the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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King James Version
1 Corinthians 14:16
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You might be praising God with your spirit. But someone there without understanding cannot say "Amen" to your prayer of thanks, because they don't know what you are saying.
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how can any one in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
For els when thou blessest with ye sprete how shall he that occupieth the roume of the vnlearned saye amen at thy gevinge of thankes seynge he vnderstondeth not what thou sayest
Else if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say the "Amein" at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn't know what you say?
Otherwise, if you say a blessing with your spirit, how can an otherwise uneducated personthe person who occupies the place of the uneducated">[fn] say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you're saying?1 Corinthians 11:24;">[xr]
For otherwise, if you bless God in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the outsider know to say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying?
If you praise God with your spirit, those persons there without understanding cannot say amen to your prayer of thanks, because they do not know what you are saying.
Or else if you bless in the spirit, how shall he that fills the place of the unlearned say the Amen at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn't know what you say?
Else, when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say "Amen" to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying?
Else if you bless with the spirit, how will he who fills the place of the unlearned say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, seeing he doesn't know what you say?
Otherwise if thou givest thanks with the Spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of a private person, say Amen to thy thanksgiving, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?
Otherwise, if you bless God in spirit only, how shall he who is in the position of an ungifted man say the `Amen' to your giving of thanks, when he does not know what your words mean?
For if thou blessist in spirit, who fillith the place of an ydiot, hou schal he seie Amen on thi blessyng, for he woot not, what thou seist?
Else if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of the unlearned say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest?
Otherwise, if you speak a blessing in spirit, how can someone who is uninstructed say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
Suppose some strangers are in your worship service, when you are praising God with your spirit. If they don't understand you, how will they know to say, "Amen"?
Otherwise if you bless [and give thanks to God] in the spirit only, how will any outsider or someone who is not gifted [in spiritual matters] say the "Amen" [of agreement] to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
Else if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of the unlearned say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest?
For if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the man who has no knowledge say, So be it, after your prayer, seeing that he has not taken in what you are saying?
Otherwise, if you are giving thanks with your spirit, how will someone who has not yet received much instruction be able to say, "Amen," when you have finished giving thanks, since he doesn't know what you are saying?
Since otherwise, if thou blessest with [the] spirit, how shall he who fills the place of the simple [Christian] say Amen, at thy giving of thanks, since he does not know what thou sayest?
16 Otherwise, if thou bless with the spirit, how shall he who filleth the place of the unlearned [fn] say Amen to thy thanksgiving ? for he knoweth not what thou sayest.
Otherwise, if thou blessest in the spirit, how shall he that filleth the place of one unlearned, say Amen, on thy giving thanks; for he knoweth not what thou sayest?
Else, when thou shalt blesse with the spirit, how shall hee that occupieth the roome of the vnlearned, say Amen at thy giuing of thankes, seeing he vnderstandeth not what thou sayest?
For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don't understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don't understand what you are saying?
If you honor and give thanks to God with your spirit in sounds nobody understands, how can others honor and give thanks also if they do not know what you are saying?
Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since the outsider does not know what you are saying?
Else, when thou blessest with the spirit, howe shall hee that occupieth the roome of the vnlearned, say Amen, at thy giuing of thankes, seeing he knoweth not what thou sayest?
Otherwise, if you say a blessing with the spirit, how can one who occupies the place of the unlearned say Amen to your thanksgiving, since he does not understand what you say?
Else, if thou be blessing in a spirit, he that filleth up the place of the ungifted person, how shall he say the Amen upon thy thanksgiving? since indeed, what thou art saying, he knoweth not;
Else, if thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that holdeth the place of the unlearned say, Amen, to thy blessing? Because he knoweth not what thou sayest.
Els, when thou blessest with the spirite, howe shall he that occupieth the rowme of the vnlearned, say Amen at thy geuyng of thankes, seyng he vnderstandeth not what thou sayest?
When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say "Amen" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying.
Otherwise, if you praise with the spirit, how will the outsider say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
For otherwise, if you praise in your spirit, how will the one who fills the place of the outsider say the "amen" at your thanksgiving, because he does not know what you are saying?
Else, if you bless in the spirit, the one occupying the place of the unlearned, how will he say the amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you say?
since, if thou mayest bless with the spirit, he who is filling the place of the unlearned, how shall he say the Amen at thy giving of thanks, since what thou dost say he hath not known?
But whan thou geuest thankes with ye sprete, how shal he that occupieth the rowme of the vnlearned, saye Ame at thy geuynge of thankes, seynge he knoweth not what thou sayest?
otherwise if you should give thanks by the spirit in an unknown tongue, the hearer cannot but appear unlearned upon this occasion; how then can he say Amen to thy thanksgiving? since he does not conceive what you say.
Otherwise, if you are praising God with your spirit, how can someone without the gift say "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?
You might be saying something profound in the spirit, but if no one understands you, how can they say, "Amen"?
Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the uninformed say the "Amen" at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
bless: 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:14
unlearned: 1 Corinthians 14:23, 1 Corinthians 14:24, Isaiah 29:11, Isaiah 29:12, John 7:15, Acts 4:13
Amen: 1 Corinthians 11:24, 1 Corinthians 16:24, Numbers 5:22, Deuteronomy 27:15-26, 1 Kings 1:36, 1 Chronicles 16:36, Psalms 41:13, Psalms 72:19, Psalms 89:52, Psalms 106:48, Jeremiah 28:6, Matthew 6:13, Matthew 28:20, Mark 16:20, John 21:25, Revelation 5:14, Revelation 22:20
at: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
Reciprocal: Numbers 6:24 - The Lord Nehemiah 8:6 - Amen Jeremiah 11:5 - So be it Romans 1:14 - to the unwise Romans 9:5 - Amen 2 Corinthians 13:14 - Amen Revelation 19:4 - Amen
Cross-References
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
And David enquired at the Lord , saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.
Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Else when thou shall bless with the spirit,.... Which must be understood of giving thanks to God, not in a private way, in the family and at meals, but in a public manner before the whole congregation, for mercies temporal and spiritual, especially the latter; and that not with the breath, or voice only; nor with the affections of the heart, with the soul, and all that is within it, though that is what should be; nor with the common assistance of the Spirit, and under the influence of his grace, which excites to true gratitude; but with the extraordinary gift of the Spirit, pronouncing the blessing, or expressing the thanksgiving with divers tongues, or in an unknown language: when this part of divine service, which by the way is distinct from singing, is performed in this manner,
how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned; ιδιÏÏÎ¿Ï , "idiot". The word ×××××, "idiot", is often used by the Jewish writers, and signifies a plebeian, one of the common people; and is sometimes indeed distinguished from a wise man, or a learned man; but frequently signifies a private person, whether learned or unlearned, that is not in so high a post as others; hence we read c ×××× ×× ××××××ת, "of private judges", which were not of the great sanhedrim, and of private men, as distinguished from kings d;
"there are three kings, and four ××××××ת, "private men", (the Jews say,) that have no part in the world to come; the three kings are Jeroboam, Ahab, and Manasseh; the four private persons are Balsam, Doeg, Ahithophel, and Gehazi:''
here a private man is distinguished from the public minister that blesses, or gives thanks in the name of the people; and not to be understood of a single person, whose place and office it was to say "Amen", at the minister's giving of thanks, and who stood in some particular place for that purpose; but of the whole body of the people, who, in distinction from the minister, were in the condition of private men, and all joined, as will be seen hereafter, in saying "Amen"; now the apostle's question is, that if thou who art a public minister, givest blessing and praise, or returnest thanks to God in an unknown tongue, how shall the common people, or anyone that is in a private capacity,
say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? It was usual to say "Amen" at blessing, or giving of thanks privately at meals, by those that were present, concerning which are the following rules e;
"he that breaks the bread, might not break it until the "Amen" was finished out of the mouth of those that answered; Rab Chasdai says out of the mouth of the major part of those that answer:''
and elsewhere f it is said,
"they answer "Amen" after an Israelite has blessed, but they do not answer "Amen" after a Cuthite (a Samaritan, or any Gentile, or Christian) hath blessed, unless the whole blessing is heard:''
but of this kind of blessing the apostle speaks not, but of blessing in public: upon which all the people, and not a single person only, as with one united voice, said Amen; see 1 Chronicles 16:36 to this practice the apostle refers; concerning which the rule g is;
"that the congregation may not answer "Amen", until the blessing is finished out of the mouth of the priests; and the priests may not begin the other blessing, until the "Amen" is finished out of the mouth of the congregation.''
There were different sorts of "Amen", or rather different pronunciations of it; of which the Jews say h,
"they may not answer with a fatherless "Amen"; nor with a sudden or violent "Amen"; (pronounced quick and in haste;) nor with an "Amen" cut off, or asunder (the last letter of it not pronounced): says Ben Azzai, whoever answers with a fatherless "Amen", his children shall be fatherless; with a quick "Amen", his days will be short; with an "Amen" cut off, his days shall be cut off; and whoever prolongs "Amen", his days and years shall be prolonged.''
Now, ××× ×ת×××, "a fatherless Amen", was when a person answered, and he did not know what he answered i to; and such an "Amen", in the case here, must a private man answer with, at the giving of thanks in an unknown tongue; and to answer "Amen" to what was said in a language not understood, was not allowed of; so the woman suspected of adultery was to be sworn and examined by the priest in a language she understood; and was to say "Amen, Amen", to what was said, in a language known to her k; for if she did not understand it, how could she say "Amen?" which is the apostle's reasoning here: but was this an affair of such importance, to be instanced in and argued upon in this manner? with the Jews it was, who say l,
"that greater is he that answers "Amen", than he that blesses:''
and indeed they bestow very extravagant encomiums on those who say it in a proper manner;
"there is nothing greater (they say m) in the sight of the blessed God, than the "Amen" the Israelite answers with; says R. Joden, whoever answers "Amen" in this world, is worthy to answer "Amen" in the world to come;''
again n,
"says R. Joshua ben Levi, whoever answers "Amen", his hame shall be great and blessed for ever and ever; says R. Simeon ben Lakish, whoever answers "Amen" with all his strength, the gates of paradise will be opened for him, according to Isaiah 26:2.''
Moreover, it was a practice of the primitive Christians at the Lord's supper, at the close of it, to say with a loud voice "Amen"; the account Justin Martyr gives of it is this o; that
"when the minister had finished the prayers, and the thanksgiving, all the people present, with a joyful acclamation, said "Amen"; which word, he observes, in the Hebrew tongue, signifies "so be it":''
and this custom might obtain in the Corinthian church at this time, to which the apostle is thought by some learned men to refer.
c Misn. Yebamot, c. 12. sect. 1. d T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 90. 1. e T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 47. 1. f Misn. Beracot, c. 8. sect. 8. g T. Bab. Sota, fol. 39. 2. h T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 47. 1. Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. affirm. 27. i T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 12. 3. Succa, fol. 54. 1. & Megilla, fol. 72. 1. k Maimon. Hilch. Sota, c. 3. sect. 7. l T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 53. 2. & Nazir, fol. 66. 2. Zohar in Gen. fol. 19. 2. & Baal Hatturim in Deut. xxvii. 15. m Debarim Rabba, sect. 7. fol. 242. 2. n T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 119. 2. Shaare Zion, fol. 99. 2. 100. 2. 101. 1. o Apolog. 2. p. 97.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Else - (ÎÌÏÎµÎ¹Ì Epei). Since; if this is not done; if what is said is not intelligible, how shall the unlearned be able appropriately to express his assent, and join in your devotions?
When thou shalt bless - When thou shalt bless God, or give thanks to him. If thou shalt lead the devotions of the people in expressing thanksgiving for mercies and favors. This may refer to a part of public worship, or to the thanks which should be expressed at table, and the invocation of the divine blessing to attend the bounties of his providence. Paul had illustrated his subject by prayer and by singing; be now does it by a reference to the important part of public worship expressed in giving thanks.
With the spirit - In the manner referred to above; that is, in an unknown tongue, in such a way that your own âheartâ may be engaged in it, but which would be unintelligible to others.
He that occupieth the room - Is in the place, or the seat of the unlearned; that is, he who is unlearned. On the meaning of the word âroom,â see the note at Luke 14:8. To âfillâ a place means to occupy a station, or to be found in a slate or condition.
Of the unlearned - (ÏÎ¿Ï Í Î¹ÌδιÏÌÏÎ¿Ï tou idioÌtou. On the meaning of this word, see the note at Acts 4:13. Here it means one who was unacquainted with the foreign language spoken by him who gave thanks. It properly denotes a man in âprivate,â in contradistinction from a man in âpublicâ life; and hence, a man who is ignorant and unlettered, as such people generally were.
Say Amen - This word means âtruly, verily;â and is an expression of affirmation John 3:5 or of assent. Here it means assent. How can he pronounce âtheâ Amen; how can he express his assent; how can he join in the act of devotion? This âmightâ have been, and probably âwas,â expressed aloud; and there is no impropriety in it. It âmay,â however, be âmentalâ - a silent assent to what is said, and a silent uniting in the act of thanksgiving. In one way or the other, or in both, the assent should always be expressed by those who join in acts of public worship.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Corinthians 14:16. He that occupieth the room of the unlearned — One who is not acquainted with the language in which you speak, sing, or pray.
Say Amen — Give his assent and ratification to what he does not understand. It was very frequent in primitive times to express their approbation in the public assemblies by Amen. This practice, soberly and piously conducted, might still be of great use in the Church of Christ.
This response was of the highest authority and merit among the Jews; they even promised the remission of all sins, the annihilation of the sentence of damnation, and the opening of the gates of paradise, to those who fervently say Amen. And it is one of their maxims that "greater is he who says Amen than he who prays." See many testimonies of this kind in Schoettgen. Now, allowing that this was of so much consequence in tho time of St. Paul, it was a very serious matter for a person to be in a congregation where prayer was offered, who could not say Amen, because the prayers were in a language which he did not understand.
