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OET (OET-LV) If_also with_a_tongue anyone is_speaking, by two or the most three, and each in_turn let_it_be, and one let_be_interpreting.
OET (OET-RV) If there’s any speaking in other languages, it should be two or three people at most, taking turns and someone should translate.
In this section Paul instructed the Corinthian believers about how they should worship God together. First, he compared prophecy and tongues. He stressed the value of prophecy for building up the church. Then he said they should conduct their worship services in an orderly and harmonious way. They were not to speak all at once. People who spoke in tongues should have someone to interpret, and women were to remain silent in the assembly.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Good order in worship
The spiritual gifts of prophecy and tongues
Use spiritual gifts to help the church grow
In this paragraph, Paul gave some advice about speaking in tongues. Paul said that when they spoke in tongues, no more than three people should speak in tongues and someone should interpret.
If anyone speaks in a tongue,
¶ If someone speaks in an unknown tongue,
¶ When people speak in an unknown/miraculous language in the meeting,
If anyone speaks in a tongue: This is something that often happened, so you could say:
When someone speaks in a tongue
two, or at most three, should speak in turn,
then at the most two or three people should speak, one after the other.
not more than three people should speak, and they should take turns.
two, or at most three, should speak: This phrase indicates that not more than three people should speak in tongues during one worship meeting. Paul did not forbid one person to speak alone. He forbade a period of speaking in tongues with more than three people taking part.
in turn: The phrase in turn indicates that one person should speak at a time. They should not all speak at once.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
take turns
speak one after the other
In some languages it may not be natural to say “if someone speaks in tongues, two or three should speak.” A literal translation may not make sense, or it may wrongly indicate that Paul was forbidding one person to speak alone.
Here are some other ways to translate this and avoid the wrong meaning:
if there is going to be a time to speak in tongues, then two or at the most three people should speak
if the gift of tongues is being used, only two people, or three at the most, should speak
and someone must interpret.
And someone must interpret what each one is saying.
There must also be someone to explain the meaning of what they say.
and someone must interpret: Paul did not say whether this was to be the same person who had spoken in tongues or a different person. Either is possible. See the notes on 14:5d where the same word interpret is used.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
someone should explain the meaning of what they have said
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
εἴτε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Paul is speaking as if someone “speaking” in a tongue was a hypothetical possibility, but he knows that someone often does “speak” in a tongue. If your language does not state something as a condition if it is certain or true, and if your readers might think that what Paul is saying is not certain, then you can express the idea with a word that refers to a situation rather than to a possibility. Alternate translation: [Whenever]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
κατὰ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Here Paul omits some words that may be required in your language to make a complete thought. English needs these words, so the ULT has supplied them in brackets. If your language also needs these words, you could use these or similar ones. Alternate translation: [this should be done by]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
κατὰ δύο ἢ τὸ πλεῖστον τρεῖς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Paul does not explicitly state in what situation only two or at most three believers should speak in a tongue. The Corinthians would have understood him to be speaking about each time the believers gathered to worship God (See: the expression “in the church” in [14:28](../14/28.md)). Paul does not mean that only two or most three people can ever speak in tongues. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express what situation Paul is speaking about more explicitly. Alternate translation: [it should be by two or at most three every time you gather together]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀνὰ μέρος
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Here, in turn means that people do something one after the other or in order. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express in turn with a word or phrase that refers to doing things successively or in order. Alternate translation: [in order] or [successively]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative3p
εἷς διερμηνευέτω
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Here Paul uses a third-person imperative. If you have third-person imperatives in your language, you could use one here. If you do not have third-person imperatives, you could express the idea using a word such as “should” or “let.” Alternate translation: [one should interpret] or [let one interpret]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / extrainfo
εἷς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Εἴτε γλώσσῃ τὶς λαλεῖ κατά δύο ἤ τό πλεῖστον τρεῖς καί ἀνά μέρος καί εἱς διερμηνευέτω)
Here Paul does not indicate whether one is one of the people who is speaking in a tongue or if it is someone else. It is likely that Paul thinks that both options are acceptable. If possible, you should translate one in such a way that it could refer to one of the people speaking in a tongue or to someone else. Alternate translation: [somebody] or [one person]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
διερμηνευέτω
˓let_be˒_interpreting
Here, just as in [14:26](../14/26.md), interpret refers specifically to interpreting a tongue. If it would be helpful in your language, you could state explicitly that the person should interpret the tongue. Alternate translation: [must interpret the tongue]
OET (OET-LV) If_also with_a_tongue anyone is_speaking, by two or the most three, and each in_turn let_it_be, and one let_be_interpreting.
OET (OET-RV) If there’s any speaking in other languages, it should be two or three people at most, taking turns and someone should translate.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.