1 Corinthians 14:21

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does 1 Corinthians 14:21 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “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.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

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.
1 Corinthians 14:21 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Corinthians 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
21In 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.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“In the law it is written, etc.] In (<232811>Isaiah 28:11) for the word law is not be confined to the five books of Moses, but includes all the writings of the Old Testament; and this entirely agrees with the sense of the Jews. Says R. Azarias f302 “is it not to be found with our wise men, of blessed memory, in many places, that the word hrwt, “law”, comprehends the prophets, and the holy writings?” And he gives an instance out of the Talmud, and which indeed is very pertinent to the purpose, and is rightly produced, and will support the apostle in calling the prophecy of Isaiah the law, since it is so called in the following passage f303. R. Chijah bar Aba says, that “R. Jochanan said, from…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“In the law--as the whole Old Testament is called, being all of it the law of God. Compare the citation of the Psalms as the "law," Joh 10:34. Here the quotation is from Isa 28:11-12, where God virtually says of Israel, This people hear Me not, though I speak to. them in the language with which they are familiar; I will therefore speak to them in other tongues, namely, those of the foes whom I will send against them; but even then they will not hearken to Me; which Paul thus applies, Ye see that it is a penalty to be associated with men of a strange tongue, yet ye impose this on the Church [GROTIUS]; they who speak in foreign tongues are like "children" just "weaned from the milk" (Isa 28:9),…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“In the law it is written - This passage is found in Isaiah 38:11-12. The word “law” here seems to mean the same as revelation; or is used to denote the Old Testament in general. A similar use occurs in John 10:34, and John 15:25. With men of other tongues ... - This passage, where it occurs in Isaiah, means, that God would teach the rebellious and refractory Jews submission to himself, by punishing them amidst a people of another language, by removing them to a land - the land of Chaldea - where they would hear only a language that to them would be unintelligible and barbarous. Yet, notwithstanding this discipline, they would be still, to some extent, a rebellious people. The passage in…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“It is written in the Law - The word here, as frequently, means the Old Testament. In foreign tongues will I speak to this people - And so he did. He spake terribly to them by the Babylonians, when they had set at nought what he had spoken by the prophets, who used their own language. These words received a farther accomplishment on the day of pentecost. Isa 28:11. 1 Corinthians 14:22”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“14:21-25 Paul used this quotation from Isa 28:11-12 to show that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. However, in 1 Cor 14:23-25, Paul argues that even unbelievers are more likely to be convicted by a word of prophecy than by speaking in tongues. His point is that, in public worship, the gift of prophecy is of greater usefulness than the gift of tongues.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“the law: The passage quoted is taken from the prophet Isaiah; but the term torah, Law, was used by the Jews to express the whole Scriptures, law, prophets, and hagiographia; and they used it to distinguish these Sacred Writings from the words of the scribes. It is not taken from the LXX, from which it varies as much as any words can differ from others where the general meaning is similar. It accords much more with the Hebrew; and may be considered as a translation from it; "only what is said of God in the third person, in the Hebrew, is here expressed in the first person, with the addition of λεγει \[Strong's G3004\], Κυριος \[Strong's G2962\]," saith the Lord. - Dr. Randolph. Joh 10:34; Rom…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification