Why did the King James translators struggle with the singular word 'tongue' in 1 Corinthians 14?
The King James translators struggled because the singular 'tongue' in 1 Corinthians 14 denoted a guttural sound lacking phonetics. It could not be reduced to writing and had no pronunciation, so they did not know how to handle it. They added the italicized word 'unknown' to clarify the sense.
Les explains that in 1 Corinthians 14:2 the word 'unknown' is italicized because it was added by the translators. Even back in the King James era, they did not know how to handle the word 'tongue' in the singular. That singular tongue denoted a sound with no phonetics, could not be reduced to writing, and was just a guttural sound with no pronunciation. Therefore they supplied 'unknown' to indicate the sense, since the speaker spoke not to men but to God, and no man could understand it.
For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries.
More Questions
What does 'unknown tongue' in the singular mean in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14?
Whenever the term 'unknown tongue' appears in the singular in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 — with 'unknown' italicized because the translators added it — it refers to a bunch of sounds that cannot be reduced to print, sounds that are not phonetic and that nobody can write down.