1 Corinthians 14:29

Two or three. The counsel to the prophets is similar to that given to those endowed with the gift of tongues. The object of the counsel is to avoid confusion (see v. 33).

The other. Literally, “the others.” For the identification of “the others” see below under “judge.”

Judge. Gr. diakrino, “to discriminate,” “to discern.” Some believe that “other” refers to others in the church who had the gift of prophecy and likewise the gift of discernment, who were to evaluate the utterances of the prophets who spoke and to determine whether their messages were from God or were inspired by some other power (cf. 1 Thess. 5:21; 1 John 4:1). Jesus warned the church that there would be many “false prophets” that would arise and seek to deceive the believers, and the church is to be on guard against such at all times, more especially so as the end approaches (see Matt. 24:5, 11, 24; 2 Thess. 2:9-11). Others believe that Paul’s counsel is directed to the hearers, whose duty it was to make an appropriate application of the message to their individual experiences.