1 Corinthians 14:34–35
Bible Verses. Also called 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, 1 Cor 14:34-35, Let your women keep silence in the churches, Women should keep silent in the churches, Let women keep silent.
34 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.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Scripture quotation from the King James Version (KJV). Read this chapter
A Pauline passage instructing, "Let your women keep silence in the churches," and directing that if they wish to learn anything, they should "ask their husbands at home." It is a central text in debates over the ordination of women and the role of women in the church. Its position in the manuscript tradition is also debated.
About this articleAI draft from a Korean source. Notes on Korean Protestant practice. No sources listed. Not yet reviewed by a person.
- Origin
Drafted by AI from the Korean church.wiki article, then translated and adapted for English readers on 5 November 2026.
- Perspective
Includes notes on Korean Protestant practice; other traditions are noted where they differ.
- Sources
None listed yet. The article draws on the biblical text and general reference works. Add a source
- Review
Not yet reviewed by a person. Last edited by a person: never. Translation updated 5 November 2026. Edit history
Context
First Corinthians 14 addresses the orderly use of tongues and prophecy in public worship. Paul instructs that anyone who speaks in tongues should keep silent when no interpreter is present (v. 28). Likewise, a prophet should keep silent if a revelation comes to another person (v. 30). Verses 34–35 belong to this line of thought. Earlier in the same letter, however, 1 Corinthians 11:5 presupposes that women pray and prophesy in public worship. This tension is the starting point for interpretation.
Interpretations
- As a universal norm: Denominations that do not ordain women and a number of conservative scholars read this passage together with 1 Timothy 2:12. In Korea, these denominations include the Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) and the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Kosin). In this view, the church offices of authoritative teaching and governance have been entrusted to men. Many who hold this position maintain, however, that the passage does not forbid all speech by women. They limit it to the evaluation of prophecy or to public teaching.
- As an instruction for a local problem: Denominations that ordain women and scholars who support the practice regard the passage as addressing a specific situation in the Corinthian church. In their reading, women there were disrupting order by asking questions during worship. They cite verse 35 in support: "if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home."
- As a quotation of the Corinthians' own words: A minority of interpreters hold that verses 34–35 do not express Paul's own view. In this reading, Paul quotes a claim made by some members of the Corinthian church and then refutes it in verse 36.
Debates and Issues
In some Western manuscripts, verses 34–35 appear after verse 40. For this reason, some scholars hold that the passage began as a marginal gloss and later entered the text. Others note that the passage is present in all manuscripts and regard it as Paul's own writing. This debate is treated in greater detail in the article Ordination of women.
Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.
Korean Presbyterian denominations differ in their positions on the ordination of women. The Korean Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, the Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap), and the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church are among the Korean denominations that ordain women as pastors. This passage has been cited again each time the ordination of women has been debated at Korean denominational general assemblies.
Related Passages
See also 5
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