Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 14:34
Women are to be silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian congregation, addressing the order of corporate worship (v. 33). He is regulating a specific practice in their assembly, not issuing a universal decree.
The words — ὑμῶν (humōn, "of you") qualifies the women as "your women," narrowing the scope to the Corinthian community rather than women universally. Most English translations render this with a simple "your" or omit it entirely.
The thread — 1 Timothy 2:11 pairs quietness with submissiveness in a learning context; Genesis 3:16 supplies the post-fall order behind the "as the law says" appeal; Numbers 30:3 shows the Mosaic framework for women's vows under male authority.
Why it lands — The verse demands that a reader decide whether "silence" here means total prohibition or restricted speech, since v. 35 immediately permits inquiry. It forces a choice between a blanket ban and a contextual regulation of how women participate in the assembly.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
Cross-references
- 1 Timothy 2:11 A woman must learn in quietness and full submissiveness.
- Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
- Numbers 30:3 And if a woman in her father’s house during her youth makes a vow to the LORD or obligates herself by a pledge,
- 1 Corinthians 14:35 If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.
- Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- Titus 2:5 to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.
- 1 Corinthians 11:5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.
- 1 Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives
- 1 Corinthians 11:3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
- Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.