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1 Corinthians 14 · a question people ask

"Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving" (14:22). A sign of what?

In the text

The verse runs, "Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe." (14:22). The chapter doesn't say what the sign shows, and these notes say no more than the verse does.

The verses

“Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe.”
1 Corinthians 14:22 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14: Build each other up

1 Corinthians 14 keeps coming back to building up: "for their edification" (14:3), "that the assembly may be built up" (14:5), "the building up of the assembly" (14:12), and "Let all things be done to build each other up." (14:26). In the Greek, one noun stands behind each. The chapter ends, "Let all things be done decently and in order." (14:40).

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Last reviewed October 8, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions