1 Corinthians 4:9-16

English Standard Version

⁹ For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^(A)like men sentenced to death, because we ^(B)have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. ^10 (C)We are fools for Christ's sake, but ^(D)you are wise in Christ. ^(E)We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. ¹¹ To the present hour ^(F)we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^(G)buffeted and ^(H)homeless, ¹² and we ^(I)labor, working with our own hands. ^(J)When reviled, we bless; ^(K)when persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when slandered, we entreat. ^(L)We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ^(M)the refuse of all things.

¹⁴ I do not write these things ^(N)to make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^(O)as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For ^(P)though you have countless^[a] guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^(Q)I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ I urge you, then, ^(R)be imitators of me.