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Who really said it

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity

Written by Paul the Apostle c. 5 – c. 64/67 AD · Apostle & letter-writer of the early Church
Verified Free to reuse

Genuinely from Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 13:13 (written c. 53–57 AD). This exact English wording — with “charity” rather than “love” — is the distinctive rendering of the King James Version (1611); Paul’s Greek reads πιστις, ελπις, αγαπη (faith, hope, love).

Last verified 10 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” Paul the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 13:13 (King James Version, 1611)

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In context

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Provenance

The source

Work
The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 13
Written
c. 53–57 AD (Greek)
Translation
King James Version, 1611 (“charity” renders Greek αγαπη)
Author
Paul the Apostle

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 13:13, King James Version. The 1611 first edition spelled the closing word “charitie.” Modern translations (NIV, ESV, RSV) render the same verse “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:13, KJV at Bible Hub

How we verified this

  • The verse is 1 Corinthians 13:13 — the closing line of Paul’s “love chapter.” The KJV text reads “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (Bible Hub, KJV).
  • The distinctive word is “charity.” The King James translators (1611) chose it to render Greek αγαπη (agapē) here; most modern English Bibles render the same word “love” (translation comparison, Bible Study Tools).
  • The King James Version was first published in 1611, placing this English wording firmly in the public domain (Wikisource, KJV 1 Corinthians).
Public domain

The King James Version was first published in 1611; its text is in the public domain in the United States. (In the United Kingdom the KJV is held under perpetual Crown copyright/letters patent, but that does not affect U.S. public-domain status.) Paul’s underlying Greek is, of course, ancient and long in the public domain.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

Often misattributed

The attribution to Paul is correct — this really is his line. The confusion is almost entirely about the wording, because the same verse circulates in two very different English forms.

King James Version vs. modern Bibles wording

The famous “charity” wording is specific to the King James Version (1611). Paul’s Greek word is αγαπη (agapē), and most modern translations render the verse “the greatest of these is love” (Bible Study Tools comparison). Quoting it as “charity” is quoting the KJV specifically.

Often cited with no book/chapter vague sourcing

The line is frequently quoted at weddings and funerals as simply “the Bible,” but it has a precise address: 1 Corinthians 13:13, the last verse of Paul’s hymn to love (Bible Hub).

Correctly Paul’s — 1 Corinthians 13:13. The “charity” phrasing is the King James Version (1611); Paul’s Greek says love (Wikisource, KJV).

Context

Why it mattered

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to a fractious young church preoccupied with status and showy spiritual gifts. Chapter 13 — the “hymn to love” — interrupts that argument to insist that agapē outlasts prophecy, tongues, and knowledge. Verse 13 is the climax: of the three enduring things, love is supreme.

The line’s modern life is largely liturgical. It is one of the most-read passages at weddings and funerals in the English-speaking world, which is why the stately King James phrasing — “charity” — remains lodged in cultural memory even as pew Bibles now say “love.”

But the greatest of these is charity.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Love Hope

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)biblehub.com

Primary KJV text of the verse with interlinear Greek.
KJV — 1 Corinthiansen.wikisource.org

Public-domain King James text of the full chapter.
Translation comparison, 13:13biblestudytools.com

Side-by-side of ‘charity’ (KJV) vs ‘love’ across versions.
1 Corinthians 13:13 interlinearbiblehub.com

Greek text showing αγαπη (agapē) behind ‘charity.’
First Epistle to the Corinthiansen.wikipedia.org

Background, dating, and undisputed Pauline authorship.

The author

About Paul the Apostle

Paul the Apostle

c. 5 – c. 64/67 AD · Apostle, missionary & author of much of the New Testament

Paul of Tarsus was a first-century Jewish follower of Jesus whose letters to early Christian communities became foundational texts of the New Testament. His first epistle to the Corinthians contains chapter 13, the celebrated “hymn to love,” written to a divided congregation to exalt agapē above spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians is universally counted among the seven letters scholars regard as genuinely Pauline.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Paul, “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” 13:13, in The Holy Bible, King James Version (London, 1611).

MLA (9th ed.)

Paul the Apostle. “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” 13:13. The Holy Bible, King James Version, 1611.

APA (7th ed.)

Paul the Apostle. (1611). The Holy Bible (King James Version) (1 Corinthians 13:13). (Original work published c. 53–57 CE)

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity’?” Last verified 10 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/and-now-abideth-faith-hope-charity-these-three-but-the

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