1 Corinthians 13:1 (DBY)

Passage

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:2 And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 And if I shall dole out all my goods in food, and if I deliver up my body that I may be burned, but have not love, I profit nothing.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "speak", "tongues", "angels", "love", "become", "sounding", "brass", and "clanging". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "speak" and "tongues", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The next verse adds "And if I have prophecy and know...", so "speak" and "tongues" should be read forward into that movement. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "speak" and "tongues" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.