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1 Corinthians 14

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Prophecy Superior to Tongues for Edification 1–5

1
Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritualgifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. ​
2
For he that speaketh in a tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God; for no man understandeth; but in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. ​
3
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men edification, and exhortation, and consolation.
4
He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. ​
5
Now I would have you all speak with tongues, but rather that ye should prophesy: and greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying. ​

The Need for Intelligibility in Worship 6–12

6
But now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation, or of knowledge, or of prophesying, or of teaching?
7
Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
8
For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?
9
So also ye, unless ye utter by the tongue speech easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye will be speaking into the air. ​
10
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification.
11
If then I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian unto me. ​
12
So also ye, since ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound unto the edifying of the church. ​

Praying with the Spirit and the Mind 13–19

13
Wherefore let him that speaketh in a tongue pray that he may interpret.
14
For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. ​
15
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
16
Else if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of the unlearned say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest? ​
17
For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
18
I thank God, I speak with tongues more than you all: ​
19
howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Tongues as a Sign; Prophecy Brings Conviction 20–25

20
Brethren, be not children in mind: yet in malice be ye babes, but in mind be men. ​
21
In the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak unto this people; and not even thus will they hear me, saith the Lord. ​
22
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to the unbelieving: but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to them that believe. ​
23
If therefore the whole church be assembled together and all speak with tongues, and there come in men unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that ye are mad? ​
24
But if all prophesy, and there come in one unbelieving or unlearned, he is reproved by all, he is judged by all;
25
the secrets of his heart are made manifest; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed. ​

Rules for Orderly Public Worship 26–33

26
What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. ​
27
If any man speaketh in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most three, and that in turn; and let one interpret: ​
28
but if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29
And let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others discern. ​
30
But if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the first keep silence.
31
For ye all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted;
32
and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; ​
33
for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, ​

Instructions for Women in the Assembly 34–36

34
let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law. ​
35
And if they would learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church. ​
36
What? was it from you that the word of God went forth? or came it unto you alone? ​

Final Exhortations: Authority and Order 37–40

37
If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord. ​
38
But if any man is ignorant, let him be ignorant. ​
39
Wherefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. ​
40
But let all things be done decently and in order. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Corinthians 14

Verse 1

Follow after charity — Dioko, to pursue, is also the verb of 'Follow peace with all men' (Heb 12:14). The object is agape, love, the subject of ch.13. 'Desire' is zeloo, the verb of 12:31, and 'gifts' is the KJV's addition to pneumatika. Prophecy is preferred because it 'speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort' (v.3).

Verse 2

unknown tongue — 'Unknown' has no word behind it in the Greek; the speaker uses a glossa, a language. 'Understandeth' is akouo, to hear, so the hearers cannot take it in, and the speech goes 'unto God'. 'Mysteries' (musterion) are things hidden, which is why interpretation is needed before the church can profit (v.5).

Verse 4

edifieth himself — Oikodomeo, to build a house, is the verb of 'upon this rock I will build my church' (Matt 16:18). Prophecy builds the ekklesia, the assembly, while an untranslated tongue builds only the speaker. Edification, the building up of the church, is the rule that the whole chapter applies.

Verse 5

greater is he that prophesieth — Paul wishes all to speak with tongues (cf. v.18) but 'rather that ye prophesied'. 'Except he interpret' (diermeneuo, the verb of vv.13, 27 and 12:30) removes the difference, since the church then 'may receive edifying' (oikodome, a building up) from the tongue as well.

Verse 9

speak into the air — Aer, the same noun as in 9:26, 'as one that beateth the air'. 'Easy to be understood' is eusemos, well marked, found only here. Words that no hearer can identify do their work on no one, and the speaker has uttered them to nothing, which is Paul's point about tongues without interpretation.

Verse 11

a barbarian — Barbaros is a person whose speech cannot be understood, used of the people of Malta (Acts 28:2, 4) and set beside the Greeks in Rom 1:14. 'Meaning' is dynamis, power, the word rendered 'miracles' in 12:28, so a voice carries its force only when the hearer knows what it is saying.

Verse 12

zealous of spiritual gifts — Zelotes, one eager for something, is the noun in 'zealous of the law' (Acts 21:20) and 'zealous of good works' (Titus 2:14). Here its object is pneuma, spirit, with 'gifts' added by the KJV. 'Excel' is perisseuo, to abound, and the abounding is to be 'to the edifying of the church' (vv.4, 26).

Verse 14

my understanding is unfruitful — Akarpos, without fruit, is the word for the thorn-choked word (Matt 13:22) and the 'unfruitful works of darkness' (Eph 5:11). 'Understanding' is nous, the mind. The spirit prays, but the mind takes no part. Paul answers in v.15: 'I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also.'

Verse 16

say Amen — Amen was the people's answer to what was said in God's name: 'all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD' (1 Chr 16:36). 'Unlearned' is idiotes, one without the knowledge in question (vv.16, 23, 24; also Acts 4:13). 'Giving of thanks' is eucharistia, so the blessing is a prayer of thanks that the hearer cannot join.

Verse 18

I speak with tongues more than ye all — 'I thank' is eucharisteo, the verb of 1:4, 'I thank my God always on your behalf'. Paul gives thanks for the gift and has it in fuller measure than any of them, and yet 'in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding' (v.19). The gift is not belittled, only ranked.

Verse 20

be not children in understanding — Two words for child are used: paidion in 'be not children', and nepiazo, 'be babes', found only here. 'Understanding' (phren) also occurs only in this verse. 'Men' is teleios, full-grown, the word 'perfect' in 2:6 ('wisdom among them that are perfect') and 'of full age' in Heb 5:14.

Verse 21

In the law it is written — Paul calls Isaiah 'the law', as Christ calls a psalm 'your law' (John 10:34). The words come from Isa 28:11–12, 'with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people', and the earlier warning is Deut 28:49, 'a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand'. The refusal to hear ('yet they would not hear') closes the quotation.

Verse 22

tongues are for a sign — Semeion, a sign that points beyond itself. At Pentecost the 'multitude… were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language' (Acts 2:6), while others mocked (Acts 2:13). Prophesying, by contrast, is spoken in the hearers' own tongue and 'serveth… for them which believe'.

Verse 23

will they not say that ye are mad? — Mainomai, to be out of one's mind, is the charge Festus made against Paul (Acts 26:24) and others against Christ (John 10:20, 'He hath a devil, and is mad'). The Pentecost crowd put the same sounds down to drink (Acts 2:13). The 'unlearned' are as in v.16; 'unbelievers' is apistos.

Verse 25

the secrets of his heart — The visitor's hidden things are 'made manifest' (phaneros, of the same family as 'manifestation' in 12:7). His falling on his face echoes the nations in Isa 45:14, who 'fall down unto thee… saying, Surely God is in thee', and Zech 8:23, 'we have heard that God is with you'. 'Worship' is proskuneo.

Verse 26

Let all things be done unto edifying — Oikodome, a building up, is the chapter's measure (vv.3, 5, 12, 26). The list shows what a meeting could hold: a psalm (cf. Eph 5:19), a doctrine, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. 'Interpretation' (hermeneia) is the gift named in 12:10, and each item must serve the building.

Verse 27

by two, or at the most by three — The limit matches v.29, where prophets also speak 'two or three'. 'By course' is ana meros, one after another, and 'let one interpret' uses diermeneuo, the verb of vv.5, 13 and 12:30. Without an interpreter v.28 sends the speaker to silence in the church.

Verse 29

let the other judge — Diakrino, to separate and weigh, is the verb behind diakrisis, 'discerning of spirits' (12:10). The one who prophesies is heard, and the rest weigh it. The same pair of commands stands in 1 Thess 5:20–21, 'Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.'

Verse 32

are subject to the prophets — Hypotasso, to set under, is the verb of v.34, 'under obedience'. The prophet's gift stays under his own control: v.30 has the first speaker 'hold his peace' when another receives a revelation. A prophet is not carried off against his will.

Verse 33

the author of confusion — 'Author' has no word behind it in the Greek: the Greek says that God is not of confusion, but of peace. Akatastasia, disorder, is the word of Jas 3:16, 'where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work'. The remedy given is eirene, peace, and the order of v.40.

Verse 34

keep silence — Sigao is the verb Paul used of the tongue-speaker with no interpreter (v.28) and of the prophet who yields to another (v.30). 'Under obedience' is hypotasso (v.32); 'the law' is cited, and 1 Tim 2:11 asks the same. Paul has also spoken of a woman who 'prayeth or prophesieth' (11:5), and readers have joined the two passages in different ways.

Verse 35

let them ask their husbands at home — The provision is for learning: manthano, to learn, and eperotao, to question. 'Shame' is aischros, the word of 11:6, 'if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven', where Paul also appeals to what is fitting in the church's practice. The instruction concerns order in the assembled church.

Verse 36

came the word of God out from you? — The two questions are answered by the word's own history: 'out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem' (Isa 2:3), 'beginning at Jerusalem' (Luke 24:47). It came to Corinth through Paul, who stayed 'a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them' (Acts 18:11).

Verse 37

or spiritual — Pneumatikos, the word that opened the section (12:1). The test is whether the man will 'acknowledge' (epiginosko, recognise) that what Paul writes is 'the commandments of the Lord' (entole). Paul had said of his teaching that it is not 'in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth' (2:13).

Verse 38

let him be ignorant — Agnoeo, the verb of 12:1, 'I would not have you ignorant', is used twice in this verse. Paul began the section by refusing to leave them in ignorance; here, a man who will not recognise what is written is left in it, with no further argument.

Verse 39

covet to prophesy — Zeloo, the verb of 12:31 and 14:1. Prophecy is the gift to seek, and tongues are not to be 'forbidden' (koluo, to hinder). Both rulings of the chapter stand together: encouragement of the one, no hindering of the other, and the order of v.40 for each. Compare 'Despise not prophesyings' (1 Thess 5:20).

Verse 40

decently and in order — Euschemonos is the adverb of euschemon, the 'comely' parts of 12:24, so decency is the same fitting arrangement. Taxis, order, is what Paul rejoices to see in Colossae: 'joying and beholding your order' (Col 2:5). The verse sums up vv.26–39.