But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. done away: Gr. vanish away
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But when that which is perfect is come</strong> (ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ τέλειον, <em>hotan de elthē to teleion</em>)—<em>To teleion</em> is "the perfect," "the complete," or "the mature." Debate centers on its referent: (1) Christ's return and the eternal state; (2) the completed New Testament canon; (3) Christian maturity. Context strongly favors the first: the next verse contrasts childhood wit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **That which is perfect.**—This verse shows, by the emphatic “then,” that the time when the gifts shall cease is the end of this dispensation. The imperfect shall not cease until the perfect is brought in. (See Ephesians 4:11-13.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39. bound by the law--**The oldest manuscripts omit "by the law."
**only in the Lord--**Let her marry only a Christian (2Co 6:14).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 8-10**
Christians must avoid useless expense, and be careful not to contract any debts they have not the power to discharge. They are also to stand aloof from all venturesome speculations and rash engagements, and whatever may expose them to the danger of not rendering to all their due. Do not keep in any one's debt. Give every one his own. Do not spend that on yourselves, which you o...
Read full commentary →When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. thought: or, reasoned put away: Gr. vanish away
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child</strong> (ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος, <em>hote ēmēn nēpios, elaloun hōs nēpios, ephronoun hōs nēpios, elogizomēn hōs nēpios</em>)—<em>Nēpios</em> means infant or immature child. Paul uses three verbs to encompass all aspects of childish thinking: speaking ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **When I was a child.**—The natural childhood and manhood of this life are analogous to the spiritual childhood of this life and the spiritual manhood of the life to come.
**I understood as a child, I thought as a child.**—The first word expresses mere simple apprehension, the second word implies active intellectual exertion. It has been suggested that the three words here used refer back res...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. happier--**(1Co 7:1, 28, 34, 35).
**I think also--**"I also think"; just as you Corinthians and your teachers think much of your opinions, so I also give my opinion by inspiration; so in 1Co 7:25, "my judgment" or opinion. Think does not imply doubt, but often a matter of well-grounded assurance (Joh 5:39).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
Four things are here taught, as a Christian's directory for his day's work. When to awake; Now; and to awake out of the sleep of carnal security, sloth, and negligence; out of the sleep of spiritual death, and out of the sleep of spiritual deadness. Considering the time; a busy time; a perilous time. Also the salvation nigh at hand. Let us mind our way, and mend our pace, we a...
Read full commentary →For now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. darkly: Gr. in a riddle
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For now we see through a glass, darkly</strong> (βλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι δι' ἐσόπτρου ἐν αἰνίγματι, <em>blepomen gar arti di' esoptrou en ainigmati</em>)—<em>Esoptron</em> is a mirror, typically polished bronze in antiquity, providing a dim, imperfect reflection (unlike modern glass mirrors). <em>En ainigmati</em> means "in a riddle" or "obscurely"—we see reality as if it were a cryptic puzzle. ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **For now**—*i.e.,* in this earthly life, the “for” connecting the previous statement with that which it illustrates.
**Through a glass, darkly.**—Better, *through* *a* *mirror in a dark saying.* The illustration here is from a mirror when the image appears far behind the mirror itself. If we remember the imperfect metal surfaces which formed the mirrors of those days, we can imagine how impe...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
Four things are here taught, as a Christian's directory for his day's work. When to awake; Now; and to awake out of the sleep of carnal security, sloth, and negligence; out of the sleep of spiritual death, and out of the sleep of spiritual deadness. Considering the time; a busy time; a perilous time. Also the salvation nigh at hand. Let us mind our way, and mend our pace, we a...
Read full commentary →And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three</strong> (νυνὶ δὲ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη, τὰ τρία ταῦτα, <em>nyni de menei pistis, elpis, agapē, ta tria tauta</em>)—<em>Menō</em> means "to remain, abide, endure." While gifts cease (v. 8), this triad continues. But does "now" mean "in this age" (so faith and hope also cease in glory) or "from now on into eternity" (so all three contin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **And now abideth . . .**—Better, *Thus there abide* . . . The “now” is not here temporal, but logical. It is not “now” (*i.e.,* this present life) contrasted with the future, but it is the conclusion of the whole argument. From all that has been urged in the previous verses it follows that these three graces—faith, hope, love—remain imperishable and immortal. Gifts such as the Corinthian Chu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 8
1Co 8:1-13. On Partaking of Meats Offered to Idols.
1. Though to those knowing that an idol has no existence, the question of eating meats offered to idols (referred to in the letter of the Corinthians, compare 1Co 7:1) might seem unimportant, it is not so with some, and the infirmities of such should be respected. The portions of the victims not offered on the altars belonged partly...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 11-14**
Four things are here taught, as a Christian's directory for his day's work. When to awake; Now; and to awake out of the sleep of carnal security, sloth, and negligence; out of the sleep of spiritual death, and out of the sleep of spiritual deadness. Considering the time; a busy time; a perilous time. Also the salvation nigh at hand. Let us mind our way, and mend our pace, we a...
Read full commentary →