How does Paul explain charity’s priority?

Paul uses conditional comparisons to establish charity’s priority. If he speaks human and angelic tongues without charity, he becomes sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. If he has prophecy, all mysteries and knowledge, and faith that removes mountains without charity, he is nothing. If he gives all goods to feed the poor and delivers his body to be burned without charity, it profits him nothing. These are hypothetical first-person comparisons, not reports of his own burning or another person’s martyrdom; the source does not state that gifts have no usefulness to anyone else.

Charity is patient and kind, without envy, perversity or puffing up. It is not ambitious, does not seek its own, is not provoked to anger and thinks no evil. It rejoices with truth rather than iniquity, and bears, believes, hopes and endures all things. The printed wording thinks no evil should not be silently replaced by another translation’s record of injuries, nor are medical or psychological mechanisms supplied.

Charity never falls away. Prophecies will be made void, tongues cease and knowledge be destroyed. Knowing and prophesying are partial; when the perfect comes, the partial is done away. Paul recalls childhood speech, understanding and thought, then putting away childish things as a man. The source does not date when perfection comes or identify tongues as ecstatic speech and knowledge as intellectual systems.

Now they see through a glass darkly, then face to face; now Paul knows in part, then he will know even as he is known. The glass material and an account of comprehensive divine knowledge are not specified. Faith, hope and charity remain, and charity is greatest. This span does not separately explain faith ceasing in sight or hope ceasing in possession. Those extra theological explanations should not be presented as this chapter’s words.