¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights.^(A) And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.^(B)

⁹ Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked^(A) night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone^(B) while we preached the gospel of God to you.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked^(A) night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

¹² If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right.^(A) On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder^(B) the gospel of Christ.

⁹ And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed.^(A) I have kept myself from being a burden to you^(B) in any way, and will continue to do so. ¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me,^(C) nobody in the regions of Achaia^(D) will stop this boasting^(E) of mine. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows^(F) I do!^(G)

¹² And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.