The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 14:21 Explained

1 Corinthians 14:21

KJV: In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

YLT: in the law it hath been written, that, 'With other tongues and with other lips I will speak to this people, and not even so will they hear Me, saith the Lord;'

Darby: It is written in the law, By people of other tongues, and by strange lips, will I speak to this people; and neither thus will they hear me, saith the Lord.

ASV: In the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak unto this people; and not even thus will they hear me, saith the Lord.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

In  the law  it is written,  With  [men of] other tongues  and  other  lips  will I speak  unto this  people;  and  yet for all  that will they  not  hear  me,  saith  the Lord. 

What does 1 Corinthians 14:21 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The "Law" refers to the Old Testament here since the passage Paul cited is Isaiah 28:11-12 (cf. Deuteronomy 28:49; Isaiah 29:10-12; Isaiah 30:9-11; Isaiah 33:19). The context of this passage is the Israelites" refusal to accept Isaiah"s warnings concerning the coming Assyrian invasion. God said because they refused to listen to the prophet"s words He would "teach" them by using their foreign-speaking invading enemy. Nevertheless even then, God said, they would not repent. Isaiah preached repentance to the Israelites in their own language, but they did not repent. Then God brought the invading Assyrians into Israel. Still His people did not repent even though God "spoke" to them of their need to repent by allowing them to hear the foreign language of this enemy.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 14:13-25 - Understanding Promotes Edifying
The Apostle here gives two practical directions, in order to restore the rule of the understanding above the babble of incoherent sounds, which was confusing the Corinthian church.
The first was that worship should be conducted in a form that the assembled congregation could understand. To utter prayer or thanksgiving to which the audience could give no assent; to utter sounds which were meaningless, was inconsistent with the true nature of Christian worship. It was therefore from this chapter that the Reformers drew their arguments against the practice of conducting the services of the Church in Latin. The second was that instruction was a most necessary part of worship, 1 Corinthians 14:19.
The effect of prophesying, that is, preaching, is set forth very forcibly and beautifully in the closing verses of our reading. We must always have in mind the unbelieving and the unlearned. If he hears the solemn voice of God speaking through human lips to his conscience, stirring its depths, moving it to repentance and faith, he will bear speedy testimony to the truth of what he has heard. We must seek to have in our assemblies the convincing power of God's Word, accompanied by the corroborating witness of the unhindered Spirit. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 14

1  Prophecy is commended,
2  and preferred before speaking in tongues,
6  by a comparison drawn from musical instruments
12  Both must be referred to edification,
22  as to their true and proper end
26  The true use of each is taught,
27  and the abuse rebuked
34  Women in the churches

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 14:21

In the law it is written [εν τωι νομωι γεγραπται]
Isaiah 28:11. Freely quoted. [source]
It is written, etc. []
From Isaiah 28:11, Isaiah 28:12. The quotation does not correspond exactly either to the Hebrew or to the Septuagint. Heb., with stammerings of lip. Sept., By reason of contemptuous words of lips. Paul omits the Heb.: This is the rest, give ye rest to the weary, and this is the repose. Sept.: This is the rest to him who is hungry, and this is the ruin. The point of the quotation is that speech in strange tongues was a chastisement for the unbelief of God's ancient people, by which they were made to hear His voice “speaking in the harsh commands of the foreign invader.” So in the Corinthian Church, the intelligible revelation of God has not been properly received. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 14:21

John 10:34 Law [νόμῳ]
The word is sometimes used in the New Testament of other scriptures. See John 12:34; John 15:25; Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21. [source]
John 10:34 Is it not written? [ουκ εστιν γεγραμμενον]
Periphrastic perfect passive indicative of γραπω — graphō (as in John 2:17) in place of the usual γεγραπται — gegraptai “Does it not stand written?” In your law From Psalm 82:6. The term νομος — nomos (law) applying here to the entire O.T. as in John 12:34; John 15:25; Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21. Aleph D Syr-sin. omit υμων — humōn but needlessly. We have it already so from Jesus in John 8:17. They posed as the special custodians of the O.T. I said Recitative οτι — hoti before a direct quotation like our quotation marks. Ειπα — Eipa is a late second aorist form of indicative with -α — a instead of -ον — on Ye are gods Another direct quotation after ειπα — eipa but without οτι — hoti The judges of Israel abused their office and God is represented in Psalm 82:6 as calling them “gods” (τεοι — theoi elohim) because they were God‘s representatives. See the same use of elohim in Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:9, Exodus 22:28. Jesus meets the rabbis on their own ground in a thoroughly Jewish way. [source]
Galatians 4:21 The law [τὸν νόμον]
In a different sense, referring to the O.T. For a similar double sense see Romans 3:19. For νόμος as a designation of the O.T. generally, see 1 Corinthians 14:21; John 10:24; John 11:34; John 15:25. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 14:21 mean?

In the law it has been written - By other tongues and lips other I will speak to the people this not even thus will they hear Me says [the] Lord
ἐν τῷ νόμῳ γέγραπται ὅτι Ἐν ἑτερογλώσσοις καὶ χείλεσιν ἑτέρων λαλήσω τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ οὐδ’ οὕτως εἰσακούσονταί μου λέγει Κύριος

νόμῳ  law 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: νόμος  
Sense: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command.
γέγραπται  it  has  been  written 
Parse: Verb, Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: γράφω 
Sense: to write, with reference to the form of the letters.
ὅτι  - 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
ἑτερογλώσσοις  other  tongues 
Parse: Adjective, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ἑτερόγλωσσος  
Sense: one who speaks a foreign language.
χείλεσιν  lips 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Plural
Root: χεῖλος  
Sense: a lip, of the speaking mouth.
ἑτέρων  other 
Parse: Adjective, Genitive Masculine Plural
Root: ἀλλοιόω 
Sense: the other, another, other.
λαλήσω  I  will  speak 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
τῷ  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
λαῷ  people 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: λαός  
Sense: a people, people group, tribe, nation, all those who are of the same stock and language.
τούτῳ  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
οὐδ’  not  even 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὐδέ  
Sense: but not, neither, nor, not even.
οὕτως  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: οὕτως  
Sense: in this manner, thus, so.
εἰσακούσονταί  will  they  hear 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Plural
Root: εἰσακούω  
Sense: to give heed to, comply with admonition, to obey.
μου  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
λέγει  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Κύριος  [the]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Corinthians 14:21?

Loading Information...