1 Corinthians 13–14

Chapter 13

The Excellence of Love

¹If I speak with the ^atongues of men and of ^bangels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a ^cclanging cymbal.

²If I have the gift of ^aprophecy, and know all ^bmysteries and all ^cknowledge; and if I have ^dall faith, so as to ^eremove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

³And if I ^agive all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I ^bsurrender my body ¹to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

⁴Love ^ais patient, love is kind and ^bis not jealous; love does not brag and is not ^carrogant,

⁵does not act unbecomingly; it ^adoes not seek its own, is not provoked, ^bdoes not take into account a wrong suffered,

^6adoes not rejoice in unrighteousness, but ^brejoices with the truth;

^71abears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails; but if there are gifts of ^1aprophecy, they will be done away; if there are ^btongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.

⁹For we ^aknow in part and we prophesy in part;

¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

¹¹When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I ¹became a man, I did away with childish things.

¹²For now we ^asee in a mirror ¹dimly, but then ^bface to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also ^chave been fully known.

¹³But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the ¹greatest of these is ^alove.

Chapter 14

Prophecy a Superior Gift

^1aPursue love, yet ^bdesire earnestly ^cspiritual gifts, but especially that you may ^dprophesy.

²For one who ^aspeaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one ¹understands, but ²in his spirit he speaks ^bmysteries.

³But one who prophesies speaks to men for ^aedification and ^bexhortation and consolation.

⁴One who ^aspeaks in a tongue ^bedifies himself; but one who ^cprophesies edifies the church.

⁵Now I wish that you all ^aspoke in tongues, but ^beven more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive ^cedifying.

⁶But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of ^arevelation or of ^bknowledge or of ^cprophecy or of ^dteaching?

⁷Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

⁸For if ^athe ¹bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

⁹So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be ^aspeaking into the air.

¹⁰There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of ¹languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning.

¹¹If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a ^1abarbarian, and the one who speaks will be a barbarian ²to me.

¹²So also you, since you are zealous of ¹spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the ^aedification of the church.

¹³Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.

^15aWhat is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will ^bsing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.

¹⁶Otherwise if you bless ¹in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ²ungifted say ^athe “Amen” at your ^bgiving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?

¹⁷For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not ^aedified.

¹⁸I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all;

¹⁹however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Instruction for the Church

^20aBrethren, ^bdo not be children in your thinking; yet in evil ^cbe infants, but in your thinking be mature.

²¹In ^athe Law it is written, “^bBy men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord.

²²So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but ^aprophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe.

²³Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ¹ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that ^ayou are mad?

²⁴But if all ^aprophesy, and an unbeliever or an ¹ungifted man enters, he is ^bconvicted by all, he is called to account by all;

^25athe secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will ^bfall on his face and worship God, ^cdeclaring that God is certainly among you.

^26aWhat is the outcome then, ^bbrethren? When you assemble, ^ceach one has a ^dpsalm, has a ^eteaching, has a revelation, has a ^ftongue, has an ^ginterpretation. Let ^hall things be done for edification.

²⁷If anyone speaks in a ^atongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must ^binterpret;

²⁸but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.

²⁹Let two or three ^aprophets speak, and let the others ^bpass judgment.

³⁰But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent.

³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;

³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;

³³for God is not a God of ^aconfusion but of ¹peace, as in ^ball the churches of the ^csaints.

³⁴The women are to ^akeep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but ^bare to subject themselves, just as ^cthe Law also says.

³⁵If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is ¹improper for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶¹Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?

^37aIf anyone thinks he is a prophet or ^bspiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you ^care the Lord’s commandment.

³⁸But if anyone does not recognize this, he ¹is not recognized.

³⁹Therefore, my brethren, ^adesire earnestly to ^bprophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues.

⁴⁰But ^aall things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.