1 Corinthians 9

1 I am certainly free [to do all the things that God allows me to do.] [RHQ] I am an apostle. [RHQ] [You] certainly [know that] I have seen Jesus our Lord. [RHQ] It is a result of my work that you [have believed in] the Lord [Jesus]. [RHQ]

Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen Christ Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

2 And even though other people may think that I am not an apostle, you certainly should know that I am an apostle. [Remember that] your having become Christians [MET] [as a result of my telling you about] the Lord (confirms/shows that it is true) that I am an apostle.

And if I am not an Apostle to others, yet still I am to you. For you are the seal of my Apostleship in the Lord.

3 In order to defend myself, this [is what I say] to those who criticize me [by claiming that I do not act like an apostle].

My defense with those who question me is this:

4 As for Barnabas and me, we certainly have the right [as apostles] to receive [from you and other congregations] food and drink [for our work]. [RHQ]

Do we not have the authority to eat and to drink?

5 [We have the] same right [that] the other apostles and the Lord Jesus’ [younger] brothers and [especially] Peter have. They all take along a wife who is a believer [when they travel various places in order to tell people about Christ. And they have a right that the people whom they work among will support their wives, too]. So Barnabas and I certainly have those same rights. [RHQ]

Do we not have the authority to travel around with a woman who is a sister, just as do the other Apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

6 It would be ridiculous to think that Barnabas and I are the only apostles who must work to earn money to pay our expenses [while we are doing God’s work! [RHQ]]

Or is it only myself and Barnabas who do not have the authority to act in this way?

7 Soldiers certainly do not pay their own wages. [RHQ] Those who plant a vineyard would certainly eat some of the grapes [when they become ripe]. [RHQ] Those who care for sheep would certainly drink the milk from those sheep. [RHQ] [Similarly, those who tell others about Christ certainly have a right to receive] ([financial help/food]) [from the people to whom they preach].

Who has ever served as a soldier and paid his own stipend? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat from its produce? Who pastures a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock?

8 I am saying that, not only because people think that it is right. [RHQ] [No], I am [RHQ] saying it because it is what [God said] in the laws [that he gave to Moses].

Am I saying these things according to man? Or does the law not also say these things?

9 Moses wrote in one of those laws, “While an ox is threshing [grain], you must not tie its mouth shut [so that it cannot eat the grain].” (God was not only concerned about oxen [when he gave that law]./Was God [only] concerned about oxen [when he gave that law]?) [RHQ]

For it is written in the law of Moses: “You shall not bind the mouth of an ox, while it is treading out the grain.” Is God here concerned with the oxen?

10 [No], he was [RHQ] concerned about us, also! Yes, [God caused Moses to] write those words [because he is concerned] about us! Those who plow the ground confidently expect [to eat some of] the crop [that grows]. Those who thresh grain confidently expect [to eat some of the grain that they thresh. Similarly, we who proclaim the message about Christ have the right to confidently expect to receive financial help for our work].

Or is he saying this, indeed, for our sake? These things were written specifically for us, because he who plows, ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes, too, in hope of receiving the produce.

11 And because we have proclaimed God’s message to you, we certainly have the right to receive from you the things that we need for our bodies [MET]! [MET, RHQ]

If we have sown spiritual things in you, is it important if we harvest from your worldly things?

12 Since other people [who preached to you] had that right, certainly Barnabas and I have the same right. [RHQ] However, neither of us insisted [that you give us the things that] we have a right [to receive from you]. Instead, we were willing to endure anything in order that we not hinder [anyone from believing] the message about Christ.

If others are sharers in this authority over you, why are we not more entitled? And yet we have not used this authority. Instead, we bear all things, lest we give any hindrance to the Gospel of Christ.

13 You should keep in mind that [the priests and servants] in the Temple eat [some of the food that people bring to] the Temple. [RHQ] Specifically, the priests who work at the altar eat some of [the food that the people bring to sacrifice on] the altar.

Do you not know that those who work in the holy place eat the things that are for the holy place, and that those who serve at the altar also share with the altar?

14 So the Lord has commanded that those who proclaim the good message [about him] should receive from [those who hear that] message what they need to live on.

So, too, has the Lord ordained that those who announce the Gospel should live by the Gospel.

15 However, I have not requested that you [give me] those things that I have a right [to receive from you]. Furthermore, I am writing this to you, not in order to request you to begin [giving me financial help now]. I would rather die than to [receive help from you]. I do not want anyone to prevent me from boasting [about my proclaiming God’s message to you without receiving financial help from you].

Yet I have used none of these things. And I have not written so that these things may be done for me. For it is better for me to die, rather than to let anyone empty out my glory.

16 When I proclaim the message about Christ, I cannot boast [about doing it], because [Christ] has commanded me [to do it]. I would be very miserable (OR, [I am afraid that] God would punish me) if I did not proclaim that message.

For if I preach the Gospel, it is not glory for me. For an obligation has been laid upon me. And woe to me, if I do not preach the Gospel.

17 If I had decided by myself to proclaim it, [God] would reward me. But I did not decide by myself to do that. I am simply doing the work that [God] entrusted to me.

For if I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if I do this reluctantly, a dispensation is granted to me.

18 So perhaps you wonder what my reward is. [RHQ] [I will tell you]. When I proclaim the good message [about Christ], I do not ask people for financial help. It [makes me very happy not to ask for help, and being happy is the] reward I get. I do not want to use the rights that I have [when I proclaim] the gospel.

And what, then, would be my reward? So, when preaching the Gospel, I should give the Gospel without taking, so that I may not misuse my authority in the Gospel.

19 I am not obligated to do what anyone else thinks that I should do. Nevertheless, when I have been with any group of people, I have made myself [do what they believed that I should do, just like a slave does what his master wants him to do]. I have done that in order that I might convince more people [to trust in Christ].

For when I was a free man to all, I made myself the servant of all, so that I might gain all the more.

20 Specifically, when I was with fellow Jews, I did the things that Jews [think that people should do]. I did that in order that I might convince some of them [to trust in Christ]. Although I am now not obligated to obey the Jewish laws and rituals, when I was with those who believe that they are obligated to obey those laws, I did the things that they [think that people should do]. I did that in order to convince some of them [to trust in Christ].

And so, to the Jews, I became like a Jew, so that I might gain the Jews.

21 When I was with (non-Jews/those who do not know those laws), I did the things that non-Jews [think that people should do], in order that I might convince some of them [to trust in Christ]. I do not mean that I disobey God’s laws. No, I obey the things that Christ commanded us to do.

To those who are under the law, I became as if I were under the law, (though I was not under the law) so that I might gain those who were under the law. To those who were without the law, I became as if I were without the law, (though I was not without the law of God, being in the law of Christ) so that I might gain those who were without the law.

22 When I was with those who doubt [whether God will permit them to do certain things that others] ([disapprove of/think it is not right to do]), I [avoided doing those things], in order that I might convince some of them [to trust in Christ]. In summary, I have done all the things [that the people I have been with think that others should do], in order that by every possible means I might convince some of them [to trust in Christ].

To the weak, I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. To all, I became all, so that I might save all.

23 I do all these things in order that [more people will believe] the message about Christ, and in order that I, along with other believers, may receive the good things [that God promises to give us].

And I do everything for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may become its partner.

24 When people run in a race, they all run, but only one of them wins the race and as a result gets a prize. You certainly know that [RHQ]. So, [just like] runners [exert themselves fully to win a race] [MET], [you should exert yourselves fully to do the things that God wants you to do], in order that you may receive the reward [that God wants to give you].

Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve.

25 All athletes exercise their bodies strenuously in many ways. They do that in order to receive a wreath [as a reward to wear on their heads]. Those wreaths fade, but we will receive a reward that will last forever [LIT].

And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible.

26 For that reason, I [try hard to please God] [MET], [like a] runner who runs toward the goal [LIT]. I [try hard to accomplish what God wants me to accomplish, like] a boxer tries hard to hit his opponent, not to miss hitting him.

And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air.

27 I beat my body [to make it do what I want it to do] [MET], [as] slaves [obey their masters], in order that, after I have proclaimed [God’s message] to others, he will not [say that I do] not deserve to receive a reward.

Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.