Passage

1 Corinthians 14.14-19

Book: 1 Corinthians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"12. So also ye, since ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may abound unto the edifying of the church. 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."

"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." (1 Corinthians 14:12-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"12. So also you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, seek that you may abound to the building up of the assembly. 13. Therefore let him who speaks in another language pray that he may interpret."

"14. For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, 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. Otherwise if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn’t know what you say? 17. For you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up. 18. I thank my God, I speak with other languages more than you all. 19. However in the assembly I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in another language."

"20. Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature. 21. In the law it is written, “By men of strange languages and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people. Not even thus will they hear me, says the Lord.”" (1 Corinthians 14:12-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"12. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. ^{of spiritual gifts: Gr. of spirits} 13. Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret."

"14. For if I pray in an unknown 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 when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? 17. For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified. 18. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all: 19. Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue."

"20. Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. ^{men: Gr. perfect, or, of a ripe age} 21. In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord." (1 Corinthians 14:12-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"12. so also ye, since ye are earnestly desirous of spiritual gifts, for the building up of the assembly seek that ye may abound; 13. wherefore he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue, let him pray that he may interpret;"

"14. for if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit doth pray, and my understanding is unfruitful. 15. What then is it? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray also with the understanding; I will sing psalms with the spirit, and I will sing psalms also with the understanding; 16. since, if thou mayest bless with the spirit, he who is filling the place of the unlearned, how shall he say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, since what thou dost say he hath not known? 17. for thou, indeed, dost give thanks well, but the other is not built up! 18. I give thanks to my God, more than you all with tongues speaking, 19. but in an assembly I wish to speak five words through my understanding, that others also I may instruct, rather than myriads of words in an [unknown] tongue."

"20. Brethren, become not children in the understanding, but in the evil be ye babes, and in the understanding become ye perfect; 21. in the law it hath been written, that, 'With other tongues and with other lips I will speak to this people, and not even so will they hear Me, saith the Lord;'" (1 Corinthians 14:12-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

G3563 - nous

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.