The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 13:6 Explained

1 Corinthians 13:6

KJV: Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

YLT: rejoiceth not over the unrighteousness, and rejoiceth with the truth;

Darby: does not rejoice at iniquity but rejoices with the truth,

ASV: rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;

Discover 1 Corinthians 13:6

CONTEXT: What is the Context of 1 Corinthians 13:6?

MEANING: What does 1 Corinthians 13:6 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 13:6 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in 1 Corinthians 13:6?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in the truth; 

What does 1 Corinthians 13:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Love takes no delight in evil or the misfortunes of others, but it takes great pleasure in what is right.
"Love cannot share the glee of the successful transgressor." [1]
"Love absolutely rejects that most pernicious form of rejoicing over evil, gossiping about the misdeeds of others; it is not gladdened when someone else falls. Love stands on the side of the gospel and looks for mercy and justice for all, including those with whom one disagrees." [2]
"Christian love has no wish to veil the truth; it is brave enough to face the truth; it has nothing to conceal and so is glad when the truth prevails." [3]

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 - The One Essential For All
With what wonder his amanuensis must have looked up, as the Apostle broke into this exquisite sonnet on love! His radiant spirit had caught a glimpse of the living Savior. Jesus sits for His portrait in these glowing sentences, and of Him every clause is true. Substitute His name for love throughout the chapter, and say whether it is not an exact likeness. With Paul love stands for that strong, sustained, and holy subordination of self for others, which begins in will and act and is afterward suffused by emotion, as a cloud lying in the pathway of the rising sun. But if you want the divine love, you must get it after the manner of the bay which opens its bosom to the incoming tide. God is love, and if you would love, you must abide in Him and He in you. Love is better than miracles, gifts, or philanthropy, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Love is the parent of all that is most delightful in the moral sphere, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Love is the best of all, because it is eternal. All else will perish. Our highest attainments will be as the babblings and playthings of childhood. But when we are in touch with the reality of things, love will be all in all. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 13

1  All gifts,
3  however excellent, are of no worth without love
4  The praises thereof,
13  as love is greatest before hope and faith

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 13:6

Rejoiceth not in unrighteousness [ου χαιρει]
See Romans 1:32 for this depth of degradation. There are people as low as that whose real joy is in the triumph of evil. [source]
But rejoiceth with the truth [συνχαιρει δε τηι αλητειαι]
Associative instrumental case after συν — suṅ in composition. Truth personified as opposed to unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:12; Romans 2:8). Love is on the side of the angels. Paul returns here to the positive side of the picture (1 Corinthians 13:4) after the remarkable negatives. [source]
Rejoiceth in the truth [συγχαίρει τῇ ἁληθείᾳ]
Rev., correctly, rejoiceth with. Truth is personified as love is. Compare Psalm 85:10. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 13:6

John 7:18 From himself [απ εαυτου]
This kind of teacher is self-taught, pushes his own ideas, presses his own claims for position and glory, “blows his own horn” as we say. Jesus is the other type of teacher, seeks the glory of the one who sent him, whose herald and ambassador he is. The same “This one.” Unrighteousness Old word from αδικος — adikos Here in contrast with “true” See 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 13:6 for the deceit of unrighteousness in contrast with truth as here. [source]
1 Corinthians 12:26 Rejoice with it [συνχαιρει]
This is fortunately true also. One may tingle with joy all over the body thanks to the wonderful nervous system and to the relation between mind and matter. See note on 1 Corinthians 13:6 for joy of love with truth. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 13:6 mean?

not delights at - unrighteousness rejoices however in the truth
οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ συνχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ

χαίρει  delights 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: χαίρω  
Sense: to rejoice, be glad.
ἐπὶ  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
τῇ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀδικίᾳ  unrighteousness 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀδικία  
Sense: injustice, of a judge.
συνχαίρει  rejoices 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: συγχαίρω  
Sense: to rejoice with, take part in another’s joy.
δὲ  however 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
τῇ  in  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁ  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀληθείᾳ  truth 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀλήθεια  
Sense: objectively.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Corinthians 13:6?

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