Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 14:13 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 13. 13Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 14:6–19
Read 1 Corinthians 14:13 with 14:6–19. This verse tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation. The complete unit establishes: Paul uses speech, music, battle signal, world languages, prayer, singing, and congregational Amen to show that public gifts must be intelligible; he will engage both spirit and mind and prefers five understandable teaching words to ten thousand words others cannot understand.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The extended analogies make accessibility and shared understanding nonnegotiable rather than optional preferences. At 14:13, this verse tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation.
Follow the Context
- Even Paul's visit would not benefit without intelligible content.
- Pipe, harp, and trumpet require distinct sound.
- Speech into the air fails communication.
- Every language has meaning, but unknown meaning creates foreignness.
- Gift zeal should excel in building others.
- Tongue-prayer should seek interpretation.
- Spirit and mind belong together in prayer and song.
- The uninstructed person needs understanding to say Amen.
- Paul values tongues yet prefers a few understandable teaching words publicly.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he”
In plain language: This verse tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation.
It contributes specifically to Public Worship Requires Spirit and Understanding inside 1 Corinthians 14:6–19.
Why it matters: The verse carries enough interpretive or pastoral weight to require the full unit and its explicit limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Corinthians 14:13 does not turn the fact that it tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation into a standalone universal rule. The uninstructed person must not be mocked or excluded; accessibility is the speaker's responsibility.
What Remains True
This verse tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation. This supports the unit's enduring conclusion: Public worship honors people when meaning is accessible enough for shared understanding and assent.
How It Can Shape Life
- Use 1 Corinthians 14:13 by attending to its actual contribution: it tells a tongue-speaker to pray for interpretation. In the complete unit, this leads to the following response: Use translation, interpretation, plain language, captioning, accessible formats, and pauses for consent and questions.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 14:13's contribution to 1 Corinthians 14:6–19. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Corinthians 14:6–19 — Public Worship Requires Spirit and UnderstandingSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Whether the speaker understands the tongue and how interpretation functions are debated. Paul clearly requires public comprehensibility and shared assent.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Corinthians 14:6–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Cor.txt, 14:6–19
Open the 1 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Corinthians 14:6–19 print view with translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Corinthians PDFLexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository morphology and lexical records for 1 Corinthians 14:6–19
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Corinthians
Eric C. Redmond
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter movement, Corinthian setting, bibliography, major alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Redmond, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, introduction and section on 14:6–19
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access rhetorical article
Desire Spiritual Gifts That Edify: A Text-Generated Persuasion of 1 Corinthians 14:1-40
T. J. Kukuni
Verbum et Ecclesia 46(1), a3339, 2025
Supports: Trinitarian gift language, distributed agency, common good, and lexical analysis.
Exact location: Kukuni, 'An exegetical analysis of 1 Corinthians 12:4-11,' Verbum et Ecclesia 46.1 (2025), complete article, especially pp. 4–7
Open source ↗