1 Corinthians 14 is the fourteenth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle and Sosthenes in Ephesus. In this chapter, Paul writes about the gift of prophesying and about speaking in tongues. Biblical scholar F. Dale Bruner states that "edification becomes the theme of this chapter: in Paul's thought, the ultimate criterion for a gift of the Spirit is this: Does it upbuild the church?" Text The original text was written in Koine Greek. The chapter is divided into 40 verses. Textual witnesses Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: Papyrus 46 (AD 175-225) Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350) Codex Sinaiticus (330–360) Papyrus 123 (4th century; extant verses 31–34) Codex Alexandrinus (400–440) Codex Freerianus (~450; extant verses 12–13, 22, 32–33) Codex Claromontanus (~550) Verse 2 "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries." – 1 Corinthians 14:2, King James Version "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." – 1 Corinthians 14:2, New King James Version "In a tongue" (KJV: "in an unknown tongue"): some manuscripts and the Ethiopian version read "with tongues". Lightfoot assumes that it refers to the Hebrew language, which had become a dead language, and understood only by few people at that time, but nonetheless was used in the public prayers, preaching, and singing of psalms among the Jews. Paul states that the ministers, who had the gift of mastering this language (could read the Scriptures, preach, pray, and sung psalms in Hebrew), would not be helpful for non-Jews Christians, who do not understand it, so they should instead prophesy, pray, and sing in a language that can be understood. Otherwise, people may hear the sound, but cannot tell the meaning of it, and so it is of no use and advantage to them. "In the spirit he speaks mysteries": Under the influence and by the special gift of the Holy Spirit, a person is able to speak of 'the deep things of God, and the mysteries of his grace', but the meaning of his words could be unintelligible, without an understandable language. Verse 21 Paul writes "In the law