But covet earnestly So Tyndale. Sue, Wiclif. Sectamini, Calvin. Perhaps, desire eagerly. Literally, be envious, or Jealous of. Aemulamini, Vulg. Cf. Acts 7:9; Acts 17:5, and ch. 1 Corinthians 13:4. It is translated zealously affectin Galatians 4:17-18. It perhaps implies an indirect rebuke of the envy felt by many Corinthians for those who possessedthe best gifts. It is as though St Paul had said, "if you are envious at all, be envious for the gifts, not of those who have received them."

the best gifts Some copies read the greater gifts(see note on 1 Corinthians 12:4). The best gifts were (see ch. 14.) those which were most calculated to promote the edification of the Church. But they were also precisely those (see next chapter and Galatians 5:22), which so far from being peculiar to the individual, were within the reach of all Christians alike.

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