1 Corinthians 13:1 (WEB)

Passage

If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

1 Corinthians 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

Study Lenses

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

The next verse adds "If I have the gift of prophecy...", so "speak" and "languages" 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 "languages" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.