Kymbalon (G2950) is a cymbal — the clashing bronze or brass instrument used in worship music (Ps 150:5 in the LXX uses kymbala) and festive celebrations. It appears only once in the NT in 1 Corinthians 13:1: 'If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [kymbalon alalazō].' Paul's metaphor evokes the loudest, most attention-getting musical sound as the symbol of spiritually hollow performance.
Paul's use of kymbalon in 1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most incisive images in Scripture. The cymbal is not intrinsically bad — Psalm 150 commands cymbal worship! — but without love (agape), even the most spectacular spiritual expression becomes mere noise. The 'clanging cymbal' becomes shorthand for everything that appears impressive but lacks the substance of love. The theology is clear: love (agape) is the interpretive key to all spiritual gifts. Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, sacrifice — all collapse into noise without it. The loudest sound in the universe that God cares about is a quiet act of love.