For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
Parallel translations
- WEB For you most certainly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up.
- BSB You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other one is not edified.
- NKJV For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.
- NASB For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.
- NLT You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Your thanksgiving may be excellent, but the other person is not built up. Personal sincerity does not replace the duty to edify others.
Overview
Paul concedes the tongue-speaker's thanks may be genuinely good, yet it fails the test of edification because others gain nothing. In the assembly, the benefit to the hearer matters as much as the speaker's devotion. This again subordinates personal expression to the loving aim of building up the church.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Cor 14:4He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
- 1 Cor 14:6Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 14:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.