1 Y ou should want to have this love. You should want the gifts of the Holy Spirit and most of all to be able to speak God’s Word.

Pursue the love, and seek earnestly the spiritual things, and rather that ye may prophecy,

2 T he man who speaks in special sounds speaks to God. He is not speaking to men. No one understands. He is speaking secret things through the power of the Holy Spirit.

for he who is speaking in an tongue -- to men he doth not speak, but to God, for no one doth hearken, and in spirit he doth speak secrets;

3 T he man who speaks God’s Word speaks to men. It helps them to learn and understand. It gives them comfort.

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

4 T he man who speaks in special sounds receives strength. The man who speaks God’s Word gives strength to the church.

he who is speaking in an tongue, himself doth edify, and he who is prophesying, an assembly doth edify;

5 I wish all of you spoke in special sounds. But more than that, I wish all of you spoke God’s Word. The one who speaks God’s Word has a more important gift than the one who speaks in special sounds. But if he can tell what he is speaking, the church will be helped.

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.

6 C hristian brothers, if I come to you speaking in special sounds, what good is it to you? But if I tell you something God has shown me or something I have learned or what God’s Word says will happen in the future or teach you God’s Word, it will be for your good.

And 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?

7 T here are things on which people play music. If strange sounds are made on these, how will others know which one is played?

yet 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?

8 I f a horn does not make a good sound, how will men know they are to get ready to fight?

for if also an uncertain sound a trumpet may give, who shall prepare himself for battle?

9 I t is the same if you speak to a person in special sounds. How will he know what you say? Your sounds will be lost in the air.

so 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.

10 T here are many languages in the world. All of them have meaning to the people who understand them.

There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is unmeaning,

11 B ut if I do not understand the language someone uses to speak to me, the man who speaks is a stranger to me. I am a stranger to him.

if, 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;

12 S ince you want gifts from the Holy Spirit, ask for those that will build up the whole church.

so also ye, since ye are earnestly desirous of spiritual gifts, for the building up of the assembly seek that ye may abound;

13 S o the man who speaks in special sounds should pray for the gift to be able to tell what they mean.

wherefore he who is speaking in an tongue -- let him pray that he may interpret;

14 I f I pray in special sounds, my spirit is doing the praying. My mind does not understand.

for if I pray in an tongue, my spirit doth pray, and my understanding is unfruitful.

15 W hat should I do? I will pray with my spirit and I will pray with my mind also. I will sing with my spirit and I will sing with my mind also.

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 I f you honor and give thanks to God with your spirit in sounds nobody understands, how can others honor and give thanks also if they do not know what you are saying?

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 Y ou are honoring and giving thanks to God, but it is not helping other people.

for thou, indeed, dost give thanks well, but the other is not built up!

18 I thank God that I speak in special sounds more than all of you.

I give thanks to my God -- more than you all with tongues speaking --

19 B ut in a meeting of the church, it is better if I say five words that others can understand and be helped by than 10, 000 words in special sounds.

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 tongue.

20 C hristian brothers, do not be like children in your thinking. Be full-grown, but be like children in not knowing how to sin.

Brethren, become not children in the understanding, but in the evil be ye babes, and in the understanding become ye perfect;

21 G od says in the Holy Writings, “I will speak to My people. I will speak through men from other lands in other languages. Even then My people will not listen to Me.”

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;'

22 S o then speaking in special sounds is for those who do not believe. It is not for those who believe. But speaking God’s Word is for those who believe. It is not for those who do not believe. Church Meetings

so that the tongues are for a sign, not to the believing, but to the unbelieving; and the prophesy not for the unbelieving, but for the believing,

23 I f some people who are not Christians come to your church meeting while all the people are speaking in special sounds, they will think you are crazy.

If, 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?

24 B ut if a man who is not a Christian comes to your church meeting while you are all speaking God’s Word, he will understand that he is a sinner by what he hears. He will know he is guilty.

and if all may prophecy, and any one may come in, an unbeliever or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is discerned by all,

25 T he secrets of his heart will be brought into the open. He will get on his knees and worship God. He will say, “For sure, God is here with you!”

and so the secrets of his heart become manifest, and so having fallen upon face, he will bow before God, declaring that God really is among you.

26 W hat am I saying, Christian brothers? When you meet together for worship, some of you have a song to sing. Some of you want to teach and some have special words from God. Some of you speak in special sounds and some of you tell what they mean. Everything should be done to help those who are meeting together to grow strong as Christians.

What 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;

27 N o more than two or three people should speak in special sounds. Only one should speak at a time. Someone must tell the meaning of the special sounds.

if an tongue any one do speak, by two, or at the most, by three, and in turn, and let one interpret;

28 I f no one is there who can tell the meaning of the special sounds, he should not speak in the church. He should speak only to himself and to God.

and if there may be no interpreter, let him be silent in an assembly, and to himself let him speak, and to God.

29 T wo or three should speak God’s Word. The other people should listen and decide if they are speaking right.

And prophets -- let two or three speak, and let the others discern,

30 I f someone sitting in the meeting gets some special word from God, the one who is speaking should stop.

and if to another sitting may be revealed, let the first be silent;

31 A ll of you can speak God’s Word, but only one person at a time. In that way, all of you can learn and be helped.

for ye are able, one by one, all to prophesy, that all may learn, and all may be exhorted,

32 M en who speak God’s Word are able to stop when they should.

and the spiritual gift of prophets to prophets are subject,

33 G od does not want everyone speaking at the same time in church meetings. He wants peace. All the churches of God’s people worship this way.

for God is not of tumult, but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints.

34 W omen should not be allowed to speak in church meetings. They are to obey this teaching. The Law says this also.

Your 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;

35 I f they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a shame for a woman to speak in a church meeting.

and 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.

36 D id the Word of God come from you Christians in the city of Corinth? Or are you the only people who received it?

From you did the word of God come forth? or to you alone did it come?

37 S ome of you may think you have the gift of speaking God’s Word or some other gift from the Holy Spirit. If you do, you should know that what I am writing to you is what God has told us we must obey.

if 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;

38 I f any man does not listen to this, have nothing to do with him.

and if any one is ignorant -- let him be ignorant;

39 S o then, my Christian brothers, you should want to speak God’s Word. Do not stop anyone from speaking in special sounds.

so that, brethren, earnestly desire to prophesy, and to speak with tongues do not forbid;

40 A ll things should be done in the right way, one after the other.

let all things be done decently and in order.