If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels

But have not love

I am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal



And if I have the gift of prophesy

And can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge

And if I have a faith that can move the mountains

But have not love

I am nothing



If I give all I possess to the poor

And surrender my body to the flames

But have not love

I gain nothing



Love is patient

Love is kind

It does not envy

Does not boast

It is not proud

It is not rude

It is not self-seeking

It is not easily angered

It keeps no record of wrongs



Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres



Love never fails

But where there are prophecies they will cease

Where there are tongues they will be stilled

Where there is knowledge it will pass away

For we know in part and we prophesy in part

But when perfection comes the imperfect disappears



When I was a child I talked like a child

I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child

When I became a man I put my childish ways behind me

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror

Then we shall see face to face

Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known



And now these three remain

Faith, hope, and love

But the greatest of these is love

The greatest of these is love