Corinthios I 9
1 Non sum liber? Non sum Apostolus? Nonne Christum Iesum Dominum nostrum vidi? Nonne opus meum vos estis in Domino?
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen our Lord Jesus? Aren’t you yourselves my work achieved in union with the Lord?
2 Et si aliis non sum Apostolus, sed tamen vobis sum: nam signaculum Apostolatus mei vos estis in Domino.
If I am not an apostle to others, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal that stamps me as an apostle in union with the Lord.
3 Mea defensio apud eos, qui me interrogant, hæc est:
The defence that I make to my critics is this:
4 Numquid non habemus potestatem manducandi, et bibendi?
Haven’t we a right to food and drink?
5 Numquid non habemus potestatem mulierem sororem circumducendi sicut et ceteri Apostoli, et fratres Domini, et Cephas?
Haven’t we a right to take a wife with us, if she is a Christian, as the other apostles and the Master’s brothers and Cephas all do?
6 Aut ego solus, et Barnabas, non habemus potestatem hoc operandi?
Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to give up working for our bread?
7 Quis militat suis stipendiis umquam? Quis plantat vineam, et de fructu eius non edit? Quis pascit gregem, et de lacte gregis non manducat?
Does anyone ever serve as a soldier at his own expense? Does anyone plant a vineyard and not eat its produce? Or does anyone look after a herd and not drink the milk?
8 Numquid secundum hominem hæc dico? An et lex hæc non dicit?
Am I, in all this, speaking only from the human standpoint? Does not the Law also say the same?
9 Scriptum est enim in lege Moysi: Non alligabis os bovi trituranti. Numquid de bobus cura est Deo?
For in the Law of Moses it is said – “You should not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it the bullocks that God is thinking of?
10 An propter nos utique hoc dicit? Nam propter nos scripta sunt, quoniam debet in spe qui arat, arare: et qui triturat, in spe fructus percipiendi.
Or is not is said entirely for our sakes? Surely it was written for our sakes, for the ploughman ought not to plough, nor the thrasher to thrash, without expecting a share of the grain.
11 Si nos vobis spiritualia seminavimus, magnum est si nos carnalia vestra metamus?
Since we, then, sowed spiritual seed for you, is it too much that we should reap from you an earthly harvest?
12 Si alii potestatis vestræ participes sunt, quare non potius nos? Sed non usi sumus hac potestate: sed omnia sustinemus, ne quod offendiculum demus Evangelio Christi.
If others share in this right over you, don’t we even more? Still we did not avail ourselves of this right. No, we endure anything rather than impede the progress of the good news of the Christ.
13 Nescitis quoniam qui in sacrario operantur, quæ de sacrario sunt, edunt: et qui altari deserviunt, cum altari participant?
Don’t you know that those who do the work of the Temple live on what comes from the Temple, and that those who serve at the altar share the offerings with the altar?
14 Ita et Dominus ordinavit iis, qui Evangelium annunciant, de Evangelio vivere.
So, too, the Master has appointed that those who tell the good news should get their living from the good news.
15 Ego autem nullo horum usus sum. Non autem scripsi hæc ut ita fiant in me: bonum est enim mihi magis mori, quam ut gloriam meam quis evacuet.
I, however, have not availed myself of any of these rights. I am not saying this to secure such an arrangement for myself; indeed, I would far rather die – Nobody will make my boast a vain one!
16 Nam si evangelizavero, non est mihi gloria: necessitas enim mihi incumbit: væ enim mihi est, si non evangelizavero.
If I proclaim the good news, I have nothing to boast of, for I am compelled to do so. Woe is me if I do not share it!
17 Si enim volens hoc ago, mercedem habeo: si autem invitus, dispensatio mihi credita est.
If I do this work willingly, I have a reward; but, if unwillingly, I have been charged to perform a duty.
18 Quæ est ergo merces mea? Ut Evangelium prædicans, sine sumptu ponam Evangelium, ut non abutar potestate mea in Evangelio.
What is my reward, then? To present the good news free of all cost, and so make but a sparing use of the rights which it gives me.
19 Nam cum liber essem ex omnibus, omnium me servum feci, ut plures lucrifacerem.
Although I was entirely free, yet, to win as many converts as possible, I made myself everyone’s slave.
20 Et factus sum Iudæis tamquam Iudæus, ut Iudæos lucrarer.
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews. To those who are subject to Law I became like a man subject to Law – though I was not myself subject to Law – to win those who are subject to Law.
21 Iis qui sub lege sunt, quasi sub lege essem (cum ipse non essem sub lege) ut eos, qui sub lege erant, lucrifacerem. Iis, qui sine lege erant, tamquam sine lege essem (cum sine lege Dei non essem: sed in lege essem Christi) ut lucrifacerem eos, qui sine lege erant.
To those who have no Law I became like a man who has no Law – not that I am free from God’s Law; no, for I am under Christ’s Law – to win those who have no law.
22 Factus sum infirmis infirmus, ut infirmos lucrifacerem. Omnibus omnia factus sum, ut omnes facerem salvos.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so as at all costs to save some.
23 Omnia autem facio propter Evangelium: ut particeps eius efficiar.
And I do everything for the sake of the good news, so that with them I may share in its blessings.
24 Nescitis quod ii, qui in stadio currunt, omnes quidem currunt, sed unus accipit bravium? Sic currite ut comprehendatis.
Don’t you know that on a racecourse, though all run, yet only one wins the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
25 Omnis autem, qui in agone contendit, ab omnibus se abstinet: et illi quidem ut corruptibilem coronam accipiant: nos autem incorruptam.
Every athlete exercises self-restraint in everything; they, indeed, for a crown that fades, we for one that is unfading.
26 Ego igitur sic curro, non quasi in incertum: sic pugno, non quasi aerem verberans:
I, therefore, do not run aimlessly. I do not box like a man hitting the air.
27 sed castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo: ne forte cum aliis prædicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar.
No, I bruise my body and make it my slave, so that I, who have called others to the contest, will not myself be rejected.
