Verse Lens · Context pointer
1 Corinthians 14:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
This verse asks how an uninstructed hearer can affirm an unintelligible blessing.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 14:6–19
Read 1 Corinthians 14:16 with 14:6–19. This verse asks how an uninstructed hearer can affirm an unintelligible blessing. 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 It Needs Context
The complete movement in 1 Corinthians 14:6–19 supplies the report, reply, qualification, speaker, or conclusion that gives this line its force; isolated teaching would detach it from those controls.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Corinthians 14:6–19 — Public Worship Requires Spirit and UnderstandingSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
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 ↗