Book of Common Prayer

For Example, I Have The Right To Be Paid As God’s Workman

9 Am^[a] 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 to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord— ³ this^[b] is my defense to the ones examining me! ⁴ We do not fail to have the right to eat^[c] and drink, do we? ⁵ We do not fail to have the right to take along^[d] a sister who is a wife, do we?— as also the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas. ⁶ Or I alone and Barnabas— do not we have the right not to be working^[e]?

Workers Always Partake of The Fruit of Their Labors

⁷ Who ever serves-as-a-soldier with his own rations? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not eat of the milk of the flock?

Does Not The Law Say This Very Thing?

⁸ I am not speaking these things according to [mere] human thinking^[f], am I ? Or does not the Law also say these things? ⁹ For in the Law of Moses it has been written [in Deut 25:4], “You shall not muzzle a threshing ox”. God is not concerned about the oxen^[g], is He? ¹⁰ Or is He surely speaking for our sake? Indeed it was written for our sake— because^[h] the one plowing ought to plow on the basis of hope, and the one threshing to thresh on the basis of hope that he might partake.

I Do Have This Right Over You

¹¹ If we sowed spiritual things to you, is it a great thing if we shall reap fleshly^[i] things from you? ¹² If others partake of this right over you, should we not more?

But I Chose Not To Make Use Of This Right So As Not To Hinder The Gospel

Nevertheless, we did not make-use-of ^[j] this right. But we are bearing^[k] all things, in order that we might not give any hindrance to the good-news of Christ.

The Lord Even Commanded That Gospel Workers Live By Their Work

¹³ Do you not know that the ones working the temple-duties eat the things from the temple, that the ones serving at the altar divide-a-share with the altar? ¹⁴ So also the Lord directed^[l] the ones proclaiming the good-news to be living from the good-news.

But My Boast Is That I Do Not Make Use of This Right

¹⁵ But I have not made-use-of any of these things. And I did not write these things in order that it might become so in my case, for it would be better for me to die rather than— no one shall empty my boast^[m]!

Jesus Multiplies Five Loaves And Two Fish To Feed 5000 Men

³⁰ And the apostles are gathered-together with Jesus. And they reported to Him all that they did and that they taught. ³¹ And He says to them, “Come, you yourselves privately, to a desolate^[a] place, and rest a little”. For the ones coming and the ones going were many, and they were not even finding-an-opportunity^[b] to eat. ³² And they went away privately in the boat to a desolate place. ³³ And they^[c] saw them going, and many knew^[d] where. And they ran there together on foot from all the cities. And they came-ahead-of ^[e] them. ³⁴ And having gone^[f] out, He saw a large crowd and felt-deep-feelings [of compassion] toward them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And already having become a late hour, having come to Him, His disciples were saying that “This place is desolate, and it is already a late hour. ³⁶ Send them away in order that having gone away into the surrounding farms and villages, they may buy themselves what they may eat”. ³⁷ But the One, having responded, said to them, “You give them something to eat”. And they say to Him, “Should we, having gone away, buy loaves worth two-hundred denarii^[g] and give them something to eat?” ³⁸ And the One says to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go, see!” And having come-to-know, they say “Five, and two fish”. ³⁹ And He commanded them to make everyone lie-back party by party on the green^[h] grass. ⁴⁰ And they fell-back grouping by grouping, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ And having taken the five loaves and the two fish, having looked up to heaven, He blessed them^[i], and broke the loaves in pieces, and was giving them to His disciples in order that they might be setting it before them. And He divided the two fish to everyone. ⁴² And they all ate and were filled-to-satisfaction. ⁴³ And they picked up fragments— the fillings of twelve baskets, and from the fish. ⁴⁴ And the ones having eaten the loaves were five-thousand men^[j].

Jesus Walks Across The Raging Sea

⁴⁵ And immediately, He compelled^[k] His disciples to get into the boat, and to be going ahead to the other side, toward^[l] Bethsaida, while He sends-away the crowd. ⁴⁶ And having said-good-bye to them^[m], He went away on the mountain to pray.