# Where is “When I was a child, I spoke as a child” in the Bible?

> “When I was a child, I spoke as a child” is 1 Corinthians 13:11.

Source: https://www.lumin.faith/is-it-in-the-bible/when-i-was-a-child-i-spoke-as-a-child
By Andrew Kittridge · November 10, 2026

Paul writes it to the church in Corinth, in his chapter on love.

## The verse

> When I was a little child, I used to talk like a little child, think like a little child, and reason like a little child. Now that I have become a man, I have set aside the ways of childhood.
>
> — [1 Corinthians 13:11](https://www.lumin.faith/read/1-corinthians/13#11) (Lumin Translation)

English Bibles word this verse in different ways. The Lumin Translation, a modern English Bible, is quoted here.

## What it means there

Paul compares what we know now to childhood. Prophecy and knowledge are partial and will be set aside, the way an adult sets aside a child’s ways. Love is what stays.

## Common questions

### Where is “When I was a child, I spoke as a child” in the Bible?

“When I was a child, I spoke as a child” is 1 Corinthians 13:11. English Bibles word this verse in different ways. The Lumin Translation, a modern English Bible, is quoted here. Paul writes it to the church in Corinth, in his chapter on love.

### Is “When I was a child, I spoke as a child” in the Bible?

Yes. It is 1 Corinthians 13:11. In the Lumin Translation, 1 Corinthians 13:11 reads: “When I was a little child, I used to talk like a little child, think like a little child, and reason like a little child. Now that I have become a man, I have set aside the ways of childhood.”

### Who said “When I was a child, I spoke as a child”?

Paul writes it to the church in Corinth, in his chapter on love.

### What does “When I was a child, I spoke as a child” mean in the Bible?

Paul compares what we know now to childhood. Prophecy and knowledge are partial and will be set aside, the way an adult sets aside a child’s ways. Love is what stays.

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