1 Corinthians 14:34 - Printer Friendly

ESV: the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.

NIV: Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.

NASB: the women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

CSB: the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says.

NLT: Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.

KJV: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

NKJV: Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.

The role of women in church is among the more divisive issues faced by modern believers. This and the following verse play a large part in that conversation, along with 1 Timothy 2:11–15.

Paul's thought begins in the previous verse, where he states flatly that this is the practice of all churches of the saints. In other words, he is insisting to the Corinthians that what he is about to instruct them is not a unique teaching; it is the way of all Christian churches. That would deflect claims that this is some special criticism of the people of Corinth, or that it only applies to their specific situation.

As stated, the instruction is that women should remain silent in churches. In fact, they are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission—in context, meaning to their specific husbands—as was true for those living under the Law, as well.

This raises many questions and misunderstandings. It's important to remember Paul's teaching earlier in this letter (1 Corinthians 11:2–16) that women could pray or prophecy during worship services as long as their heads were properly covered. Taken without care, this verse reads like a contradiction to that passage.

Scholars suggest three possible explanations. Some believe these verses were inserted later by someone other than Paul, but they appear in even the earliest known manuscripts. Others suggest that Paul is quoting someone else in these two verses in order to refute their statements with his words in verse 36. That doesn't seem to fit, however, with the pattern of the rest of the letter.

Most scholars understand these instructions to be given to wives, specifically, and not to all women. This is based on the word usages and the reference to husbands in the following verse. Taken in this way, many believe the command to "remain silent" to refer to general conversation among the congregation, perhaps while evaluating a prophecy together, as opposed to the prayer or prophesying allowed by Paul in chapter 11.

First Corinthians 14:26–40 includes specific instructions to the Corinthians on an orderly worship service. These meetings should reflect the character of God. Everyone should have an opportunity to bring a hymn, a lesson, a prophetic revelation from God, and even to speak in a tongue if someone is able to interpret. Each must happen one at a time, in turn, and only two or three tongues-speakers or prophets should contribute during a single service. Wives must remain silent and be in submission to their husbands. Only that which builds up the church should be included.

Paul encourages the Corinthians to desire the gift of prophecy, especially, among the other gifts. He shows why its use in the church service is superior to the use of the gift of tongues if nobody is available to interpret. Prophecy benefits everyone; praying in tongues with nobody to interpret benefits only the speaker. Only two or three tongues-speakers should contribute to any service, and only then one at a time and followed by interpreters. The same applies to prophecy and the gift of discerning spirits. Orderliness and building up the church are guiding principles for any worship meeting. Modern churches are divided on the extent to who which these gifts are given, or should be practiced.

1 Corinthians 14 concludes Paul's teaching on the spiritual gifts begun in chapter 12. Between them, chapter 13 declared that Christlike love matters most of all. The gift of prophecy is better than the display of the gift of tongues in worship services unless someone with the gift of interpreting tongues is available. Even then, only those things which build up the church should be included in any service, and everything should be done in an orderly way, reflecting the character of God. The final two chapters of this letter discuss the resurrection of Christ and Paul's concluding remarks.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.