1 Corinthians 9

1 Am 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 I am not an apostle to others, yet indeed I am to you⁺; for you⁺ are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 This is my defense to those examining me:

4 Have we no authority to eat and to drink?

5 Have we no authority to take along a sister—a wife—as also the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

6 Or do only I and Barnabas have no authority to work?

7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense at any time? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock?

8 Do I not speak these things according to man, or does the law not also say these things?

9 For in the law of Moses it has been written: “You shall not muzzle an ox treading out grain.” Is there care for the oxen with God?

10 Or does He speak because of us entirely? For it was written because of us, because in hope the one plowing ought to plow, and the one threshing—in hope to partake.

11 If we sowed spiritual things among you⁺, [is it] too much if we will reap fleshly things from you⁺?

12 If others partake of the authority over you⁺, [should] we not more? But we did not use this authority. But we bear all things, so that we should not give any hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

13 Do you⁺ not know that those working [in] the temple eat the [things] of the temple, [and] those attending at the altar partake in the altar?

14 So also, the Lord directed those proclaiming the gospel to live from the gospel.

15 But I have not used [any] of these. And neither did I write these things so that it should be thus with me; for [it is] good for me rather to die than that anyone will make void my boasting.

16 For if I preach the gospel, there is no boasting to me, for necessity is laid upon me. But woe be to me if I should not preach the gospel!

17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

18 What then is my reward? That preaching the gospel, I should lay down the gospel free of charge, so as not to use up my authority in the gospel.

19 For being free from all, I myself became a slave to all, so that I might gain the more.

20 And I became to the Jews as a Jew, so that I might gain the Jews; to those under the law, as under the law (myself not being under the law), so that I might gain those under the law;

21 to those without the law, as without the law (not being without the law of God, but within the law of Christ), so that I might gain those without the law.

22 To the weak I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all, so that by all means I might save some.

23 Now I do all because of the gospel, so that I might become a fellow partaker of it.

24 Do you⁺ not know that those running in a race indeed all run, but one receives the prize? Run thus, so that you⁺ might obtain [it].

25 Now everyone striving controls himself in all things; these indeed then so that they might receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable.

26 Therefore I run thus, not as aimlessly; I fight thus, not as beating the air.

27 But I batter my body and bring [it] into servitude, lest somehow, having preached to others, I myself might be disqualified.