"It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
— 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV)
1 Corinthians 13:7 is the verse people mean when they search that reference inside the love chapter. This page is the passage and a plain reading. The portrait around it is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and What 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 means. Other translations of this verse begin with love bears all things. The next verse is 1 Corinthians 13:8. The whole chapter is 1 Corinthians 13. For what enduring love looks like in daily life, see love that endures all things.
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The verse
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) says love "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
Other translations say love "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Same four verbs: cover, trust, hope, endure.
What the verse is saying
Paul is finishing the portrait that began in verses 4–6. Love is not only patient and kind; it keeps covering, keeps trusting where trust is fitting, keeps hoping, and keeps enduring. The verse does not say love is naive about every claim. It describes a posture that does not quit on people the way a ledger of wrongs would. Love keeps no record of wrongs sits just before this line in the same portrait.
Verse 8 then says love never fails, while gifts pass away. See 1 Corinthians 13:8 and Love never fails Bible verse.
How this sits in the chapter
Verses 4–7 show what the love is. Verse 7 is the four "always" lines. The deep dive on the block is Bible verses about love: 1 Corinthians 13. Patience earlier in the chapter is Love is patient Bible verse.
Questions people ask
What does 1 Corinthians 13:7 say?
It says love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres (NIV). Other versions say bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.
Does love always trusts mean I must believe a liar?
No. The verse describes love's hopeful, covering posture, not a duty to ignore clear harm or deceit. Earlier, love "always protects." Getting to safety and telling the truth about ongoing harm are not ways of breaking this verse.
How is this different from love never fails?
Verse 7 describes how love acts in the present. Verse 8 says that love does not fall, while gifts pass away. Related claims, different sentences. See 1 Corinthians 13:8.
Where does "love bears all things" come from?
It is a common translation of the first verb in this verse (and nearby). The NIV's "always protects" is the same idea. For the full 4–7 block, see 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Where should I read next?
For the block, read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. For the study, read What 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 means. For the next verse, read 1 Corinthians 13:8.
