1 Corinthians 9 (New American Standard)

Paul's Use of Liberty

1 Am I not ¹free ? Am I not an ²apostle ? Have I not ³seen Jesus our Lord ? Are you not ⁴my work in the Lord ? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the ⁵seal of my ⁶apostleship in the Lord. 3 My defense to those who examine me is this : 4 ^a7Do we not have a right to eat and drink ? 5 ^b8Do we not have a right to take along a ^cbelieving wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ⁹brothers of the Lord and ¹⁰Cephas ? 6 Or do only ^d11Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working ? 7 Who at any time serves ¹²as a soldier at his own expense ? Who ¹³plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not ^euse the milk of the flock ? 8 I am not speaking these things ¹⁴according to ^fhuman judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things ? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, "¹⁵YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING." God is not concerned about ¹⁶oxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake ? Yes, ¹⁷for our sake it was written, because ¹⁸the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 ¹⁹If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do we not more ? Nevertheless, we ²⁰did not use this right, but we endure all things ²¹so that we will cause no hindrance to the ²²gospel of Christ. 13 ²³Do you not know that those who ²⁴perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ^gfrom the altar ? 14 So also ²⁵the Lord directed those who proclaim the ²⁶gospel to ²⁷get their living from the gospel. 15 But I have ²⁸used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case ; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make ²⁹my boast an empty one. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for ³⁰I am under compulsion ; for woe is me if I do not preach ³¹the gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ³²reward ; but if against my will, I have a ³³stewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my ³⁴reward ? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ³⁵without charge, so as ³⁶not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am ³⁷free from all men, I have made myself ³⁸a slave to all, so that I may ³⁹win more. 20 ⁴⁰To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews ; to those who are under ^hthe Law, as under ⁱthe Law though ⁴¹not being myself under ^jthe Law, so that I might win those who are under ^kthe Law ; 21 to those who are ⁴²without law, ⁴³as without law, though not being without the law of God but ⁴⁴under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the ⁴⁵weak I became weak, that I might win the weak ; I have become ⁴⁶all things to all men, ⁴⁷so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 ⁴⁸Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ⁴⁹the prize ? ⁵⁰Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who ⁵¹competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable ⁵²wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I ⁵³run in such a way, as not without aim ; I box in such a way, as not ⁵⁴beating the air ; 27 but I ^ldiscipline ⁵⁵my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.