1 Corinthians 13:1–16:24
13 If I speak in the tonguesa n of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecyo and can fathom all mysteriesp and all knowledge,q and if I have a faithr that can move mountains,s but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poort and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,b u but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient,v love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.w 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,x it is not easily angered,y it keeps no record of wrongs.z 6 Love does not delight in evila but rejoices with the truth.b 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.c
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,d they will cease; where there are tongues,e they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in partf and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes,g what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhoodh behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;i then we shall see face to face.j Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.k
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.l But the greatest of these is love.m
14 Follow the way of loven and eagerly desireo gifts of the Spirit,p especially prophecy.q 2 For anyone who speaks in a tonguea r does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them;s they utter mysteriest by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening,u encouragingv and comfort. 4 Anyone who speaks in a tonguew edifiesx themselves, but the one who prophesiesy edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues,b but I would rather have you prophesy.z The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues,c unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.a
6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelationb or knowledgec or prophecy or word of instruction?d 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?e 9 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. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me.f 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit,g try to excel in those that build uph the church.
13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.i 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,j but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit,k but I will also pray with my understanding; I will singl with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,d say “Amen”m to your thanksgiving,n since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.o
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.p
20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children.q In regard to evil be infants,r but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Laws it is written:
“With other tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,t
says the Lord.”e
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy,u however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?v 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secretsw of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”x
26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters?y When you come together, each of youz has a hymn,a or a word of instruction,b a revelation, a tonguec or an interpretation.d Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.e 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.
29 Two or three prophetsf should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.g 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.h 33 For God is not a God of disorderi but of peacej—as in all the congregationsk of the Lord’s people.l
34 Womenf should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak,m but must be in submission,n as the lawo says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.g
36 Or did the word of Godp originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks they are a prophetq or otherwise gifted by the Spirit,r let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.s 38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.h
39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eagert to prophesy,u and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderlyv way.
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospelw I preached to you,x which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved,y if you hold firmlyz to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I receiveda I passed on to youb as of first importancea: that Christ died for our sinsc according to the Scriptures,d 4 that he was buried,e that he was raisedf on the third dayg according to the Scriptures,h 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,b i and then to the Twelve.j 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.k 7 Then he appeared to James,l then to all the apostles,m 8 and last of all he appeared to me also,n as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostleso and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecutedp the church of God.q 10 But by the gracer of God I am what I am, and his grace to mes was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of themt—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.u 11 Whether, then, it is I or they,v this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead,w how can some of you say that there is no resurrectionx of the dead?y 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised,z our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.a But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.b 18 Then those also who have fallen asleepc in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.d
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,e the firstfruitsf of those who have fallen asleep.g 21 For since death came through a man,h the resurrection of the deadi comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.j 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits;k then, when he comes,l those who belong to him.m 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdomn to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.o 25 For he must reignp until he has put all his enemies under his feet.q 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.r 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.”c s Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.t 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him,u so that God may be all in all.v
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?w 31 I face death every dayx—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beastsy in Ephesusz with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
33 Do not be misled:b “Bad company corrupts good character