1 Corinthians 9:24-27

New Living Translation

²⁴Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

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1 Corinthians 9:24-27

International Standard Version

²⁴You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don’t you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. ²⁵Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that^[a] never fades. ²⁶That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing. ²⁷No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.

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Footnotes

1 Corinthians 9:25 The Gk. lacks run to win a prize that

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

New International Version

The Need for Self-Discipline

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?^(A) Run^(B) in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown^(C) that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.^(D) ²⁶Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly;^(E) I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.^(F) ²⁷No, I strike a blow to my body^(G) and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.^(H)