1 Corinthians 9

1 Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Can it be denied that I have seen Jesus, our Lord? Are not you yourselves my work in the Lord?

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my workmanship in the Lord?

2 If to other men I am not an Apostle, yet at any rate I am one to you; for your very existence as a Christian Church is the seal of my Apostleship.

If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you. For you are the proof of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 That is how I vindicate myself to those who criticize me.

This is my defense to those who examine me:

4 Have we not a right to claim food and drink?

Do we not have the right to eat and drink?

5 Have we not a right to take with us on our journeys a Christian sister as our wife, as the rest of the Apostles do--and the Lord's brothers and Peter?

Do we not have the right to take along with us a wife who is a believer, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

6 Or again, is it only Barnabas and myself who are not at liberty to give up working with our hands?

Or is it only Barnabas and I who must work?

7 What soldier ever serves at his own cost? Who plants a vineyard and yet does not eat any of the grapes? Or who tends a herd of cattle and yet does not taste their milk?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink milk from it?

8 Am I making use of merely worldly illustrations? Does not the Law speak in the same tone?

Do I say these things based on human authority? Does not the law also say this?

9 For in the Law of Moses it is written, "Thou shalt not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain."

For it is written in the law of Moses, “Do not put a muzzle on an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it really the oxen that God cares about?

10 Is God simply thinking about the oxen? Or is it really in our interest that He speaks? Of course, it was written in our interest, because it is His will that when a plough-man ploughs, and a thresher threshes, it should be in the hope of sharing that which comes as the result.

Is he not speaking about us? It was written for us, because the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should thresh in the expectation of sharing in the harvest.

11 If it is we who sowed the spiritual grain in you, is it a great thing that we should reap a temporal harvest from you?

If we sowed spiritual things among you, is it too much for us to reap material things from you?

12 If other teachers possess that right over you, do not we possess it much more? Yet we have not availed ourselves of the right, but we patiently endure all things rather than hinder in the least degree the progress of the Good News of the Christ.

If others exercised this right from you, do we not have even more? But we did not claim this right. Instead we endured everything rather than be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

13 Do you not know that those who perform the sacred rites have their food from the sacred place, and that those who serve at the altar all alike share with the altar?

Do you not know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple? Do you not know that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?

14 In the same way the Lord also directed those who proclaim the Good News to maintain themselves by the Good News.

In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel.

15 But I, for my part, have not used, and do not use, my full rights in any of these things. Nor do I now write with that object so far as I myself am concerned, for I would rather die than have anybody make this boast of mine an empty one.

But I have not claimed any of these rights. And I do not write this so something might be done for me. I would rather die than anyone deprive me of this boast.

16 If I go on preaching the Good News, that is nothing for me to boast of; for the necessity is imposed upon me; and alas for me, if I fail to preach it!

For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I must do this. And woe be to me if I do not preach the gospel!

17 And if I preach willingly, I receive my wages; but if against my will, a stewardship has nevertheless been entrusted to me.

For if I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if not willingly, I still have a responsibility that was entrusted to me.

18 What are my wages then? The very fact that the Good News which I preach will cost my hearers nothing, so that I cannot be charged with abuse of my privileges as a Christian preacher.

What then is my reward? That when I preach, I may offer the gospel without charge and so not take full use of my right in the gospel.

19 Though free from all human control, I have made myself the slave of all in the hope of winning as many converts as possible.

For though I am free from all, I became a servant to all, in order that I might win more.

20 To the Jews I have become like a Jew in order to win Jews; to men under the Law as if I were under the Law--although I am not--in order to win those who are under the Law;

To the Jews I became like a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law in order to win those under the law. I did this even though I myself was not under the law.

21 to men without Law as if I were without Law--although I am not without Law in relation to God but am abiding in Christ's Law--in order to win those who are without Law.

To those outside the law, I became like one outside the law, although I was not outside the law of God myself, but under the law of Christ. I did this so that I may win those outside the law.

22 To the weak I have become weak, so as to gain the weak. To all men I have become all things, in the hope that in every one of these ways I may save some.

To the weak I became weak, so that I may win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some.

23 And I do everything for the sake of the Good News, that I may share with my hearers in its benefits.

I do all things for the gospel's sake, so that I may participate in its blessings.

24 Do you not know that in the foot-race the runners all run, but that only one gets the prize? You must run like him, in order to win with certainty.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run the race, but that only one receives the prize? So run to win the prize.

25 But every competitor in an athletic contest practices abstemiousness in all directions. They indeed do this for the sake of securing a perishable wreath, but we for the sake of securing one that will not perish.

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a wreath that is perishable, but we do it to receive one that is imperishable.

26 That is how I run, not being in any doubt as to my goal. I am a boxer who does not inflict blows on the air,

Therefore I do not run without purpose or box by beating the air.

27 but I hit hard and straight at my own body and lead it off into slavery, lest possibly, after I have been a herald to others, I should myself be rejected.

But I subdue my body and make it a slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself may not be disqualified.