📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 14:27
What does 1 Corinthians 14:27 mean?
"If any man speaks in another language, let it be two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let one interpret."
— 1 Corinthians 14:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
But if all prophesy, and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he is judged by all.
And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. So he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.
What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up.
If any man speaks in another language, let it be two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let one interpret.
But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the assembly, and let him speak to himself, and to God.
Let the prophets speak, two or three, and let the others discern.
But if a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first keep silent.
Explanation
1 Corinthians 14:27 gives a practical instruction for regulating the use of tongues during Christian worship gatherings. In plain language, Paul is saying that if someone is going to speak in a tongue (an unlearned or unknown language given by the Spirit), no more than two or three people should do so in a given meeting, they should take turns rather than all speaking at once, and someone must interpret what is being said so the whole gathering can understand and benefit from it.
The context is Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, a congregation he had founded but which had fallen into disorder and division. Chapters 12 through 14 address spiritual gifts, and chapter 14 specifically compares the gift of tongues with the gift of prophecy. The Corinthian believers apparently prized tongues highly and were using the gift in a chaotic way during worship — many speaking at once, without interpretation, leaving outsiders and even believers confused (14:23). Paul writes to correct this, not to forbid tongues altogether (he explicitly says "do not forbid speaking in tongues," 14:39), but to insist that everything done in worship must build up the church, not create confusion.
Theologically, this verse reflects Paul's broader principle stated just a few verses later: "God is not a God of confusion, but of peace" (14:33), and "let all things be done decently and in order" (14:40). Spiritual gifts, however genuine and Spirit-given, are not ends in themselves; they exist to edify the body of Christ (14:12, 26). A gift exercised without love, order, or
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