But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
If there is no interpreter present, one who would speak in a tongue must keep silence in the congregation and speak only to himself and to God. This is required for edification and order, so that all things are done to build up the church decently and without confusion, with speakers taking turns one at a time. Public prayer and worship must therefore be intelligible to believers and unbelievers who come to listen and learn, and not in a language the congregation cannot understand. The silence commanded is limited to speech that cannot be understood or is out of order, not a permanent speechlessness nor a blanket ban on speaking, praying, singing, or exhorting in a known tongue. The church has authority to restrain the abuse of pouring forth unintelligible words as the gift of tongues, for prophecy that edifies, exhorts, and comforts is greater and remains for the ministry and perfecting of the saints.
Context and Language
The verse belongs to Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts and love across 1 Corinthians 12-14, and separating those chapters can obscure the connection between seeking spiritual gifts and the more excellent way of love. The chapter was directed against evils and irregular conduct in the Corinthian church that needed correction. The brethren there were impatient to speak and interrupted one another in discourse, causing hard feeling and confusion.
The directions for using tongues to edification were written to the Corinthians after their amazing conversion from gross immoralities when they abounded in spiritual or miraculous gifts. Their handing the epistles down to posterity as a sacred treasure shows the gospel was not forged, since they would not have treasured instructions about things they never knew. A spiritual tongue is an intelligible human language even when the hearers do not understand it, so speaking without interpretation cannot communicate the message to the congregation.
God placed the gift of tongues in one person and the gift of interpretation in another, rather than having the tongue-speaker interpret for himself, because it would not be reasonable or edifying for one speaking in an unknown tongue to interpret his own words. This belongs to God placing differing gifts in His church to meet its changing experiences, just as foot, hand, ear, and eye are all needed for a complete, well-balanced human body to act without hindrance, so the church as Christ's body needs its corresponding parts to fulfill its earthly mission. The command to keep silence or hold peace means to be quiet while others are speaking in order to end confusion and restore peace, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace. It commands a temporary silence restricted to that circumstance, not permanent speechlessness, so a man speaking in an unknown tongue must keep silent in the church when there is no interpreter without meaning he may never speak in a meeting.
Chapters 12 to 14 were given to silence boasting over spiritual gifts. They teach that the gifts of the Spirit are of highest value, pictured by pounds and talents rather than inferior coins, so that even the lowest gift is of inestimable value when used rightly and a weighty cross when divinely given opportunity is slighted, and that knowing the gifts come from God must lead to thinking soberly and not more highly of self than ought rather than to exalting self. On the view held by some, the chapter deals not with ordinary regular public worship but with church courts for discussion and debate on church matters and for election of church officers. Those Corinthian meetings in view were like the council in Acts 15 where there was much disputing, where speakers were to speak by two, or at most by three, and in turn to keep two or three or a dozen men from speaking at once, and where prophets were to speak two or three while the others judged their qualifications to make selections.
Rule for Orderly Worship
When there is no interpreter present, one who would speak in a tongue must keep silence in the church and speak only to himself and to God. A spiritual tongue is an intelligible human language even when the hearers do not understand it, so without interpretation the message cannot be communicated to the congregation. This silence is part of keeping the meeting orderly, correcting irregular conduct and meaningless noises by requiring that spiritual expression be understandable. Speakers must take turns and speak one at a time, stopping when another is to speak, so that all things build up the church and are done decently and without confusion.
The reason for the rule is edification and order, since speech that cannot edify the congregation must give way to silence. Tongues do not edify the church unless someone interprets and makes the meaning clear, while prophecy, or speaking for God, builds up the church and is therefore more important. Speaking or praying in an unknown tongue in the public congregation when there is no interpreter is forbidden, because those listening do not understand what is said and are not edified. Public prayer and worship, where believers and unbelievers come together to listen and learn, must be intelligible and done to edification, which shows that audible public prayer belongs to public worship. For the same reason public worship should not be conducted in a language the congregation cannot understand.
The need for an interpreter when no one present understands shows the gift was not limited to preaching the gospel in other languages, since tongues could be spoken when no one present understood them. It is for special occasions when one who burns to reveal God's love meets another who does not use the same language, and there is no reason to exercise it when speaker and audience understand the same language. The gift may rest on a single earnest hearer in an audience who desires to know God's message of love but does not know the minister's language, so that hearer understands all that is said, and that alone is enough to reach that case. The Spirit also gives special help for quickly learning a foreign language when desired solely for the glory of God, remaining ready at all times to give power to disseminate light concerning the kingdom of Christ, and the gifts of the Spirit in all manifestations are to be cherished.
Tongues without interpretation do not edify the church, while prophecy edifies, exhorts, and comforts and is therefore the best of all spiritual gifts because of its purpose and use. Spiritual gifts including prophecy were exercised in the church during this dispensation and were not abolished, but remain among God's provisions for ministry, unity, and the perfecting of the saints. Their exercise is to be expected in the closing work that develops a people who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The church has authority and responsibility to regulate the use of spiritual gifts, which are entrusted for its benefit, requiring order and silence without an interpreter. Pouring forth words unintelligible to anyone in public and claiming it is the gift of tongues is an abuse forbidden by that requirement, and the same abuse made at Corinth is made now, while sensational shouting, crying, and like manifestations of the tongue-speaking movement are unscriptural.
Bearing on Women Speaking
An instruction to keep silence in the church can be limited to a particular kind of speech rather than requiring complete silence, and this verse is the case where even men were to be silent because it was improper for them to speak. It does not mean a man may never speak in a meeting, but that his speech is restricted in that circumstance when there is no interpreter. The silence is limited to speech that cannot be understood by the congregation or that is out of order and causes confusion, and it does not forbid speaking, praying, singing, or exhorting in a language the people understand. Participation is therefore governed by order and submission rather than by a blanket ban on speaking, and the silence required of women concerns speech that is out of order and causes confusion, not every kind of public participation.
The requirement to remain silent without an interpreter and to speak only to oneself and to God corrects disorder caused by exercising or claiming supernatural gifts without interpretation, with only one person to speak at a time. It addresses confusion in the assemblies and does not by itself forbid women from speaking in orderly religious meetings generally. The command to keep silence applies only to unbecoming and disorderly conduct such as contradicting, altercating, disputing doctrine, usurping authority, and several talking at the same time in confusion, while the permission for the whole church assembled together to speak and prophesy includes women as well as men and requires all to speak in a becoming way one by one in order. The command means a temporary holding of peace while others speak in order to end confusion and restore peace, not permanent speechlessness, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace. The brethren were commanded to hold their peace because they were out of order through impatience to speak and interrupting one another in discourse causing hard feeling and confusion, just as the women were commanded to keep silence because they had added to the disorder, and the instructions about silence do not forbid women from praying or prophesying in church, since prophecy may edify, exhort, and comfort the congregation.
On the view that holds these to be rules for church courts rather than for ordinary regular public worship, the silence commands belong to a different subject from 1 Corinthians 11, which authorizes female preaching, so they cannot forbid it. The meetings in view were gatherings for discussion and debate on church matters and for election of church officers, like the council in Acts 15 where there was much disputing. Speakers were to speak by two, or at most by three, and in turn, to keep two or three or a dozen men from speaking at once, and prophets were to speak two or three while the others judged their qualifications to make selections. The command to keep silence, including the command for women to be silent and ask their husbands at home, was given to prevent much discussion and confusion in those church courts, and does not bar women from preaching in regular religious service.
If there is no interpreter present, one who would speak in a tongue must keep silence in the congregation and speak only to himself and to God. This is required for edification and order, so that all things are done to build up the church decently and without confusion, with speakers taking turns one at a time. Public prayer and worship must therefore be intelligible to believers and unbelievers who come to listen and learn, and not in a language the congregation cannot understand. The silence commanded is limited to speech that cannot be understood or is out of order, not a permanent speechlessness nor a blanket ban on speaking, praying, singing, or exhorting in a known tongue. The church has authority to restrain the abuse of pouring forth unintelligible words as the gift of tongues, for prophecy that edifies, exhorts, and comforts is greater and remains for the ministry and perfecting of the saints.
Context and Language
The verse belongs to Paul's discussion of spiritual gifts and love across 1 Corinthians 12-14, and separating those chapters can obscure the connection between seeking spiritual gifts and the more excellent way of love. The chapter was directed against evils and irregular conduct in the Corinthian church that needed correction. The brethren there were impatient to speak and interrupted one another in discourse, causing hard feeling and confusion.
The directions for using tongues to edification were written to the Corinthians after their amazing conversion from gross immoralities when they abounded in spiritual or miraculous gifts. Their handing the epistles down to posterity as a sacred treasure shows the gospel was not forged, since they would not have treasured instructions about things they never knew. A spiritual tongue is an intelligible human language even when the hearers do not understand it, so speaking without interpretation cannot communicate the message to the congregation.
God placed the gift of tongues in one person and the gift of interpretation in another, rather than having the tongue-speaker interpret for himself, because it would not be reasonable or edifying for one speaking in an unknown tongue to interpret his own words. This belongs to God placing differing gifts in His church to meet its changing experiences, just as foot, hand, ear, and eye are all needed for a complete, well-balanced human body to act without hindrance, so the church as Christ's body needs its corresponding parts to fulfill its earthly mission. The command to keep silence or hold peace means to be quiet while others are speaking in order to end confusion and restore peace, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace. It commands a temporary silence restricted to that circumstance, not permanent speechlessness, so a man speaking in an unknown tongue must keep silent in the church when there is no interpreter without meaning he may never speak in a meeting.
Chapters 12 to 14 were given to silence boasting over spiritual gifts. They teach that the gifts of the Spirit are of highest value, pictured by pounds and talents rather than inferior coins, so that even the lowest gift is of inestimable value when used rightly and a weighty cross when divinely given opportunity is slighted, and that knowing the gifts come from God must lead to thinking soberly and not more highly of self than ought rather than to exalting self. On the view held by some, the chapter deals not with ordinary regular public worship but with church courts for discussion and debate on church matters and for election of church officers. Those Corinthian meetings in view were like the council in Acts 15 where there was much disputing, where speakers were to speak by two, or at most by three, and in turn to keep two or three or a dozen men from speaking at once, and where prophets were to speak two or three while the others judged their qualifications to make selections.
Rule for Orderly Worship
When there is no interpreter present, one who would speak in a tongue must keep silence in the church and speak only to himself and to God. A spiritual tongue is an intelligible human language even when the hearers do not understand it, so without interpretation the message cannot be communicated to the congregation. This silence is part of keeping the meeting orderly, correcting irregular conduct and meaningless noises by requiring that spiritual expression be understandable. Speakers must take turns and speak one at a time, stopping when another is to speak, so that all things build up the church and are done decently and without confusion.
The reason for the rule is edification and order, since speech that cannot edify the congregation must give way to silence. Tongues do not edify the church unless someone interprets and makes the meaning clear, while prophecy, or speaking for God, builds up the church and is therefore more important. Speaking or praying in an unknown tongue in the public congregation when there is no interpreter is forbidden, because those listening do not understand what is said and are not edified. Public prayer and worship, where believers and unbelievers come together to listen and learn, must be intelligible and done to edification, which shows that audible public prayer belongs to public worship. For the same reason public worship should not be conducted in a language the congregation cannot understand.
The need for an interpreter when no one present understands shows the gift was not limited to preaching the gospel in other languages, since tongues could be spoken when no one present understood them. It is for special occasions when one who burns to reveal God's love meets another who does not use the same language, and there is no reason to exercise it when speaker and audience understand the same language. The gift may rest on a single earnest hearer in an audience who desires to know God's message of love but does not know the minister's language, so that hearer understands all that is said, and that alone is enough to reach that case. The Spirit also gives special help for quickly learning a foreign language when desired solely for the glory of God, remaining ready at all times to give power to disseminate light concerning the kingdom of Christ, and the gifts of the Spirit in all manifestations are to be cherished.
Tongues without interpretation do not edify the church, while prophecy edifies, exhorts, and comforts and is therefore the best of all spiritual gifts because of its purpose and use. Spiritual gifts including prophecy were exercised in the church during this dispensation and were not abolished, but remain among God's provisions for ministry, unity, and the perfecting of the saints. Their exercise is to be expected in the closing work that develops a people who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The church has authority and responsibility to regulate the use of spiritual gifts, which are entrusted for its benefit, requiring order and silence without an interpreter. Pouring forth words unintelligible to anyone in public and claiming it is the gift of tongues is an abuse forbidden by that requirement, and the same abuse made at Corinth is made now, while sensational shouting, crying, and like manifestations of the tongue-speaking movement are unscriptural.
Bearing on Women Speaking
An instruction to keep silence in the church can be limited to a particular kind of speech rather than requiring complete silence, and this verse is the case where even men were to be silent because it was improper for them to speak. It does not mean a man may never speak in a meeting, but that his speech is restricted in that circumstance when there is no interpreter. The silence is limited to speech that cannot be understood by the congregation or that is out of order and causes confusion, and it does not forbid speaking, praying, singing, or exhorting in a language the people understand. Participation is therefore governed by order and submission rather than by a blanket ban on speaking, and the silence required of women concerns speech that is out of order and causes confusion, not every kind of public participation.
The requirement to remain silent without an interpreter and to speak only to oneself and to God corrects disorder caused by exercising or claiming supernatural gifts without interpretation, with only one person to speak at a time. It addresses confusion in the assemblies and does not by itself forbid women from speaking in orderly religious meetings generally. The command to keep silence applies only to unbecoming and disorderly conduct such as contradicting, altercating, disputing doctrine, usurping authority, and several talking at the same time in confusion, while the permission for the whole church assembled together to speak and prophesy includes women as well as men and requires all to speak in a becoming way one by one in order. The command means a temporary holding of peace while others speak in order to end confusion and restore peace, not permanent speechlessness, for God is not the author of confusion but of peace. The brethren were commanded to hold their peace because they were out of order through impatience to speak and interrupting one another in discourse causing hard feeling and confusion, just as the women were commanded to keep silence because they had added to the disorder, and the instructions about silence do not forbid women from praying or prophesying in church, since prophecy may edify, exhort, and comfort the congregation.
On the view that holds these to be rules for church courts rather than for ordinary regular public worship, the silence commands belong to a different subject from 1 Corinthians 11, which authorizes female preaching, so they cannot forbid it. The meetings in view were gatherings for discussion and debate on church matters and for election of church officers, like the council in Acts 15 where there was much disputing. Speakers were to speak by two, or at most by three, and in turn, to keep two or three or a dozen men from speaking at once, and prophets were to speak two or three while the others judged their qualifications to make selections. The command to keep silence, including the command for women to be silent and ask their husbands at home, was given to prevent much discussion and confusion in those church courts, and does not bar women from preaching in regular religious service.