Understanding Tongues in the Bible

Many people today claim to “speak in tongues.” But what does the Bible actually say?

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul warns that tongues without understanding are

meaningless and bring confusion, not truth. He says, “If I do not understand

what someone is saying, I will be a foreigner to the speaker”—and that “God is not

the author of confusion.” Paul even adds that in the church, five words with understanding are

better than “ten thousand words” spoken in an unknown tongue. So the Bible never

says tongues are an abomination— but false, disorderly, and emotional displays

that do not come from God? Those are rejected. True worship is “in spirit and in