1 Corinthians 14:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.

NIV: So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

NASB: So you too, unless you produce intelligible speech by the tongue, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will just be talking to the air.

CSB: In the same way, unless you use your tongue for intelligible speech, how will what is spoken be known? For you will be speaking into the air.

NLT: It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

KJV: So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.

NKJV: So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

In the previous two verses, Paul has compared speaking in tongues without an interpreter to musical instruments that produce sounds or notes in no sensible order: with no melody. They create noise but no music. They are not guided by or received by a human mind in any meaningful way.

Now he drives home the point to those speaking in tongues in the Corinthian worship services without any interpretation. If your speech can not be understood by anyone present, nobody will know what is said. You will only be "speaking into the air," meaning launching sounds that nobody will receive, making the whole exercise meaningless.

Again, Paul is not dismissing tongues as fakery and performance. He himself spoke in tongues at times. He reinforced the idea in this letter, especially, that speaking in diverse languages by the gift of the Holy Spirit was a positive experience, at least for the speaker. He wrote that he wished all the Corinthian Christians would receive this gift (1 Corinthians 14:5).

What he is condemning is the use of the gift in a church or public setting without interpretation by the speaker or someone else.

First Corinthians 14:1–25 describes why the gift of prophecy is superior to the gift of tongues in church services, especially when nobody with the gift of interpreting tongues is available. Prophecy benefits everyone in the room with a revelation from God. Praying in a tongue, when nobody can interpret, only benefits the one praying. In fact, displaying the gift of tongues without interpretation may do more harm than good—it generates confusion and division. In contrast, the use of prophecy provides the opportunity for unbelievers to hear from God, be convicted about sin, and come to faith in Christ and genuine worship.

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.