The Nugget:
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. (KJV)
1Co 13:8 Love will never end. But all those gifts will come to an end—even the gift of prophecy, the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, and the gift of knowledge. (ERV, Easy to Read Version)
1Co 13:8 Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be set aside. (NET Bible)
1Co 13:8 Love never fails; if there are prophecies, they will be set aside; if now exist ecstatic speakings, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will soon be set aside; (Williams NT)
1Co 13:8 The love doth never fail; and whether there be prophecies, they shall become useless; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it shall become useless; (YLT, Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible)
1Co 13:8 Love never ends. But if there are prophecies, they will pass away. If there are tongues, they will cease. If there is knowledge, it will pass away. (LEB, Lexham English Bible)
1Co 13:8 Love, at no time, faileth; – but, whether prophesyings, they shall be done away, whether tongues, they shall cease, whether gaining knowledge, it shall be done away; (EB, Emphasized Bible by Rotherham)
1Co 13:8 Though the prophet’s word may come to an end, tongues come to nothing, and knowledge have no more value, love has no end. (BBE, Bible in Basic English)
1Co 13:8 Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used. (GW, God’s Word translation)
1Co 13:8 Love never fails! Everyone who prophesies will stop, and unknown languages will no longer be spoken. All that we know will be forgotten. (CEV, Contemporary English Version)
My Comment:
1 Corinthians 13:8 is a very controversial passage of Scripture. Some will separate Christians, on the basis of this verse, into “cessationists” and “non-cessationists.” Cessationists are those who believe the gift of tongues is no longer present in the church. They argue that “tongues” as used in the New Testament are a reference to speaking natural human languages and that the miraculous gift of tongues involved individuals speaking to others in the language of the listener–a language otherwise not known to the speaker (as at Acts 2:4).
Other believers, non-cessationists, believe the Gift of Tongues is available today and that the kind of tongues spoken today is ecstatic speech, not natural human languages.
After long, serious, and meticulous study, I believe that the cessationists are likely correct because their view corresponds with the grammar and vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, as best as I understand it.
But whatever the case, Paul emphasizes that love is superior to every other gift.
To dig deeper into what the Bible says, take time to read the notes and cross references I have supplied for 1 Corinthians 13:8 in my digital Bible study resource, The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:
1 Corinthians 13:8
never faileth. 1Co 13:10; 1Co 13:13, *1Co 1:7; *1Co 1:8, Luk 22:32, Gal 5:6, +*Heb 12:15.
prophecies. 1Co 13:2, +Act 2:18, %*1Pe 1:19.
shall fail. or, be brought to nought. Gr. katargeō (S# G2673, Rom 3:3). +Rom 3:3.
whether. FS18, +Deut 28:4.
tongues. 1Co 13:1, *1Co 12:10; *1Co 12:28, 29, 30; *1Co 14:39, Act 2:4; *Act 19:6.
shall cease. Gr. pauomai (S# G3973, 1Pe 3:10). Robertson notes, future middle indicative of pauō, to make cease. They shall make themselves cease or automatically cease of themselves (Word Pictures, vol. 4, p. 179). D. A. Carson notes that the argument to prove that tongues will cease “of themselves,” built upon the fact that the verb is in the middle voice, is flawed exegetically; no one would argue that when Jesus commanded the sea to be calm and the storm to cease that the winds subsided of themselves, yet the verb (ceased) used in Luk 8:24 is in the middle voice (Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, pp. 77-79). Some interpreters believe this passage teaches the passing away or cessation of the miraculous gifts. Those of the Pentecostal or Charismatic persuasion believe these gifts continue to the present, are valid for today, and have been in greater evidence in all sectors of the church in recent times. In view of the fact that tongues was a sign gift to unbelieving Jews (1Co 14:21, 22), its purpose may have been served by the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This gift is not mentioned in Paul’s later writings. When the book of Revelation was written (no later than A.D. 95), the New Testament was complete. The gift of tongues could no longer serve as a revelational gift (Rev 22:18). The gift may be among those reinstituted at the Second Advent (Joel 2:28 note). See related notes (1Co 12:30 note. 1Co 14:27 note. Act 8:16 note). 1Co 14:21, 22, Jos 5:12, **Pro 25:14, Joel 2:28, Luk 8:24, Rev 22:18.
knowledge. Gr. gnōsis (S# G1108, Rom 11:33), Jhn 8:55 note. 1Co 13:2, 1Co 1:5; +1Co 12:8; 1Co 14:6, Isa 11:9, Jer 31:34, 2Co 8:7, +*Heb 8:11.
vanish away. Gr. katargeō (S# G2673, Rom 3:3). 1Co 7:30, 31, Jer 49:7, +Rom 3:3 g. Heb 8:13.