What is Love?

1 Corinthians 13

The Excellence of Love

1If I speak with the ^(A)tongues of men and of ^(B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^(C)clanging cymbal.

2If I have the gift of ^(D)prophecy, and know all ^(E)mysteries and all ^(F)knowledge; and if I have ^(G)all faith, so as to ^(H)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

3And if I ^(I)give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I ^(J)surrender my body ^[a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

4Love ^(K)is patient, love is kind and ^(L)is not jealous; love does not brag and is not ^(M)arrogant,

5does not act unbecomingly; it ^(N)does not seek its own, is not provoked, ^(O)does not take into account a wrong suffered,

6^(P)does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^(Q)rejoices with the truth;

7^(R)bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^(S)prophecy, they will be done away; if there are ^(T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

9For we ^(U)know in part and we prophesy in part;

10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

12For now we ^(V)see in a mirror dimly, but then ^(W)face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also ^(X)have been fully known.

13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is ^(Y)love.

~New American Standard Bible