"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
— 1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV)
The Bible verse people look up as love never fails is 1 Corinthians 13:8. The searched line is the first clause. Paul then names three gifts that will pass away. This page is the verse and a plain reading of that claim. The reference page is 1 Corinthians 13:8. The line-by-line page for the whole verse is 1 Corinthians 13:8 meaning. The portrait of love just before it is What 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 means.
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The verse
1 Corinthians 13:8 (NIV) says, "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
The ESV reads, "Love never ends." Both are reading the same Greek: love never falls (oudepote piptei). "Fails" and "ends" are that picture.
What love never fails means
Paul is not promising that every relationship will succeed. People still fail. Churches still split. He is saying the love he has been defining — patient, kind, not keeping a ledger — does not collapse or drop out the way a gift can.
The second half of the verse is the contrast. Prophecies, tongues, and knowledge belong to the time when we still know in part. Verses 9–12 say why they pass: when completeness comes, what is in part disappears, and seeing face to face replaces the mirror. 1 Corinthians 13:12 stays with that mirror. Love is not in the list of things that pass away.
How this sits in the chapter
Verses 4–7 show what the love is. Verse 8 says that love outlasts the gifts the Corinthians were ranking. Verse 13 then says faith, hope, and love remain, and the greatest of these is love (Faith, hope and love Bible verse; 1 Corinthians 13:13). The whole chapter is 1 Corinthians 13.
Questions people ask
What Bible verse says love never fails?
1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." That first sentence is the love never fails Bible verse.
What does love never fails mean?
It means the love Paul has been defining does not fall or come to an end, while partial gifts will. It is not a guarantee that a particular marriage, friendship, or plan cannot break.
Does love never fails mean I have to stay in a harmful relationship?
No. The verse describes love itself, not a trap. Earlier in the chapter love "always protects." Getting to safety and telling the truth about ongoing harm are not ways of breaking this verse.
How is love never fails different from the greatest of these is love?
Verse 8 says love does not fall, while gifts pass. Verse 13 says faith, hope, and love remain, and love is the greatest of those three. Related claims, different sentences.
Where should I read next?
For the whole verse, read 1 Corinthians 13:8 meaning. For faith, hope, and love, read Faith, hope and love Bible verse. For the chapter, read 1 Corinthians 13.
