1 Corinthians 14:7 — Compare Translations

28 translations compared side by side

English (YLT) 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young

yet the things without life giving sound -- whether pipe or harp -- if a difference in the sounds they may not give, how shall be known that which is piped or that which is harped?

English ASV

Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

English Amplified

If even inanimate musical instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone [listening] know or understand what is played?

English Amplified Classic Bible 1987

If even inanimate musical instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone [listening] know or understand what is played?

English Berean Standard Bible (BSB) 2025

Even in the case of lifeless instruments, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone recognize the tune they are playing unless the notes are distinct?

English CSB 2017 - Christian Standard Bible

Even lifeless instruments that produce sounds — whether flute or harp — if they don’t make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized?

English Darby 1890 : Public Domain

Even lifeless things giving a sound, whether pipe or harp, if they give not distinction to the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

English EASY 2024

Think about how people make music with flutes or with harps. Those things are not alive. People have to use them to make the right sounds. If the sounds are not clear, nobody can recognize the music.

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

This is true even with lifeless things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If the different musical notes are not made clear, you can't understand what song is being played. Each note must be played clearly for you to be able to understand the tune.

If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?

English GNT (Good News Translation)

Take such lifeless musical instruments as the flute or the harp—how will anyone know the tune that is being played unless the notes are sounded distinctly?

English God's Word - GW 1995

Musical instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. If there is no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played?

English HCSB 2004 - Copyrighted Only For Website

Even inanimate things producing sounds-- whether flute or harp-- if they don't make a distinction in the notes, how will what is played on the flute or harp be recognized?

English KJV 1611

And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?

English LSB

Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

English MEV 2014 (Modern English Version)

Even when things without life give sound, whether flute or harp, how will it be known what is played unless they give a distinction in the sounds?

English NASB (New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995)

Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

English NASU 1989 - New American Standard Update - Only for Website

Likewise, if inanimate things that produce sound, such as flute or harp, do not give out the tones distinctly, how will what is being played on flute or harp be recognized?

English NET Bible - 2005 (New English Translation)

It is similar for lifeless things that make a sound, like a flute or harp. Unless they make a distinction in the notes, how can what is played on the flute or harp be understood?

English NIRV 1996 - Copyrighted only for Website

Here are some examples. Certain objects make sounds. Take a flute or a harp. No one will know what the tune is unless different notes are played.

English NIV

Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?

English NKJ 1982

Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played?

English NLT

Even musical instruments like the flute or the harp, though they are lifeless, are examples of the need for speaking in plain language. For no one will recognize the melody unless the notes are played clearly.

English NRSV 1989 - Only for website

It is the same way with lifeless instruments that produce sound, such as the flute or the harp. If they do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is being played?

English Passion Translation Bible 2020

Similarly, if musical instruments, such as flutes or stringed instruments, are out of tune and don’t play the arrangement clearly, how will anyone recognize the melody?

English RSV (Revised Standard Version)

If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will any one know what is played?

English TL (The Living Bible) (1971)

Even musical instruments—the flute, for instance, or the harp—are examples of the need for speaking in plain, simple English rather than in unknown languages. For no one will recognize the tune the flute is playing unless each note is sounded clearly.

English Tyndale 1537

Moreover when things without life give sound: whether it be a pipe, or an harp: except they make a distinction in the sounds: how shall it be known what is piped or harped?