New English Translation
1 Corinthians 14:15
15What should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will also sing praises with my mind.
1 Corinthians 14:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)What 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.
- New International Version (NIV)So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.
- English Standard Version (ESV)What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
- New King James Version (NKJV)What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.
Context of 1 Corinthians 14:15
13So then, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. What should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will also sing praises with my mind. 16Otherwise, if you are praising God with your spirit, how can someone without the gift say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17For you are certainly giving thanks well, but the other person is not strengthened.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 141 Corinthians 14:15 word by word
τί οὖν ἐστιν; προσεύξομαι τῷ πνεύματι, προσεύξομαι δὲ καὶ τῷ νοΐ· ψαλῶ τῷ πνεύματι, ψαλῶ δὲ καὶ τῷ νοΐ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whatτίςtis · which?G5101
- is itεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- thenοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
- I will prayπροσεύχομαιproseuchomai · to prayG4336
- with the spiritὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- with the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- andδέde · thenG1161
- with the understandingνοῦςnous · mindG3563
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
- I will singψάλλωpsallō · to sing praiseG5567
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 14:15
- 1 Corinthians 10:19Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything?
- Romans 3:5But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? (I am speaking in human terms.)
- Romans 8:31What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Philippians 1:18What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
- 1 Corinthians 14:19but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
- John 4:23But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.
- Romans 1:9For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you
- Ephesians 5:17For this reason do not be foolish, but be wise by understanding what the Lord’s will is.
- Ephesians 6:18With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.
- Colossians 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
- Jude 1:20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit,
- Psalms 47:7For God is king of the whole earth! Sing a well-written song!
- Romans 12:1Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 14:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15What is it then? - What shall I do? What is the proper course for me to pursue? What is my practice and my desire; see the same form of expression in Romans 3:9, and Romans 6:15. It indicates the “conclusion” to which the reasoning had conducted him, or the course which he would pursue in view of all the circumstances of the case. I will pray with the spirit - I will endeavor to “blend” all the advantages which can be derived from prayer; I will “unite”…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 There can be no assent to prayers that are not understood. A truly Christian minister will seek much more to do spiritual good to men's souls, than to get the greatest applause to himself. This is proving himself the servant of Christ. Children are apt to be struck with novelty; but do not act like them. Christians should be like children, void of guile and malice; yet they should not be unskilful as to the word of righteousness, but only as…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-17It is better to worship with both spirit and understandable words. Public worship should bless God and others. Speaking in tongues without interpretation glorifies God and helps the speaker (14:4), but it does not help others present. say “Amen” to your thanksgiving: Amen was the traditional response to a prayer.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. What is it then?--What is my determination thereupon? and--rather as Greek, "but"; I will not only pray with my spirit, which (1Co 14:14) might leave the understanding unedified, BUT with the understanding also [Alford and Ellicott]. pray with the understanding also--and, by inference, I will keep silence altogether if I cannot pray with the understanding (so as to make myself understood by others). A prescient warning, mutatis mutandis, against the…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 14:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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