Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 14:5 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 5. 5I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues.
Pursue love, then prefer speech the whole church can use.
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Corinthians 14:1–5. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 14:1–5
Read 1 Corinthians 14:5 with 14:1–5. This verse prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues. The complete unit establishes: Paul commands the church to pursue love and desire spiritual manifestations, especially prophecy, because intelligible speech strengthens, encourages, and comforts others; tongues are not banned, but without interpretation they do not give the gathered church the same benefit.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The opening establishes the controlling comparison: gifts are evaluated by intelligible benefit to others rather than private experience or prestige. At 14:5, this verse prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues.
Follow the Context
- Love remains the pursuit while gifts are desired.
- Uninterpreted tongues address God but remain unintelligible to hearers.
- Prophecy strengthens, encourages, and comforts people.
- The self/church contrast identifies the public purpose.
- Paul values tongues but prefers prophecy unless interpretation gives the church benefit.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye”
In plain language: This verse prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues.
It contributes specifically to Love Prefers Intelligible Speech That Builds Others inside 1 Corinthians 14:1–5.
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 14:5 does not turn the fact that it prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues into a standalone universal rule. Tongues do not prove conversion, Spirit baptism, maturity, or superior status.
What Remains True
This verse prefers interpreted, church-building speech without despising tongues. This supports the unit's enduring conclusion: Love makes intelligible benefit to others the measure of public spiritual speech.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 14:5's contribution to 1 Corinthians 14:1–5. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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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 14:1–5 — Love Prefers Intelligible Speech That Builds OthersSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The nature of tongues and prophecy and their present continuation divide traditions. Paul positively values both while ranking intelligible communal benefit in this setting.
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 14:1–5, 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, 14:1–5
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 14:1–5 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 14:1–5
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 14:1–5
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 ↗