Chapter 14

¹Pursue the love, and seek earnestly the spiritual things, and rather that ye may prophecy, ²for 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; ³and he who is prophesying to men doth speak edification, and exhortation, and comfort; ⁴he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue, himself doth edify, and he who is prophesying, an assembly doth edify; ⁵and 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. ⁶And now, brethren, if I may come unto you speaking tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either in revelation, or in knowledge, or in prophesying, or in teaching? ⁷yet the things without life giving sound -- whether pipe or harp -- if a difference in the sounds they may not give, how shall be known that which is piped or that which is harped? ⁸for if also an uncertain sound a trumpet may give, who shall prepare himself for battle? ⁹so also ye, if through the tongue, speech easily understood ye may not give -- how shall that which is spoken be known? for ye shall be speaking to air. ¹⁰There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is unmeaning, ¹¹if, then, I do not know the power of the voice, I shall be to him who is speaking a foreigner, and he who is speaking, is to me a foreigner; ¹²so also ye, since ye are earnestly desirous of spiritual gifts, for the building up of the assembly seek that ye may abound; ¹³wherefore he who is speaking in an [unknown] tongue -- let him pray that he may interpret; ¹⁴for if I pray in an [unknown] tongue, my spirit doth pray, and my understanding is unfruitful. ¹⁵What 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; ¹⁶since, 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? ¹⁷for thou, indeed, dost give thanks well, but the other is not built up! ¹⁸I give thanks to my God -- more than you all with tongues speaking -- ¹⁹but 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. ²⁰Brethren, become not children in the understanding, but in the evil be ye babes, and in the understanding become ye perfect; ²¹in 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;` ²²so that the tongues are for a sign, not to the believing, but to the unbelieving; and the prophesy [is] not for the unbelieving, but for the believing, ²³If, therefore, the whole assembly may come together, to the same place, and all may speak with tongues, and there may come in unlearned or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? ²⁴and if all may prophecy, and any one may come in, an unbeliever or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is discerned by all, ²⁵and so the secrets of his heart become manifest, and so having fallen upon [his] face, he will bow before God, declaring that God really is among you. ²⁶What then is it, brethren? whenever ye may come together, each of you hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation? let all things be for building up; ²⁷if an [unknown] tongue any one do speak, by two, or at the most, by three, and in turn, and let one interpret; ²⁸and if there may be no interpreter, let him be silent in an assembly, and to himself let him speak, and to God. ²⁹And prophets -- let two or three speak, and let the others discern, ³⁰and if to another sitting [anything] may be revealed, let the first be silent; ³¹for ye are able, one by one, all to prophesy, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted, ³²and the spiritual gift of prophets to prophets are subject, ³³for God is not [a God] of tumult, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints. ³⁴Your women in the assemblies let them be silent, for it hath not been permitted to them to speak, but to be subject, as also the law saith; ³⁵and if they wish to learn anything, at home their own husbands let them question, for it is a shame to women to speak in an assembly. ³⁶From you did the word of God come forth? or to you alone did it come? ³⁷if any one doth think to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write to you -- that of the Lord they are commands; ³⁸and if any one is ignorant -- let him be ignorant; ³⁹so that, brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy, and to speak with tongues do not forbid; ⁴⁰let all things be done decently and in order.