1 Corinthians 14 - 2 Corinthians 4

English Standard Version

Prophecy and Tongues

14 ^(A)Pursue love, and ^(B)earnestly desire the ^(C)spiritual gifts, especially that you may ^(D)prophesy. ² For ^(E)one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³ On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴ The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵ Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but ^(F)even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶ Now, brothers,^[a] if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some ^(G)revelation or knowledge or prophecy or ^(H)teaching? ⁷ If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸ And ^(I)if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be ^(J)speaking into the air. ¹⁰ There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, ¹¹ but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be ^(K)a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹² So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

¹³ Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; ^(L)I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will ^(M)sing with my mind also. ¹⁶ Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider^[b] say ^(N)“Amen” to ^(O)your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷ For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. ¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰ Brothers, ^(P)do not be children in your thinking. ^(Q)Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be ^(R)mature. ^21 (S)In the Law it is written, ^(T)“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” ²² Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign^[c] not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³ If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, ^(U)will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ^25 (V)the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, ^(W)falling on his face, he will worship God and ^(X)declare that God is really among you.

Orderly Worship

²⁶ What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has ^(Y)a hymn, ^(Z)a lesson, ^(AA)a revelation, ^(AB)a tongue, or ^(AC)an interpretation. ^(AD)Let all things be done for building up. ²⁷ If any speak in ^(AE)a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others ^(AF)weigh what is said. ³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, ^(AG)let the first be silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³² and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³ For God is not a God of ^(AH)confusion but of peace.

As in ^(AI)all the churches of the saints, ^34 (AJ)the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but ^(AK)should be in submission, as ^(AL)the Law also says. ³⁵ If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶ Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? ^37 (AM)If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. ³⁸ If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ³⁹ So, my brothers, ^(AN)earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ^40 (AO)But all things should be done decently and ^(AP)in order.

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I would remind you, brothers,^[d] of the gospel ^(AQ)I preached to you, which you received, ^(AR)in which you stand, ² and by which ^(AS)you are being saved, if you ^(AT)hold fast to the word I preached to you—^(AU)unless you believed in vain.

³ For ^(AV)I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^(AW)for our sins ^(AX)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised ^(AY)on the third day ^(AZ)in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵ and that ^(BA)he appeared to Cephas, then ^(BB)to the twelve. ⁶ Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to ^(BC)James, then ^(BD)to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^(BE)he appeared also to me. ⁹ For ^(BF)I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^(BG)I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, ^(BH)I worked harder than any of them, ^(BI)though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹ Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹² Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^(BJ)how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^(BK)then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵ We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^(BL)he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and ^(BM)you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who ^(BN)have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in Christ we have hope^[e] in this life only, ^(BO)we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰ But in fact ^(BP)Christ has been raised from the dead, ^(BQ)the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as ^(BR)by a man came death, ^(BS)by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For ^(BT)as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^(BU)at his coming ^(BV)those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers ^(BW)the kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^(BX)every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign ^(BY)until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be ^(BZ)destroyed is death. ²⁷ For ^(CA)“God^[f] has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸ When ^(CB)all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^(CC)God may be all in all.

²⁹ Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰ Why are we ^(CD)in danger every hour? ³¹ I protest, brothers, by ^(CE)my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^(CF)I die every day! ³² What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^(CG)I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^(CH)“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ^33 (CI)Do not be deceived: ^(CJ)“Bad company ruins good morals.”^{[g] 34 (CK)}Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^(CL)some have no knowledge of God. ^(CM)I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵ But someone will ask, ^(CN)“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶ You foolish person! ^(CO)What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸ But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹ For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

^42 (CP)So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; ^(CQ)it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ Thus it is written, ^(CR)“The first man Adam became a living being”;^{[h] (CS)}the last Adam became a ^(CT)life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ^47 (CU)The first man was from the earth, ^(CV)a man of dust; ^(CW)the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ^(CX)so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ Just ^(CY)as we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^(CZ)we shall^[i] also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: ^(DA)flesh and blood ^(DB)cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^(DC)We shall not all sleep, ^(DD)but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^(DE)the trumpet will sound, and ^(DF)the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^(DG)this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and ^(DJ)the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, ^(DK)who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

^58 (DL)Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^(DM)the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^(DN)your labor is not in vain.

The Collection for the Saints

16 Now concerning^{[j] (DO)}the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ² On ^(DP)the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^(DQ)as he may prosper, ^(DR)so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³ And when I arrive, I will send ^(DS)those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

^5 (DT)I will visit you after passing through ^(DU)Macedonia, for ^(DV)I intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(DW)help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now ^(DX)just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, ^(DY)if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay in Ephesus until ^(DZ)Pentecost, ⁹ for ^(EA)a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^(EB)there are many adversaries.

^10 (EC)When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for ^(ED)he is doing ^(EE)the work of the Lord, as I am. ¹¹ So ^(EF)let no one despise him. ^(EG)Help him on his way ^(EH)in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

¹² Now concerning ^(EI)our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will^[k] to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

^13 (EJ)Be watchful, ^(EK)stand firm in the faith, ^(EL)act like men, ^(EM)be strong. ^14 (EN)Let all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers^[l]—you know that ^(EO)the household^[m] of Stephanas were ^(EP)the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves ^(EQ)to the service of the saints— ^16 (ER)be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. ¹⁷ I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for ^(ES)your absence, ¹⁸ for they ^(ET)refreshed my spirit as well as yours. ^(EU)Give recognition to such people.

Greetings

¹⁹ The churches of Asia send you greetings. ^(EV)Aquila and Prisca, together with ^(EW)the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. ²⁰ All the brothers send you greetings. ^(EX)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ I, Paul, write ^(EY)this greeting with my own hand. ²² If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be ^(EZ)accursed. Our Lord, come!^{[n] 23 (FA)}The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(FB)an apostle of Christ Jesus ^(FC)by the will of God, and ^(FD)Timothy our brother,

To the church of God that is at Corinth, ^(FE)with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:

^2 (FF)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God of All Comfort

^3 (FG)Blessed be the ^(FH)God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^(FI)God of all comfort, ^4 (FJ)who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For as we share abundantly in ^(FK)Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.^{[o] 6 (FL)}If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you ^(FM)share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

⁸ For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,^[p] of ^(FN)the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us ^(FO)rely not on ourselves ^(FP)but on God ^(FQ)who raises the dead. ^10 (FR)He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. ^(FS)On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. ^11 (FT)You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf ^(FU)for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Paul's Change of Plans

¹² For our boast is this, ^(FV)the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity^[q] and ^(FW)godly sincerity, ^(FX)not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. ¹³ For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— ¹⁴ just as you did ^(FY)partially understand us—that ^(FZ)on the day of our Lord Jesus ^(GA)you will boast of us as ^(GB)we will boast of you.

¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, ^(GC)I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have ^(GD)a second ^(GE)experience of grace. ¹⁶ I wanted to visit you ^(GF)on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans ^(GG)according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? ¹⁸ As surely as ^(GH)God is faithful, ^(GI)our word to you has not been Yes and No. ¹⁹ For ^(GJ)the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, ^(GK)Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but ^(GL)in him it is always Yes. ²⁰ For ^(GM)all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our ^(GN)Amen to God for his glory. ²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and ^(GO)has anointed us, ²² and who has also ^(GP)put his seal on us and ^(GQ)given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.^[r]

²³ But ^(GR)I call God to witness against me—it was ^(GS)to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we ^(GT)lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm ^(GU)in your faith.

2 For I made up my mind ^(GV)not to make another painful visit to you. ² For ^(GW)if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? ³ And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, ^(GX)for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. ⁴ For ^(GY)I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Forgive the Sinner

⁵ Now ^(GZ)if anyone has caused pain, ^(HA)he has caused it not to me, but ^(HB)in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. ⁶ For such a one, ^(HC)this punishment by the majority is enough, ⁷ so ^(HD)you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸ So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. ⁹ For this is why I wrote, that I might ^(HE)test you and know ^(HF)whether you are obedient in everything. ¹⁰ Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, ¹¹ so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for ^(HG)we are not ignorant of his designs.

Triumph in Christ

¹² When ^(HH)I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though ^(HI)a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit ^(HJ)was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But ^(HK)thanks be to God, who in Christ always ^(HL)leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads ^(HM)the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among ^(HN)those who are being saved and among ^(HO)those who are perishing, ^16 (HP)to one a fragrance from death to death, ^(HQ)to the other a fragrance from life to life. ^(HR)Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Ministers of the New Covenant

3 ^(HS)Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^(HT)as some do, ^(HU)letters of recommendation to you, or from you? ^2 (HV)You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our^[s] hearts, to be known and read by all. ³ And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^(HW)the living God, not on ^(HX)tablets of stone but on ^(HY)tablets of ^(HZ)human hearts.^[t]

^4 (IA)Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ^5 (IB)Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^(IC)our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ^(ID)ministers of ^(IE)a new covenant, not of ^(IF)the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^(IG)the Spirit gives life.

⁷ Now if ^(IH)the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory ^(II)that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, ⁸ will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? ⁹ For if there was glory in ^(IJ)the ministry of condemnation, ^(IK)the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. ¹⁰ Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹ For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

¹² Since we have such a hope, ^(IL)we are very bold, ¹³ not like Moses, ^(IM)who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴ But ^(IN)their minds were ^(IO)hardened. For to this day, ^(IP)when they read ^(IQ)the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶ But when ^(IR)one^[u] turns to the Lord, ^(IS)the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord^[v] is the Spirit, and where ^(IT)the Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^(IU)freedom. ¹⁸ And we all, with unveiled face, ^(IV)beholding ^(IW)the glory of the Lord,^{[w] (IX)}are being transformed into the same image ^(IY)from one degree of glory to another.^[x] For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(IZ)this ministry ^(JA)by the mercy of God,^[y] we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced ^(JB)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[z] cunning or ^(JC)to tamper with God's word, but ^(JD)by the open statement of the truth ^(JE)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even ^(JF)if our gospel is veiled, ^(JG)it is veiled to ^(JH)those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case ^(JI)the god of this world ^(JJ)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(JK)the light of ^(JL)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(JM)who is the image of God. ⁵ For what ^(JN)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(JO)ourselves as your servants^[aa] for Jesus' sake. ⁶ For God, who said, ^(JP)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(JQ)has shone in our hearts to give ^(JR)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷ But we have this treasure in ^(JS)jars of clay, ^(JT)to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are ^(JU)afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but ^(JV)not forsaken; ^(JW)struck down, but not destroyed; ^10 (JX)always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^(JY)so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So ^(JZ)death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³ Since we have ^(KA)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(KB)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴ knowing that ^(KC)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(KD)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(KE)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵ For ^(KF)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(KG)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(KH)to the glory of God.

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. ^(KI)Though our outer self^[ab] is wasting away, ^(KJ)our inner self ^(KK)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For ^(KL)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ^18 (KM)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.