1 Corinthians 13 v 1 – 13 – Revised

Revised English Bible

I may speak in tongues of men or of angels, but if I have no love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I may have the gift of prophecy and the knowledge of every hidden truth; I may have faith enough to move mountains; but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give all I possess to the needy, I may give my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I gain nothing by it.

Love is patient and kind. Love envies no one, is never boastful, never conceited, never rude; love is never selfish, never quick to take offence. Love keeps no score of wrongs, takes no pleasure in the sins of others, but delights in the truth. There is nothing love cannot face; there is no limit to its faith, its hope, its endurance.

Love will never come to an end. Prophecies will cease; tongues of ecstasy will fall silent; knowledge will vanish. For our knowledge and our prophecy alike are partial, and the partial vanishes when wholeness comes. When I was a child I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child; but when I grew up I finished with childish things. At present we see only puzzling reflections in a mirror, but one day we shall see face to face. My knowledge is partial; then it will be whole, like God’s knowledge of me. There are three things that last for ever: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of the three is love.

About This Reading

1 Corinthians 13 v 1–13 is one of the best-known Bible readings for funerals. It is often chosen because it speaks so beautifully about the nature of love and the way love endures. Although it is also widely used at weddings, in a funeral setting it can feel like a tribute to the love shared with the person who has died and the love that remains with those left behind.

This reading may be especially suitable for a Christian funeral service, but its message is also familiar and meaningful to many people beyond that context. Its words are gentle, comforting and hopeful, making it a fitting choice for the main service or for a reflective moment within it. The final line, about faith, hope and love, is particularly often remembered.

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