Wedding reading
1 Corinthians 13:4–8a
King James Bible
“1 Corinthians 13:4–8a” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 45 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
The verses come from a letter: the opening of 1 Corinthians names Paul as its writer and “the church of God which is at Corinth” as the people it was sent to.
What it says
Paul is not describing romance. He is describing how love behaves when it is tested: it waits, it does not keep score, it does not brag or sulk, and it does not give up on people. The list is mostly made of things love refuses to do, which is why it lands as a standard rather than a compliment. Read at a wedding, it becomes a description of the marriage the couple is promising to try for, not a portrait of the one they already have.
The short form — the one most people mean by "the love passage". Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: love · patience · kindness · endurance · the most requested wedding reading.
Who it suits
Church weddings of almost any denomination, and couples who want one recognizable passage their grandparents will know without a printed program. It also works for a civil ceremony with a religious family, because nothing in these verses mentions God by name. Couples who have already heard it at every wedding they attended this year may want the full chapter or a less familiar choice instead.
Where it goes in the ceremony
It usually sits after the welcome and before the vows, often as the second of two readings. A friend or sibling reads it more often than the officiant, and it pairs well with a short reflection afterwards, because each line gives the officiant something to pick up.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 57 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 25 seconds of reading. The run-sheet allows about 45 seconds for the whole moment, which covers the introduction and the walk to and from the lectern.
- The passage is a list. Give each “charity” or “love” clause its own breath and do not speed up through the middle; the repetition is the point and rushing it makes it sound like a recital.
- Decide in advance whether you are reading “charity” as the King James has it or swapping in “love”. Most couples expect “love”, and changing it on the day without telling the officiant can trip the next cue.
- The final line about love never failing is the landing. Pause before it, read it slower than the rest, then look up before walking back to your seat.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “1 Corinthians 13:4–8a” take to read aloud?
“1 Corinthians 13:4–8a” takes about 45 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “1 Corinthians 13:4–8a”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “1 Corinthians 13:4–8a” runs about 45 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “1 Corinthians 13:4–8a” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesThe whole chapter, including the tongues of angels and the glass darkly
- 1 John 4:7–12a minute and a halfAnother short New Testament passage built on the word love
- Colossians 3:12–17a minute and a halfPaul again, on the virtues that hold a household together
- Proverbs 31:10–12, 25–31a minute and a halfKing James Bible
- Ephesians 4:2–640 secondsKing James Bible
- Genesis 2:18–24a minute and a halfKing James Bible