1 Corinthians 14:8

Amplified Bible

And if the [war] bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
And in a war, if the trumpet does not sound clearly, the soldiers will not know it is time to prepare for fighting.

Revised Standard Version
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And also if the trope geve an vncertayne voyce who shall prepare him silfe to fyght?

Hebrew Names Version
For if the shofar gave an uncertain sound, who would prepare himself for war?

International Standard Version
For example, if a bugle doesn't sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

New American Standard Bible
For if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

New Century Version
And in a war, if the trumpet does not give a clear sound, who will prepare for battle?

Update Bible Version
For if the trumpet gives an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?

Webster's Bible Translation
For if the trumpet shall give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

English Standard Version
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

World English Bible
For if the trumpet gave an uncertain voice, who would prepare himself for war?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?

Weymouth's New Testament
If the bugle--to take another example--gives an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For if a trumpe yyue an vncerteyn soune, who schal make hym silf redi to batel?

English Revised Version
For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?

Berean Standard Bible
Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle?

Contemporary English Version
If a bugle call isn't clear, how would you know to get ready for battle?

American Standard Version
For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?

Bible in Basic English
For if the war-horn gives out an uncertain note, who will get ready for the fight?

Complete Jewish Bible
And if the bugle gives an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle?

Darby Translation
For also, if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for war?

Etheridge Translation
And if the trumpet call a voice which is not distinguished, who will prepare for the battle ?

Murdock Translation
And if the trumpet shall give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?

King James Version (1611)
For if the trumpet giue an vncertaine sound, who shall prepare himselfe to the battell?

New Living Translation
And if the bugler doesn't sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?

New Life Bible
If a horn does not make a good sound, how will men know they are to get ready to fight?

New Revised Standard
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?

Geneva Bible (1587)
And also if the trumpet giue an vncertaine sound, who shall prepare himselfe to battell?

George Lamsa Translation
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for the battle?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For, if also, an uncertain sound, a trumpet, should give, who shall prepare himself for battle?

Douay-Rheims Bible
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And also yf the trumpe geue an vncertayne sounde, who shall prepare him selfe to the warre?

Good News Translation
And if the one who plays the bugle does not sound a clear call, who will prepare for battle?

Christian Standard Bible®
In fact, if the bugle makes an unclear sound, who will prepare for battle?

King James Version
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

Lexham English Bible
For indeed, if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare for battle?

Literal Translation
For also if a trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will get himself ready for war?

Young's Literal Translation
for if also an uncertain sound a trumpet may give, who shall prepare himself for battle?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And yf the trope geue an vncertayne sounde, who wil prepare himselfe to the battayll?

Mace New Testament (1729)
for if the trumpet give an undistinguish'd sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

New English Translation
If, for example, the trumpet makes an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle?

New King James Version
For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?

Simplified Cowboy Version
If a bugler can't play the notes to attack, how will the soldiers know when to charge?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For if the bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

Legacy Standard Bible
For if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

Contextual Overview

⁶Now, believers, if I come to you speaking in unknown tongues, how will I benefit you unless I also speak to you [clearly] either by revelation [revealing God's mystery], or by knowledge [teaching about God], or by prophecy [foretelling the future, speaking a new message from God to the people], or by instruction [teaching precepts that develop spiritual maturity]? ⁷Yet even lifeless things, whether flute or harp, when producing a sound, if they do not produce distinct [musical] tones, how will anyone [listening] know what is piped or played? ⁸And if the [war] bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?⁹So it is with you, if you speak words [in an unknown tongue] that are not intelligible and clear, how will anyone understand what you are saying? You will be talking into the air [wasting your breath]! ¹⁰There are, I suppose, a great many kinds of languages in the world [unknown to us], and none is lacking in meaning. ¹¹But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will [appear to] be a foreigner to the one who is speaking [since he knows exactly what he is saying], and the one who is speaking will [appear to] be a foreigner to me. ¹²So it is with you, since you are so very eager to have spiritual gifts and manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in ways that will build up the church [spiritually]. ¹³Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may [be gifted to] translate or explain [what he says]. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive [because it does not understand what my spirit is praying].

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Numbers 10:9, Joshua 6:4-20, Judges 7:16-18, Nehemiah 4:18-21, Job 39:24, Job 39:25, Isaiah 27:13, Amos 3:6, Ephesians 6:11-18

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 18:16 - blew the trumpet Mark 13:14 - let him 1 Corinthians 13:1 - as 1 Corinthians 14:7 - except

Cross-References

Genesis 13:10
So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere—this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].

Genesis 14:2
they [invaded the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, and] made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

Genesis 14:3
All of these [kings] joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Sea of Salt).

Genesis 14:10
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar (bitumen) pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into them. But the remainder [of the kings] who survived fled to the hill country.

Genesis 19:20
"Now look, this town [in the distance] is near enough for us to flee to, and it is small [with only a few people]. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life will be saved."

Genesis 19:22
"Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there." For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small).

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound,.... That is not plain and manifest, so as that it cannot be known on what account it is given:

who shall prepare himself to the battle? the allusion is to the custom of many nations, Jews and others, who, when about to engage in war, made use of musical instruments, particularly the trumpet, to gather the soldiers together, prepare them for the battle, give them notice of it, and animate them to it y; the sound of the trumpet was the alarm of war; see Jeremiah 4:5. And particularly the allusion may be to the two silver trumpets, ordered by God to Moses for the Jews, which were to be made of a whole piece, and to be used for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps, and to blow an alarm with when they went to war against the enemy, Numbers 10:1 and were a lively emblem of the Gospel, whose use is to gather souls to Christ, to direct saints in their journeying, and to prepare and animate them for battle, with their spiritual enemies; and of which use it is, when it gives a certain and even sound, as it does when clearly and rightly blown; and that is, the sound of love, grace, and mercy, to the sons of men, through a bleeding Saviour; salvation alone by a crucified Jesus, peace and pardon by his blood, justification by his righteousness, and atonement by his sacrifice; when it is blown aright, it blows a blast on all the goodliness of man, it magnifies the grace of God, exalts the person of Christ, debases the creature, shows its impurity, imperfection, and inability; and expresses the nature, use, and necessity of efficacious grace; and puts believers on doing good works for necessary uses, but not for life, righteousness, and salvation; and so its sound is equal, even, and certain: and when it is so, it is a means of gathering souls to Christ, the standard bearer and ensign of the people; and of engaging them to enlist themselves as volunteers in his service; and of animating them to fight under his banner the battles of the Lord of hosts: but if this trumpet gives an uncertain sound, as it does when grace and works are blended together in the business of salvation; and faith or works put in the room of, or joined with the righteousness of Christ in justification; when particular election and general redemption, or the salvability of all men, are put together; the covenant of grace represented as conditional, and preparations for grace, and offers of grace, and days of grace talked of, that may be past and lost; then who can prepare himself for the battle? persons must be thrown into, and left in the utmost uncertainty and confusion: when this is the case, they know not what side to take on, but halt between two opinions; they know not what that faith is they are to fight and earnestly contend for; they are not able to discern an enemy from a friend; they have no heart to fight and endure hardness, as good soldiers of Christ; nor can they promise themselves, or be assured of victory, which the certain sound of the Gospel gives them.

y Vid Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 2. p. 178.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound - The trumpet was used commonly in war. It is a well-known wind instrument, and was made of brass, silver, etc. It was used for various purposes in war - to summon the soldiers; to animate them in their march; to call them forth to battle; to sound a retreat; and to signify to them what they were to do in battle, whether to charge, advance, or retreat, etc. It therefore employed a “language” which was intelligible to an army. An uncertain sound was one in which none of these things were indicated, or in which it could not be determined what was required.

Who shall prepare himself ... - The apostle selects a single instance of what was indicated by the trumpet, as an illustration of what he meant. The idea is, that foreign tongues spoken in their assembly would be just as useless in regard to their duty, their comfort, and edification, as would be the sound of a trumpet when it gave one of the usual and intelligible sounds by which it was known what the soldiers were required to do. Just as we would say, that the mere beating on a drum would he useless, unless some tune was played by which it was known that the soldiers were summoned to the parade, to advance, or to retreat.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Corinthians 14:8. If the trumpet give an uncertain sound — If, when the soldier should prepare himself for the battle, the trumpet should give a different sound to that which is ordinarily used on such occasions, the soldier is not informed of what he should do, and therefore does not arm himself; consequently, that vague, unintelligible sound of the trumpet, is of no use.