Bible verses about "tongues" | Goodspeed

¹⁷ And signs like these will attend those who believe: with my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in foreign tongues;

⁸ Love will never die out. If there is inspired preaching, it will pass away. If there is ecstatic speaking, it will cease. If there is knowledge, it will pass away.

¹⁰ another, the working of wonders, another, inspiration in preaching, another, the power of distinguishing the true Spirit from false ones, another, various ecstatic utterances, and another, the ability to explain them.

⁴⁶ for they heard them speaking in foreign languages and declaring the greatness of God. Then Peter said,

²⁸ And God has placed people in the church, first as apostles, second as inspired preachers, third as teachers, then wonder-workers; then come ability to cure the sick, helpfulness, administration, ecstatic speaking.

²⁷ If there is any ecstatic speaking, let it be limited to two or three people at the most, and have one speak at a time and someone explain what he says.

¹ On the day of the Harvest Festival, they were all meeting together, ² when suddenly there came from the sky a sound like a violent blast of wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ And they saw tongues like flames separating and settling one on the head of each of them, ⁴ and they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to say in foreign languages whatever the Spirit prompted them to utter. ⁵ Now there were devout Jews from every part of the world living in Jerusalem. ⁶ And when this sound was heard, the crowd gathered in great excitement, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷ They were perfectly amazed and said in their astonishment, "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears his own native tongue? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, residents of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus, and Asia, ¹⁰ of Phrygia, and Pamphylia, of Egypt and the district of Africa about Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we all hear them tell in our native tongues the mighty deeds of God." ¹² And they were all amazed and bewildered and said to one another, "What can this mean?" ¹³ But others said derisively, "They have had too much new wine!" ¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the eleven around him, and raising his voice addressed them. "Men of Judea," he said, "and all you residents of Jerusalem, let me explain this to you, and pay attention to what I say. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it is only nine in the morning. ¹⁶ But this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel, ¹⁷ " 'It will come about in the last days, God says, That I will pour out my Spirit upon all mankind; Your sons and daughters will become prophets, Your young men will have visions, And your old men will have dreams. ¹⁸ Even on my slaves, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, And they will become prophets. ¹⁹ I will show wonders in the sky above, And signs on the earth below, Blood and fire and thick smoke. ²⁰ The sun will turn to darkness, And the moon to blood, Before the coming of the great, splendid Day of the Lord. ²¹ Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' ²² "Men of Israel, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you know, was a man whom God commended to you by the wonders, portents, and signs that God did right among you through him. ²³ But you, by the fixed purpose and intention of God, handed him over to wicked men, and had him crucified. ²⁴ But God set aside the pain of death and raised him up, for death could not control him. ²⁵ For David says of him, 'I constantly regarded the Lord before me, For he is at my right hand, so that I may not be displaced. ²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices, And my body will still live in hope. ²⁷ For you will not desert my soul in death, You will not let your Holy One be destroyed. ²⁸ You have made the ways of life known to me, And you will fill me with joy in your presence.' ²⁹ "Brothers, one may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his grave is here among us to this very day. ³⁰ But as he was a prophet, and knew that God had promised him with an oath that he would put one of his descendants upon his throne, ³¹ he foresaw the resurrection of the Christ and told of it, for he was not deserted in death and his body was not destroyed. ³² He is Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, and to whose resurrection we are all witnesses. ³³ So he has been exalted to God's right hand, and has received from his Father and poured over us the holy Spirit that had been promised, as you see and hear. ³⁴ "For David did not go up to heaven, but he said, 'The Lord said to my lord, Sit at my right hand, ³⁵ Until I make your enemies your footstool.' ³⁶ "Therefore the whole nation of Israel must understand that God has declared this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ." ³⁷ When they heard this, they were stung to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" ³⁸ Peter said to them, "You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit, ³⁹ for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him." ⁴⁰ He said much more besides in giving his testimony, and urged them to save themselves from that crooked age. ⁴¹ So they welcomed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people joined them that day. ⁴² And they devoted themselves to the teaching and the society of the apostles, the breaking of bread, and prayer. ⁴³ Everyone felt a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ The believers all shared everything they had with one another, ⁴⁵ and sold their property and belongings, and divided the money with all the rest, according to their special needs. ⁴⁶ Day after day they all went regularly to the Temple, they broke their bread together in their homes, and they ate their food with glad and simple hearts, ⁴⁷ constantly praising God and respected by all the people. And every day the Lord added people who were saved to their number.

³⁹ So, my brothers, set your hearts on being inspired to preach, and yet do not hinder people from speaking ecstatically.

² For anyone who speaks ecstatically is speaking not to men but to God, for no one can understand him, though he is uttering secret truths.

¹ You must pursue love, while you are cultivating the spiritual endowments, and especially inspired preaching. ² For anyone who speaks ecstatically is speaking not to men but to God, for no one can understand him, though he is uttering secret truths. ³ But the inspired preacher does his fellow-men good and encourages and comforts them. ⁴ Anyone who speaks ecstatically does himself good, but the inspired preacher does a congregation good. ⁵ I want you all to speak ecstatically, but I especially want you to be inspired to preach. The man who is inspired to preach is more useful than the one who speaks ecstatically—unless he can explain what he says so that it may do the church some good. ⁶ But as it is brothers, if I come back to you and speak ecstatically, what good will I do you, unless I have some revelation or special knowledge or message or teaching to give you? ⁷ Even inanimate things, like the flute or the harp, may produce sound, but if there is no difference in the notes, how can you tell what is being played? ⁸ If the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle? ⁹ So if you in your ecstatic speaking utter words no one can understand, how will people know what you are saying? You will be talking to the empty air! ¹⁰ There are probably ever so many different languages in the world, each with its own meaning. ¹¹ So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall seem to the man who is speaking to be a foreigner, and he will seem to me to be one too. ¹² So since you are ambitious for spiritual endowments, you must try to excel in them in ways that will do good to the church. ¹³ Therefore, the man who can speak ecstatically should pray for the power to explain what he says. ¹⁴ For if I pray ecstatically, it is my spirit that prays, but my mind is helping nobody. ¹⁵ Then what am I to do? I will pray ecstatically, but I will pray intelligently too. I will sing ecstatically, but I will sing intelligently too. ¹⁶ For if you utter blessings in ecstatic speech, how is an ordinary man to say Amen to your thanksgiving? For he does not know what you are saying. ¹⁷ You are giving thanks well enough, but it is doing him no good. ¹⁸ Thank God, I speak in ecstasy more than any of you. ¹⁹ But in public worship I would rather say five words with my understanding so as to instruct others also than ten thousand words in an ecstasy. ²⁰ Brothers, you must not be children mentally. In evil be babies, but mentally be mature. ²¹ In the Law it says, "By men of strange languages and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this nation, and not even then will they listen to me, says the Lord." ²² So this ecstatic speaking is meant as a sign not to those who believe but to unbelievers, but inspired preaching is a sign not to unbelievers but to those who believe. ²³ Hence, if the whole church assembles and they all speak ecstatically, and ordinary people or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are crazy? ²⁴ But if they are all inspired to preach and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is convinced of his sin by them all, he is called to account by them all, ²⁵ the secrets of his heart are exposed, and he will fall down on his face and worship God, and declare that God is really among you. ²⁶ Then what is the right course, brothers? When you meet together, suppose every one of you has a song, a teaching, a revelation, an ecstatic utterance, or an explanation of one; it must all be for the good of all. ²⁷ If there is any ecstatic speaking, let it be limited to two or three people at the most, and have one speak at a time and someone explain what he says. ²⁸ But if there is no one to explain it, have him keep quiet in church, and talk to himself and to God. ²⁹ And let two or three who are inspired to preach speak, while the rest weigh what is said; ³⁰ and if anything is revealed to another who is seated, the one who is speaking must stop. ³¹ For in this way you can all preach one after another, as you are inspired to, so that everyone may be instructed and stimulated, ³² for the spirits of prophets will give way to prophets, ³³ for God is not a God of disorder but of peace. This is the rule in all Christian churches. ³⁴ Women are to keep quiet in church, for they are not allowed to speak. They must take a subordinate place, just as the Law says. ³⁵ If they want to find out about anything, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶ Did God's message start from you Corinthians? Or are you the only people it has reached? ³⁷ If anyone claims to be inspired to preach, or to have any other spiritual endowment, let him understand that what I am now writing you is a command from the Lord. ³⁸ If anyone pays no attention to it, pay no attention to him. ³⁹ So, my brothers, set your hearts on being inspired to preach, and yet do not hinder people from speaking ecstatically. ⁴⁰ But let everything be done in a proper and orderly way.