Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.
Follow after charity - as your chief aim, seeing it is "the greatest" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
And desire Translate 'Yet (as a secondary aim) desire zealously spiritual gifts with prayer and in And desire. Translate, 'Yet (as a secondary aim) desire zealously spiritual gifts, with prayer and in submission to the Spirit's will' (1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Corinthians 12:31, note); not with "envy" (the same Greek, 1 Corinthians 13:4) of another's gifts. "Follow after" includes the activity of the will: 'desire zealously' implies entreaty in prayer.
But rather - `but chiefly that ye may prophesy' (speak under inspiration) (Proverbs 29:18; Acts 13:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:20), whether as to future events - i:e., prophecy-or explaining obscure Scriptures, especially the prophetic, or illustrating questions of Christian doctrine and practice. Modern preaching is its successor, without the inspiration. Desire zealously this (prophecy) more than any other spiritual gift, especially in preference to "tongues," (1 Corinthians 14:2, etc.)