1 CORINTHIANS 14:22 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.”
Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers — the unexpected turn: tongues function as sign (sémeion) of judgment for outsiders who stumble at incomprehensible utterance, while prophecy ministers to believers' faith. This explains why tongues unregulated might seem to outsiders like madness.
Church Fathers on 1 Corinthians 14:22
“In the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak unto this people; and not even thus will they hear me, says the Lord.” Yet surely it is no where written in the Law, but as I said before, he calls always the whole of the Old Testament, the Law: both the prophets and the historical books. And he brings forward his testimony from Esaias the prophet, again covertly detracting from the glory of the gift, for their profit;…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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