1 Corinthians 14:21-22
What is written? (ESV)
In the Law it is written, 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. Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers.
What does it say?
In the Law [of Moses] it is written that God will speak to this people through foreigners with an unfamiliar language, and even then they still will not listen. As a result, speaking in tongues is a sign intended for unbelievers, not for believers, while [the gift of] prophecy is the opposite.
What is its immediate context?
Beginning in chapter 12 and through this chapter 14, he is addressing speaking in tongues and mostly comparing/contrasting this gift of the Spirit and its appropriate use with the gift of prophesying. In particular, they were using miraculous gifts of tongues improperly (with no interpreter – vs 27). Since there was no interpreter, it was not useful for the “building up” of the church (vs 5), therefore it wasn’t to be done (without an interpreter). Here he quotes Isaiah 28:11 and the later part of 28:12 (which is a similar thought to what Moses said in Deuteronomy 28:49). In both cases, the respective contexts are talking about the judgment/captivity of the people.
How 1 Corinthians 14:21-22 is applied across Bible answers
What is the gift of tongues?
Speaking in tongues is a miraculous sign intended for unbelievers. Specifically, being able to communicate God's word to someone with whom you otherwise could not communicate due to a language barrier.
