1 Corinthians 9:1–18

Paul Surrenders His Rights

9^jAm I not free? ^kAm I not an apostle? ^lHave I not seen Jesus our Lord? ^mAre not you my workmanship in the Lord? ²If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are ⁿthe seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³This is my defense to those who would examine me. ^4oDo we not have the right to eat and drink? ^5pDo we not have the right to take along a believing wife,¹ as do the other apostles and ^qthe brothers of the Lord and ^rCephas? ⁶Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? ^7sWho serves as a soldier at his own expense? ^tWho plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

⁸Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? ⁹For it is written in the Law of Moses, ^u“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written ^vfor our sake, because ^wthe plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. ^11xIf we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? ¹²If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, ^ywe have not made use of this right, but we endure anything ^zrather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

¹³Do you not know that ^athose who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? ¹⁴In the same way, the Lord commanded that ^bthose who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

¹⁵But ^cI have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone ^ddeprive me of my ground for boasting. ¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For ^enecessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with ^fa stewardship. ¹⁸What then is my reward? That in my preaching ^gI may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.