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1 Corinthians 9:4-12
English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 9:4-12
English Standard Version
4 (A)Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 (B)Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife,[a] as do the other apostles and (C)the brothers of the Lord and (D)Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 (E)Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? (F)Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, (G)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written (H)for our sake, because (I)the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 (J)If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more?
Nevertheless, (K)we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything (L)rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Corinthians 9:5 Greek a sister as wife
1 Corinthians 9:4-12
New International Version
1 Corinthians 9:4-12
New International Version
4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink?(A) 5 Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife(B) along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers(C) and Cephas[a]?(D) 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas(E) who lack the right to not work for a living?
7 Who serves as a soldier(F) at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard(G) and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”[b](H) Is it about oxen that God is concerned?(I) 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us,(J) because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.(K) 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?(L) 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.(M) On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder(N) the gospel of Christ.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 9:5 That is, Peter
- 1 Corinthians 9:9 Deut. 25:4
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.