1-corinthians 14:11
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks shall be a barbarian to me.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I shall be to him that speaks a barbarian, and he that speaks shall be a barbarian to me.
American Standard Version (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.
Basic English Translation (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's Revision
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.
World English Bible
If then I don't know the meaning of the sound, I would be to him who speaks a foreigner, and he who speaks would be a foreigner to me.
English Revised Version (ERV)
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.
Definitions for 1-corinthians 14:11
Clarke's 1-corinthians 14:11 Bible Commentary
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 Acts 28:2.
Barnes's 1-corinthians 14:11 Bible Commentary
The meaning of the voice - Of the language that is uttered, or the sounds that are made.
I shall be unto him ... - 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 - See the note at Romans 1:14. The word means one who speaks a different, or a foreign language.
Wesley's 1-corinthians 14:11 Bible Commentary
14:11 I shall be a barbarian to him - Shall seem to talk unintelligible gibberish.
