Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Galatians 5:21-22 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they w…
Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
James 3:14-17 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
The apostle gives us in these verses some of the properties and effects of charity, both to describe and commend it, that we may know whether we have this grace and that if we have not we may fall in love with what is so exceedingly amiable, and not rest till we have obtained it. It is an excellent grace, and has a world of good properties belonging to it. As,
I. It is long suffering - makrothumei. It can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge. It makes the mind firm, gives it power over the angry passions, and furnishes it with a persevering patience, that shall rather wait and wish for the reformation of a brother than fly out in…
suffereth long--under provocations of evil from others. The negative side of love.
is kind--the positive side. Extending good to others. Compare with love's features here those of the "wisdom from above" (Jam 3:17).
envieth--The Greek includes also jealousy.
vaunteth not--in words, even of gifts which it really possesses; an indirect rebuke of those at Corinth who used the gift of tongues for mere display.
not puffed up--with party zeal, as some at Corinth were (Co1 4:6).
Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 13:4
(1.)
Charity suffereth long - Μακροθυμει, Has a long mind; to the end of which neither trials, adversities, persecutions, nor provocations, can reach. The love of God, and of our neighbor for God's sake, is patient towards all men: it suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, and infirmities of the children of God; and all the malice and wickedness of the children of this world; and all this, not merely for a time, but long, without end; for it is still a mind or disposition, to the end of which trials, difficulties, etc., can never reach. It also waits God's time of accomplishing his gracious or providential purposes, without murmuring or repining; and bears its own infirmities, as well…
The reason why love does not envy is because it is not puffed up. For where puffing up precedes, envy follows, because pride is the mother of envy.
Whence it follows that those who, contending in prison, have fallen from their ministry, and have again taken up the struggle, are plainly wanting in perception. For how else is it that they seek for that which they have left, when in this present time they can be useful to the brethren? For as long as they remained firm and stable, of that which they had done contrary to reason, of this indulgence was accorded them. But when they lapsed, as having carried themselves with ostentation, and brought reproach upon themselves, they can no longer discharge their sacred ministry; and, therefore, let them the rather take heed to pass their life in humility, ceasing from vainglory.
There is, too, another beauty of men-love. "And love," according to the apostle, "suffers long, and is kind; envieth not; vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up." For the decking of one's self out-carrying, as it does, the look of superfluity and uselessness-is vaunting one's self. Wherefore he adds, "doth not behave itself unseemly:" for a figure which is not one's own, and is against nature, is unseemly; but what is artificial is not one's own, as is clearly explained: "seeketh not," it is said, "what is not her own." For truth calls that its own which belongs to it; but the love of finery seeks what is not its own, being apart from God, and the Word, from love.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Charity — (1 Cor. 13), the rendering in the Authorized Version of the word which properly denotes love, and is frequently so rendered (always so in the Revised Version). It is spoken of as the greatest of the…
Love — This word seems to require explanation only in the case of its use by our Lord in his interview with “Simon, the son of Jonas,” after his resurrection (John 21:16, 17). When our Lord says, “Lovest…
Charitableness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Charity · Explained — Explained
Conduct, Christian · Loving one another — Loving one another
Envy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Graces · (Christian) — (Christian)
Humility · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Kindness · 6:30,34,35; — 6:30,34,35;
Longsuffering · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Love To Man · Explained — Explained
Meekness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Patience · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
John Gill on 1 Corinthians 13:4
Charity suffereth long,.... The apostle, in this and some following verses, enumerates the several properties and characters of the grace of love; and all along represents it as if it was a person, and no doubt designs one who is possessed of it, and in whose heart it is implanted and reigns; such an one is said to "suffer long", or be "patient", as the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions read; not only under afflictions by the hand of God, which such an one considers as arising from love; but under the reproaches and persecutions of men, for the sake of Christ and his Gospel, and in imitation of him; such a person is slow to anger when abused, not quick of resentment, nor hasty to revenge w…
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
4. Caritaspatiens est, benigne agit, caritas non aemulatur, caritas non agit insolenter, non inflatur:
5. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
5. Non agit indecenter, non quaerit sua ipsius, non provocatur, non cogitat malum:
6. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
6. Non gaudet obiniustitiam, con gaudet autem veritati.
7. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
7. Omnia fert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet.
8. Charity never fa…
This description of Christian love emphasizes the willingness to give up one’s own desires for the good of others (see also 8:1–10:33; Rom 5:6-8; 15:3; 2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:4-8).
Sanctification · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Uncharitableness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
