1 Corinthians 13:3 (DBY)

Passage

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.

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.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love has long patience, is kind; love is not emulous [of others]; love is not insolent and rash, is not puffed up,

1 Corinthians 13:5 does not behave in an unseemly manner, does not seek what is its own, is not quickly provoked, does not impute evil,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "dole", "goods", "food", "deliver", "body", "burned", and "love". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "dole", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "And if I have prophecy and know..." into verse 4's "Love has long patience is kind love...", so "shall" and "dole" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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