This Greek sentence is simple but awkward. A literal translation would be “Follow love, but be zealous for the spiritual gifts, but rather that you may prophesy.” “Follow love” makes a real link with 12.31a, and “rather that you may prophesy” introduces an important theme of chapter 14. The underlying thought is “As I have just been saying, love is the supreme gift, but it is in a separate category, and we have no more to say about it. But now, returning to what I was saying earlier, it is good to want to have spiritual gifts, but among these the most important is ‘the gift of prophecy.’ ”

Paul makes it clear in verse 39 that Christian prophecy, namely, proclaiming God’s message, is much more important than speaking with tongues.

The phrase Make love your aim may be rendered as “So, you must strive above everything else to gain this ability to love.”

Desire the spiritual gifts can also be expressed as “desire to gain spiritual gifts” or “… to gain abilities that the Spirit gives.” Translators may use the term “ability” rather than gifts, if that is more natural in their language.

There is little difference in meaning between the verbs translated Make … aim and earnestly desire (compare 12.31; 14.39).

On the subject of Christian prophecy, see the comments on 11.4; 12.10.

Prophecy or “the gift of proclaiming God’s message” (Good News Bible) is certainly divinely inspired, but it is not ecstatic or unintelligible. There is also nothing in this chapter that would lead to our understanding of “prophecy” as foretelling the future.

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .