God & Savior

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
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Study notes

Verse 4

Love is patient and kind; it does not envy, boast or act proudly.

Explanation

Paul has been writing about spiritual gifts (chapter 12). He now shows that without love, even the greatest gifts are worth nothing (13:1-3). Verses 4-7 describe what love does and does not do.

Original language
  • ἀγάπη (agapē): love
    Greek · Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · Strong's G0026 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Love (agapē): self-giving love.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 2

  • μακροθυμεῖ (makrothumei): to have patience
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G3114 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Is patient: slow to anger.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 3

  • χρηστεύεται (chrēsteuetai): be kind
    Greek · Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G5541 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Is kind.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 4

  • ζηλοῖ (zēloi): be eager
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G2206 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Is envious, jealous.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 8

  • περπερεύεται (perpereuetai): to boast
    Greek · Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G4068 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Boasts.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 12

  • φυσιοῦται (phusioutai): to inflate
    Greek · Verb, present, passive, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G5448 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Is puffed up, proud.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:4, word 14

Cross-references
  • 1 Corinthians 13:5 · Surrounding passage

    It is not rude or self-seeking.

  • Galatians 5:22 · Same theme

    The fruit of the Spirit includes love, patience and kindness.

  • Colossians 3:12 · Same theme

    Clothe yourselves with kindness, humility and patience.

Sources

Verse 5

Love is not rude or self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs.

Explanation

Paul continues describing love. Several of these qualities answer problems in the Corinthian church, such as disorder in worship (chapter 14) and lawsuits between believers (6:1-8).

Original language
  • ἀσχημονεῖ (aschēmonei): to act improperly
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G0807 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Behaves disgracefully, rudely.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:5, word 2

  • ζητεῖ (zētei): to seek
    Greek · Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G2212 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Seeks.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:5, word 4

  • παροξύνεται (paroxunetai): to provoke
    Greek · Verb, present, passive, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G3947 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Is provoked, irritated.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:5, word 8

  • λογίζεται (logizetai): to count
    Greek · Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G3049 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Keeps an account, counts up.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:5, word 10

  • κακόν (kakon): evil/harm
    Greek · Adjective, accusative, singular, neuter · Strong's G2556H · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Wrongs, evil.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, 1 Corinthians 13:5, word 12

Cross-references
Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Verse 4

Original language (Greek)

Ἡ ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ περπερεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται,

  1. ἩHē“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  2. ἀγάπηagapē“Love”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · “love” · Strong's G0026
  3. μακροθυμεῖ,makrothumei“is patient,”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from μακροθυμέω · “to have patience” · Strong's G3114
  4. χρηστεύεται,chrēsteuetai“is kind,”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from χρηστεύομαι · “be kind” · Strong's G5541
  5. ἡhē“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  6. ἀγάπηagapē“love”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · “love” · Strong's G0026
  7. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  8. ζηλοῖ,zēloi“is envious,”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from ζηλόω · “be eager” · Strong's G2206
  9. ἡhē“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, feminine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  10. ἀγάπηagapē“love”
    Noun, nominative, singular, feminine · “love” · Strong's G0026
  11. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  12. περπερεύεται,perpereuetai“is boastful,”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from περπερεύομαι · “to boast” · Strong's G4068
  13. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  14. φυσιοῦται,phusioutai“is puffed up,”
    Verb, present, passive, indicative, 3rd person singular · from φυσιόω · “to inflate” · Strong's G5448

Verse 5

Original language (Greek)

οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν,

  1. οὐκouk“not”
    Particle, negative · from οὐ · “no” · Strong's G3756
  2. ἀσχημονεῖ,aschēmonei“acts unbecomingly,”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from ἀσχημονέω · “to act improperly” · Strong's G0807
  3. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  4. ζητεῖzētei“seeks”
    Verb, present, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from ζητέω · “to seek” · Strong's G2212
  5. τὰta“the [things]”
    Article, accusative, plural, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  6. ἑαυτῆς,he'autēs“of its own,”
    Reflexive pronoun, 3rd person, genitive, singular, feminine · from ἑαυτοῦ · “my/your/him-self” · Strong's G1438
  7. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  8. παροξύνεται,paroxunetai“is easily provoked,”
    Verb, present, passive, indicative, 3rd person singular · from παροξύνω · “to provoke” · Strong's G3947
  9. οὐou“not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  10. λογίζεταιlogizetai“it keeps account”
    Verb, present, middle or passive (deponent), indicative, 3rd person singular · from λογίζομαι · “to count” · Strong's G3049
  11. τὸto“<the>”
    Article, accusative, singular, neuter · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  12. κακόν,kakon“of wrongs,”
    Adjective, accusative, singular, neuter · from κακός · “evil/harm” · Strong's G2556H
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)

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