A pastor describes a church service where someone speaks in tongues, then another person interprets the message for the congregation. Interpretation isn't word-for-word translation but conveys the general divine meaning. The gift of tongues and the gift of interpretation work together to edify believers gathered in public worship.
Imagine this. You're in a church service. The pastor's preaching, and then there's a holy moment of silence that comes over the room. An individual stands and begins to pray boldly out loud in tongues. You don't know what they're saying, but just moments after they finish praying, another stands and they speak out a message that's prophetic in nature. They're giving an interpretation of what was spoken in that spiritual language. Now remember, an interpretation is not a translation. Translation is word for word. Interpretation is the giving of the general message. And that's how these 2 gifts work. The gift of tongues is that spiritual language, and the gift of tongues interpretation is the interpretation of that spiritual language, where now they're giving a message from God through that specific delivery. This is different than the personal use of the gift of tongues, which is to build up your own spirit. This particular use of the gift of tongues has to do with its use in the context of church settings, a gathering of believers.
