1 Corinthians 14:15
What does 1 Corinthians 14:15 mean?
A plain-English look at 1 Corinthians 14:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What 1 Corinthians 14:15 means
Paul chooses a balanced course: he will pray and sing with spiritual fervor, and also with understanding. True worship is not mere emotion or bare intellect; it is the whole person responding to God. In the church, that means offering expressions that others can grasp and join. The aim is shared praise and united intercession, not private ecstasy performed in public. By declaring this resolve, Paul models the kind of self-governing love that seeks the neighbor’s good. He shows that zeal and clarity are not enemies. The Spirit who warms the heart also enlightens the mind, enabling worship that is both heartfelt and edifying to the gathered body.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
KJV
King James Version · 1611What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949What then? let my prayer be from the spirit, and equally from the mind; let my song be from the spirit, and equally from mind.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862What then is it? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray also with the understanding; I will sing psalms with the spirit, and I will sing psalms also with the understanding;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, I will pray also with the understanding, I will sing with the spirit, I will sing also with the understanding.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray also with the understanding; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing also with the understanding.
Context
This verse answers the tension raised in verse 14 by proposing a both-and approach: engage spirit and understanding. It advances Paul’s insistence that corporate worship must be intelligible to edify. The next verses will apply this practically to the congregation’s ability to participate—particularly the shared “Amen” to prayers of thanksgiving. This continues the theme that love shapes not only what is said, but how it is said, aiming for the fullest participation and benefit of all members present. The pathway leads directly to Paul’s personal example and his numerical comparison favoring few clear words over many unintelligible ones in church.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say to these things? If Godisfor us, whoisagainst us?
- Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.
- 1 Corinthians 10:19
What say I then? that a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
- John 4:23
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers.
- Psalms 47:7
For God is the King of all the earth: Sing ye praises with understanding.
- 1 Corinthians 14:19
howbeit in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might instruct others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
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