Passage

1 Corinthians 14.3

Book: 1 Corinthians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Follow after love; yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, 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." (1 Corinthians 14:1-5, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Follow after love, and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. 2. For he who speaks in another language speaks not to men, but to God; for no one understands; but in the Spirit he speaks mysteries."

"3. But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, exhortation, and consolation."

"4. He who speaks in another language edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the assembly. 5. Now I desire to have you all speak with other languages, but rather that you would prophesy. For he is greater who prophesies than he who speaks with other languages, unless he interprets, that the assembly may be built up." (1 Corinthians 14:1-5, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy. 2. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. ^{understandeth: Gr. heareth}"

"3. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."

"4. He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church. 5. I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying." (1 Corinthians 14:1-5, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. Pursue the love, and seek earnestly the spiritual things, and rather that ye may prophecy, 2. for he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue, to men he doth not speak, but to God, for no one doth hearken, and in spirit he doth speak secrets;"

"3. and he who is prophesying to men doth speak edification, and exhortation, and comfort;"

"4. he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue, himself doth edify, and he who is prophesying, an assembly doth edify; 5. and I wish you all to speak with tongues, and more that ye may prophecy, for greater is he who is prophesying than he who is speaking with tongues, except one may interpret, that the assembly may receive edification." (1 Corinthians 14:1-5, 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
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Quoted in

Prophet

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.