I Corinthians 13:4 · Bible study
1 Corinthians 13:4 Commentary: Love's Patience and Kindness
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Paul defines love as patient and kind, not envious, boastful, or proud, directly addressing Corinthian conflicts over gifts and divisions.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Love is defined by patient endurance and active kindness, and it excludes envy, boasting, and pride, directly confronting Corinthian divisions over gifts and leaders.
- Key words: makrothumei (long-suffering, slow to anger); chrēsteuetai (active kindness, only here in NT); zēloi (envy, also can mean zeal); perpereuetai (boasting, self-display); phusioutai (puffed up, inflated pride).
- Main debate: Whether perpereuetai means boastful/arrogant or froward/inconstant; most commentators favor self-display. Also whether the context is primarily about spiritual gifts or general Christian conduct; both are present.
- Theological theme: Love (agapē) is the essential character of God (1 Jn 4:8) and the necessary fruit of the Spirit. Without it, gifts are worthless; with it, the church is built up.
- Best use: Examines the heart behind our actions, whether we serve from love or from self. Essential for teaching on Christian community, marriage, and the proper use of spiritual gifts.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
KJV King James Version 1769
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
ASV American Standard Version 1901
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Love has long patience, is kind; love is not emulous [of others]; love is not insolent and rash, is not puffed up,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Charity is patient, is kind: charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up,
Translations in other languages (10 available)
La caridad es sufrida, es benigna; la caridad no tiene envidia, la caridad no hace sinrazón, no se ensancha;
O amor é paciente, é bondoso; o amor não é invejoso; o amor não é orgulhoso, não é arrogante.
La charité est patiente, elle est pleine de bonté; la charité n’ est point envieuse; la charité ne se vante point, elle ne s’ enfle point d’ orgueil,
Die Liebe ist langmütig und freundlich, die Liebe eifert nicht, die Liebe treibt nicht Mutwillen, sie blähet sich nicht,
De liefde is lankmoedig, zij is goedertieren; de liefde is niet afgunstig; de liefde handelt niet lichtvaardiglijk, zij is niet opgeblazen;
La carità è paziente, è benigna; la carità non invidia; la carità non si vanta, non si gonfia,
Miłość jest długo cierpliwa, dobrotliwa jest; miłość nie zajrzy, miłość nie jest rozpustna, nie nadyma się;
Любовь долготерпит, милосердствует, любовь не завидует, любовь не превозносится, не гордится,
愛 是恆久忍耐，又有恩慈；愛 是不 嫉妒；愛 是不 自誇，不 張狂，
Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride;
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Corinthians 13:4
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that Paul begins his description of love with two active virtues, patience and kindness, then moves to three negatives that counter the Corinthian sins of envy, boasting, and pride. The Greek makrothumei (patient) means “long-suffering,” a slow anger under provocation. As Barnes notes, it is “opposed to haste, to passionate expressions and thoughts, and to irritability.” Calvin adds that this patience “promotes peace and harmony in the Church.” Chrēsteuetai (is kind) occurs only here in the New Testament; Vincent points out it conveys active benevolence, not mere passivity. Clarke calls it “tender and compassionate in itself, and kind and obliging to others.” The three refusals, ou zēloi (does not envy), ou perpereuetai (does not boast), ou phusioutai (is not puffed up), are each directed at the party spirit and gift-display that plagued Corinth. Matthew Henry summarizes: love “suffers long and is kind; it envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.” All the supplied sources agree that these characteristics define love in action, not as a feeling but as a way of treating others.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: Love is defined by patient endurance and active kindness, and excludes envy, boasting, and pride—all of which directly confront the divisions and rivalry in the Corinthian church.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of makrothumei (patience) | All commentators agree it refers to patient endurance under provocation, slowness to anger, and forbearance with others' faults. | Some emphasize waiting on God's timing (Clarke), while others focus on interpersonal patience under injury (Barnes, Gill). The difference is one of emphasis rather than contradiction. |
| Translation of perpereuetai (vaunteth/boasteth) | The word denotes some form of self-display or boasting. | Some, following the Latin tradition, render it as insolence or frowardness; others as boastful self-promotion. The majority of modern versions lean toward 'boast' or 'brag', but older commentators note uncertainty about the root. |
| Specific reference of 'puffed up' (phusioutai) | It means inflated pride, arrogance. | Whether Paul has in mind the party spirit of 1 Cor 1, 4 or general pride in gifts. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown and others connect it directly to the factionalism, while Matthew Henry applies it more broadly to any arrogance. |
Historical & Cultural Context
First Corinthians was written to a church fractured by loyalty to different leaders (Paul, Apollos, Cephas) and by a competitive pursuit of spiritual gifts that led to disorder in worship (1 Corinthians 1, 4; 12, 14). In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul introduces “a still more excellent way,” and chapter 13 unpacks it. Verse 4 sits at the hinge: after insisting that gifts without love are worthless (vv. 1, 3), Paul now describes what love actually looks like.
The verbs are all present indicative, they state what love habitually does. Love is not an occasional sentiment but a characteristic pattern. The first two virtues, patience and kindness, form a pair. Patience (long-suffering) was needed in a community where members were quick to judge one another’s gifts and slow to bear with each other’s weaknesses. Kindness was the active counterpart: not just enduring wrong, but doing good.
The negative qualities directly target the Corinthians’ sins. Envy (zēloi) echoes the jealousy that Genesis records between Rachel and Leah (Genesis 30:1) and between Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 37:11). The Corinthians envied each other’s gifts and status. Boasting (perpereuetai) and being puffed up (phusioutai) reflect the self-display Paul already rebuked in 1 Corinthians 4:6. Some used tongues as a badge of spiritual superiority. The phrase “not puffed up” recalls Paul’s earlier warning against arrogance in favor of one leader over another. In contrast, I Kings 20:11 records a proverb that fits: “Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.” Love does not boast before the battle is won.
The one story that illustrates both patience and kindness is David and Abigail (1 Samuel 25). David was provoked by Nabal’s insult and ready to take revenge, but Abigail’s intervention kept him from blood guilt (1 Samuel 25:33, 34). David’s restraint, and his later blessing on Abigail, show love’s patient refusal to retaliate and its active kindness toward an enemy. The Corinthian situation called for the same spirit: patience under insult and kindness toward those who caused division.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for 1 Corinthians 13:4. The Greek text is stable across major manuscripts. The only variation in English translations is the rendering of perpereuetai (boasting vs. insolent vs. froward), which reflects lexical choice rather than manuscript differences.
Reception History
This verse has shaped Christian teaching on love from the earliest centuries. The Vulgate’s caritas gave the English tradition the word ‘charity,’ though modern translations prefer ‘love.’ In medieval theology, Thomas Aquinas drew on this passage to describe charity as the form of all virtues. The verse has been sung in hymns and recited in weddings, but its original context, correcting a church torn by envy and pride, was often overlooked. Dante’s Paradiso (cited by Vincent) picks up the theme of love that ‘makes us servants prompt to the counsel which controls the world,’ echoing the patient, unboastful love Paul describes. Across Protestant and Catholic traditions, this verse has remained the classic definition of Christian love in action.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Love’s passive strength: patience under provocation. Makrothumei means a long spirit that trials cannot exhaust. It waits for God’s timing and does not retaliate. This directly addresses the Corinthian tendency to quarrel and demand immediate respect. (1 Samuel 25:21, 34)
- Love’s active grace: kindness to others. Chrēsteuetai is a rare word, active, generous, gentle. Love does not merely endure; it seeks the good of the other. In a church divided over gifts, kindness means affirming another’s gift without envy. (Genesis 30:1; 37:11)
- Love’s humility: no envy, boasting, or pride. These three vices drove Corinthian divisions. Envy resents another’s success; boasts of one’s own; pride inflates the ego. Love replaces them with rejoicing in others’ gifts and contentment with one’s own. (1 Kings 20:11)
Five-point outline
- Love suffers long (patience under evil from others)
- Love is kind (active good to others)
- Love envieth not (rejoices in others’ blessings)
- Love boasteth not (does not display its own gifts)
- Love is not puffed up (refuses inflated self-importance)
Illustration hooks
- A parent waiting calmly while a toddler learns to tie shoes, resisting the urge to grab and do it, patience that lets the other grow.
- A coworker who openly celebrates a rival’s promotion, even while feeling the sting of being passed over, the refusal to envy.
- A church member who shares a new insight without making it sound like they alone have discovered truth, the opposite of being puffed up.
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know if I’m truly loving someone, or just tolerating them?
- What does patience look like when I have been wronged and no apology comes?
- Is it possible to feel envy and still love? What do I do with that feeling?
Leading a Discussion
This verse does not define love by what we feel, but by how we act toward others. Paul’s original audience needed to hear this because they were using spiritual gifts as weapons. Your group may face similar temptations: rivalry, hidden envy, or pride in serving. Let the Word search us.
Discussion questions
- Read verse 4 aloud. Which of these five characteristics (patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud) is the hardest for you personally? Why?
- Paul says love “suffers long.” What situations in your life currently require you to wait without resentment?
- The word for kindness (chrēsteuetai, v.4) is used only here in the New Testament. What specific actions of kindness have you received or given this week?
- How does envy show up in a church context? Think of specific examples beyond obvious jealousy (e.g., comparing prayer lives, ministry success, family situations).
- Paul warns against being “puffed up” (phusioutai). What is the difference between healthy confidence in God’s gifts and the pride Paul condemns?
- The Corinthians boasted in their leaders (1 Cor 1:12) and their spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12, 14). How do we see similar boasting today, and what would love look like instead?
- Proverbs 11:2 says “When pride comes, then comes shame,” but love is not proud. How could a small group or church encourage humility without discouraging genuine giftedness?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 30:1 | When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.” |
| Genesis 37:11 | His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind. |
| I Samuel 25:21 | Now David had said, “Surely in vain I have kept all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that pertained to him. He has returned me evil for good. |
| I Samuel 25:22 | God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.” |
| I Samuel 25:33 | Blessed is your discretion, and blessed are you, who have kept me today from blood guiltiness, and from avenging myself with my own hand. |
| I Samuel 25:34 | For indeed, as Yahweh the God of Israel lives, who has withheld me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there wouldn’t have been left to Nabal by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.” |
| I Kings 20:10 | Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, “The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me.” |
| I Kings 20:11 | The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Don’t let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.’” |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke emphasizes that charity has a long mind, a disposition that trials and provocations can never exhaust. He highlights kindness as tender compassion, and notes that love does not grieve at others’ blessings. His distinctive point on vaunting not itself is that love does not push itself forward or seek applause.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes reads this passage as Paul's direct response to the Corinthian church's specific problems: contentions, envy, pride, and jealousy among believers. He emphasizes that love's patience and kindness are the remedy for these relational sins, and he notes that envy most often targets those in the same line of life or occupation.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin emphasizes that Paul describes love's qualities not merely to praise it but to teach its essential role in preserving church unity. He sees Paul indirectly rebuking the Corinthians by setting love's patience, gentleness, and freedom from envy as a contrast to their own divisive behavior.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Love is first described in its passive, enduring form and then its active, kind form. The warning against boasting refers not to pretending but to how someone filled with love regards the gifts they truly have. The word for "vaunt" carries the sense of vicious, boastful pride.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva annotators present love's qualities as a plain list: it patiently endures, is generous, and steers clear of envy, boasting, and pride. Their emphasis falls on love's active humility — it does not inflate itself, making each virtue a direct contrast to common human failings.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill personifies charity as one who patiently endures wrongs and responds with kindness, not envy or pride. Such a person is slow to anger, ready to forgive, and does not boast about gifts or accomplishments. This grace keeps believers from being puffed up like the false teachers.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB presents love's patience and kindness as the negative and positive sides of the same virtue. Vaunting not and not being puffed up are specific correctives to Corinth’s misuse of spiritual gifts for display and their party spirit. The Greek word for envy also carries the sense of jealousy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry reduces the many properties of charity to two main qualities: longsuffering, which bears injury without resentment, and kindness, which actively seeks to do good. Under these he groups all the other traits, showing charity as both patient and generous, restraining anger while seeking opportunities to help others.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent contrasts two Greek words often confused: "vaunteth" describes boastful outward display, while "puffed up" points to an inward inflated pride. He also notes that "is kind" appears only here in the New Testament, making its meaning uniquely tied to this passage.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws a sharp distinction: genuine love patiently endures both the weaknesses of other believers and the malice of unbelievers, and it does so to the end. Such love is never rash in judgment nor puffed up with pride; instead it humbles the soul and inspires kindness, sweetness, and tender affection toward all.