1 Corinthians 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Paul’s Example as an Apostle
9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the seal(A) of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?(B) 5 Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a Christian wife[a] like the other apostles,(C) the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?(D) 6 Or do Barnabas(E) and I alone have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who ever goes to war at his own expense?(F) Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock? 8 Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox(G) while it treads out grain.(H)[b] Is God really concerned with oxen? 10 Or isn’t He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us,(I) because he who plows ought to plow in hope,(J) and he who threshes should do so in hope of sharing the crop.(K) 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more?
However, we have not made use of this right; instead we endure everything(L) so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar(M) share in the offerings of the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.(N)
15 But I have used none of these rights, and I have not written this to make it happen that way for me. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast! 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted(O) with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my authority in the gospel.(P)
19 Although I am a free man and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win(Q) more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the law[c]—to win those under the law.(R) 21 To those who are without that law,(S) like one without the law—not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.(T) 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.[d]
24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race,(U) but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.(V) 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-control(W) in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown(X) that will fade away,(Y) but we a crown that will never fade away. 26 Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.(Z)
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 9:5 Lit a sister as a wife
- 1 Corinthians 9:9 Dt 25:4
- 1 Corinthians 9:20 Other mss omit though I myself am not under law
- 1 Corinthians 9:23 Lit partner of it
1 Corinthians 9
Expanded Bible
Paul Is like the Other Apostles
9 ·I am a free man [L Am I not free?]. ·I am [L Am I not…?] an apostle. ·I have [Haven’t I…?] seen Jesus our Lord. ·You people are all an example of [L Are you not…?] my work in the Lord. 2 If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are ·proof that I am an apostle [L the seal/verification of my apostleship] in the Lord.
3 This is the answer I give people who want to ·judge me [examine me; question my credentials]: 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink [C receive hospitality and support for their missionary work]? 5 Do we not have the right to ·bring a believing wife with us when we travel [or be married to a believer; L take along a wife who is a sister] as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers [Matt. 13:55; Acts 1:14] and ·Peter [L Cephas; C Peter’s name in Aramaic; see 1:12]? 6 Are Barnabas [Acts 13—14] and I the only ones who ·must work to earn our living [L don’t have the authority/right not to work]? 7 ·No soldier [L Who…?] ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. ·No one [L Who…?] ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. ·No person [L Who…?] takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.
8 I do not say this ·by human authority [from human experience; L according to man]; God’s law also says the same thing. 9 [L For] It is written in the law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox when it is ·working in [treading; threshing] the grain [Deut. 25:4].” When God said this, was he ·thinking only [concerned] about oxen? No. 10 He was ·really [surely] talking ·about us [for our benefit]. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who ·works in the grain [threshes] should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” 11 ·Since [If] we ·planted [sowed] spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things from you [C receive support for ministry]? 12 If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, ·too [or even more so]. But we ·do not use it [have not exercised this right]. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not ·keep anyone from believing [L put up a hindrance to] the ·Good News [Gospel] of Christ. 13 ·Surely [L Don’t…?] you know that those who ·work at the Temple [perform priestly temple service] get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who ·tell the Good News [proclaim/preach the Gospel] should get their living from ·this work [L the Gospel].
15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for ·bragging [boasting] taken away. 16 ·Telling the Good News [Preaching the Gospel] does not give me any reason for ·bragging [boasting]. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And ·how terrible it will be for [L woe to] me if I do not ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel]. 17 If I preach ·because it is my own choice [voluntarily], I have a reward. But if I preach ·and it is not my choice to do so [without volunteering], I am ·only doing the duty that was given to me [L entrusted with a stewardship/responsibility]. 18 So what ·reward [payment; wages] do I get? Only this: that when I tell the ·Good News [Gospel] I can offer it ·freely [free of charge]. I do not ·use [take advantage of; or misuse] my full rights in ·my work of preaching the Good News [L the Gospel].
19 I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ·ruled by [subject to; L under] the law. But to those who are ·ruled by [subject to; L under] the law I became like a person who is ·ruled by [subject to; L under] the law. I did this to win those who are ·ruled by [subject to; L under] the law. 21 To those who are without the law [C Gentiles] I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ·ruled by [L under] Christ’s law.) 22 To those who are weak [C in faith; 8:7–13], I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. 23 I do all this because of the ·Good News [Gospel] and so I can ·share in its blessings [or be a participant in it].
24 ·You [L Don’t you…?] know that in a ·race [L stadium] all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! 25 All those who compete in the games ·use self-control [train with strict discipline] so they can win a ·crown [victor’s wreath]. That ·crown [victor’s wreath] is ·an earthly thing that lasts only a short time [L perishable], but our crown ·will never be destroyed [L is imperishable]. 26 So I do not run ·without a goal [aimlessly]. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27 I ·treat my body hard [discipline/subdue/pummel my body] and ·make it my slave [subdue it] so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.
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