1 Corinthians 14 · Verse 11

1 Corinthians 14:11

Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.

1 Corinthians 14:11, King James Version

1 Corinthians 14:11 in other translations

BSB	If, then, I do not know the meaning of someone’s language, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me.
WEB	If then I don’t know the meaning of the language, I would be to him who speaks a foreigner, and he who speaks would be a foreigner to me.
ASV	If then I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian unto me.
YLT	if, then, I do not know the power of the voice, I shall be to him who is speaking a foreigner, and he who is speaking, is to me a foreigner;
DARBY	If therefore I do not know the power of the sound, I shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks a barbarian for me.
BBE	But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me.
Webster	Therefore, if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh will be a barbarian to me.

What does 1 Corinthians 14:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. Therefore--seeing that none is without meaning. a barbarian--a foreigner (Ac 28:2). Not in the depreciatory sense as the term is now used, but one speaking a foreign language.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 11. The meaning of the voice. Of the language that is uttered, or the sounds that are made.

I shall be unto him, etc. What I say will be unintelligible to him, and what he says will be unintelligible to me. We cannot understand one another any more than people can who speak different languages.

A barbarian. Rom 1:14. The word means one who speaks a different or a foreign language.

(+) "voice" "language" (a) "barbarian" Rom 1:14

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 If I know not the meaning of the voice - Την δυναμιν της φωνης, The power and signification of the language. I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian - I shall appear to him, and he to me, as a person who had no distinct and articulate sounds which can convey any kind of meaning. This observation is very natural: when we hear persons speaking in a language of which we know nothing, we wonder how they can understand each other, as, in their speech, there appears to us no regular distinction of sounds or words. For the meaning and origin of the word barbarian, see the note on Act 28:2.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians 14:6-14

Even an apostle could not edify, unless he spoke so as to be understood by his hearers. To speak words that have no meaning to those who hear them, is but speaking into the air. That cannot answer the end of speaking, which has no meaning; in this case, speaker and hearers are barbarians to each other. All religious services should be so performed in Christian assemblies, that all may join in, and profit by them…

Read the full comment on 1 Corinthians 14:6-14 →

1 Corinthians 14:11 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ἐὰνeanIfG1437

οὖνounthereforeG3767

μὴmēnotG3361

εἰδῶeidōI shall know

τὴνtēntheG3588

δύναμινdunaminpowerG1411

τῆςtēsof theG3588

φωνῆς,phōnēssound,G5456

ἔσομαιesomaiI will beG1510

τῷtōto the [one]G3588

λαλοῦντιlalountispeakingG2980

βάρβαροςbarbarosa foreignerG915

καὶkaiandG2532

ὁhothe [one]G3588

λαλῶνlalōnspeakingG2980

ἐνentoG1722

ἐμοὶemoime myselfG1473

βάρβαρος·barbarosa foreigner;G915

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Corinthians 14:11

Acts 28:2
And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.
Romans 1:14
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
Acts 28:4
And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.
1 Corinthians 14:21
In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.
Colossians 3:11
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

I shall.
21; Ac 28:2,4; Ro 1:14; Col 3:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

1 Corinthians 14:10
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.
1 Corinthians 14:11
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.
1 Corinthians 14:12
Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.

Read all of 1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Mas si yo ignorare el valor de la voz, seré bárbaro al que habla, y el que habla será bárbaro para mí.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Si donc je ne connais pas le sens de la voix, je serai barbare pour celui qui parle, et celui qui parle sera barbare pour moi.
German Elberfelder 1871	Wenn ich nun die Bedeutung der Stimme nicht weiß, so werde ich dem Redenden ein Barbar sein, und der Redende für mich ein Barbar.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Si ergo nesciero virtutem vocis, ero ei, cui loquor, barbarus: et qui loquitur, mihi barbarus.