1 Corinthians 9–10

Chapter 9

Paul’s Use of Liberty

¹Am I not ^afree? Am I not an ^bapostle? Have I not ^cseen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^dmy work in the Lord?

²If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the ^aseal of my ^bapostleship in the Lord.

³My defense to those who examine me is this:

^41aDo we not have a right to eat and drink?

^51aDo we not have a right to take along a ²believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^bbrothers of the Lord and ^cCephas?

⁶Or do only ^1aBarnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?

⁷Who at any time serves ^aas a soldier at his own expense? Who ^bplants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not ¹use the milk of the flock?

⁸I am not speaking these things ^aaccording to ¹human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things?

⁹For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^aYou shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about ^boxen, is He?

¹⁰Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, ^afor our sake it was written, because ^bthe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.

^11aIf we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

¹²If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^adid not use this right, but we endure all things ^bso that we will cause no hindrance to the ^cgospel of Christ.

^13aDo you not know that those who ^bperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ¹from the altar?

¹⁴So also ^athe Lord directed those who proclaim the ^bgospel to ^cget their living from the gospel.

¹⁵But I have ^aused 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 ^bmy boast an empty one.

¹⁶For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for ^aI am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach ^bthe gospel.

¹⁷For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^areward; but if against my will, I have a ^bstewardship entrusted to me.

¹⁸What then is my ^areward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^bwithout charge, so as ^cnot to make full use of my right in the gospel.

¹⁹For though I am ^afree from all men, I have made myself ^ba slave to all, so that I may ^cwin more.

^20aTo the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under ¹the Law, as under the Law though ^bnot being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;

²¹to those who are ^awithout law, ^bas without law, though not being without the law of God but ^cunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.

²²To the ^aweak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become ^ball things to all men, ^cso that I may by all means save some.

²³I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

^24aDo you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ^bthe prize? ^cRun in such a way that you may win.

²⁵Everyone who ^acompetes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable ^bwreath, but we an imperishable.

²⁶Therefore I ^arun in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not ^bbeating the air;

²⁷but I ¹discipline ^amy body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Chapter 10

Avoid Israel’s Mistakes

¹For ^aI do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all ^bunder the cloud and all ^cpassed through the sea;

²and all were ^abaptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

³and all ^aate the same spiritual food;

⁴and all ^adrank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was ¹Christ.

⁵Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for ^athey were laid low in the wilderness.

⁶Now these things happened as ^aexamples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as ^bthey also craved.

⁷Do not be ^aidolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “^bThe people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to ^cplay.”

⁸Nor let us act immorally, as ^asome of them ¹did, and ^btwenty-three thousand fell in one day.

⁹Nor let us try the Lord, as ^asome of them ¹did, and were destroyed by the serpents.

¹⁰Nor ^agrumble, as some of them ¹did, and ^bwere destroyed by the ^cdestroyer.

¹¹Now these things happened to them as an ^aexample, and ^bthey were written for our instruction, upon whom ^cthe ends of the ages have come.

¹²Therefore let him who ^athinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

¹³No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and ^aGod is faithful, who will not allow you to be ^btempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

¹⁴Therefore, my ^abeloved, flee from ^bidolatry.

¹⁵I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.

¹⁶Is not the ^acup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the ^1bbread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?

¹⁷Since there is one ¹bread, we ^awho are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.

¹⁸Look at ¹the nation ^aIsrael; are not those who ^beat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?

¹⁹What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or ^athat an idol is anything?

²⁰No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they ^asacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.

^21aYou cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and ^bthe table of demons.

²²Or do we ^aprovoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not ^bstronger than He, are we?

^23aAll things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things ^bedify.

²⁴Let no one ^aseek his own good, but that of his ¹neighbor.

^25aEat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake;

^26afor the earth is the Lord’s, and ¹all it contains.

²⁷If ^aone of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, ^beat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake.

²⁸But ^aif anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake;

²⁹I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for ^awhy is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?

³⁰If I partake with thankfulness, ^awhy am I slandered concerning that for which I ^bgive thanks?

³¹Whether, then, you eat or drink or ^awhatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

^32aGive no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to ^bthe church of God;

³³just as I also ^aplease all men in all things, ^bnot seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, ^cso that they may be saved.