'Language' in the Bible

The person who speaks in another language builds himself up, but he who prophesies builds up the church.

Now I wish that all of you could speak in foreign languages, but especially that you could prophesy. The person who prophesies is more important than the person who speaks in a foreign language, unless he interprets it so that the church may be built up.

In the same way, unless you speak an intelligible message with your language, how will anyone know what is being said? You'll be talking into the air!

There are, we will suppose, a great number of languages in the world, and no creature is without a language.

Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker will be a foreigner to me.

Therefore the person who speaks in another language should pray that he can interpret.

For if I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.

yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others also, than 10,000 words in another language.

In the law it is written: "By those who speak a foreign language and by the lips of others I will speak to this people, and not even in this way will they obey me," says the Lord.

What then is the conclusion, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, another language, or an interpretation. All things must be done for edification.

If any person speaks in another language, there should be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and someone must interpret.

As certainly as God is faithful, our language to you is not now "Yes" and now "No."

I use the language of self-disparagement, as though I were admitting our own feebleness. Yet for whatever reason any one is 'courageous' --I speak in mere folly--I also am courageous.

Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].

Let all bitterness, and heat of passion, and wrath, and clamour, and injurious language, be removed from you, with all malice;

But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

Let your language be always seasoned with the salt of grace, so that you may know how to give every man a fitting answer.

For, as you are well aware, we have never used the language of flattery nor have we found pretexts for enriching ourselves--God is our witness;

he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,

and healthy language which no one can censure, so that our opponents may feel ashamed at having nothing evil to say against us.

He never sinned, and no deceitful language was ever heard from His mouth.

Though the angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not make use of violent language against them before the Lord.

They are the world's children, and so their language is that of the world, and the world listens to them. We are God's children.

For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, unjustly accusing us with wicked words and unjustified charges. And not satisfied with this, he refuses to receive the [missionary] brothers himself, and also forbids those who want to [welcome them] and puts them out of the church.

And they sang a new song:You are worthy to take the scrolland to open its seals,because You were slaughtered,and You redeemed peoplefor God by Your bloodfrom every tribe and languageand people and nation.

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.

They have over them as king the angel of the great deep: his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek language Apollyon.

For three and a half days those from every people, tribe, nation, and language will look at their corpses, because they will not permit them to be placed in a tomb.

And he was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. He was also given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation.

Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.