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? Can it be denied that I have seen Jesus, our Lord? Are not you yourselves my work in the Lord?
2 Et si aliis non sum Apostolus, sed tamen vobis sum: nam signaculum Apostolatus mei vos estis in Domino.
If to other men I am not an Apostle, yet at any rate I am one to you; for your very existence as a Christian Church is the seal of my Apostleship.
3 Mea defensio apud eos, qui me interrogant, hæc est:
That is how I vindicate myself to those who criticize me.
4 Numquid non habemus potestatem manducandi, et bibendi?
Have we not a right to claim food and drink?
5 Numquid non habemus potestatem mulierem sororem circumducendi sicut et ceteri Apostoli, et fratres Domini, et Cephas?
Have we not a right to take with us on our journeys a Christian sister as our wife, as the rest of the Apostles do--and the Lord's brothers and Peter?
6 Aut ego solus, et Barnabas, non habemus potestatem hoc operandi?
Or again, is it only Barnabas and myself who are not at liberty to give up working with our hands?
7 Quis militat suis stipendiis umquam? Quis plantat vineam, et de fructu eius non edit? Quis pascit gregem, et de lacte gregis non manducat?
What soldier ever serves at his own cost? Who plants a vineyard and yet does not eat any of the grapes? Or who tends a herd of cattle and yet does not taste their milk?
8 Numquid secundum hominem hæc dico? An et lex hæc non dicit?
Am I making use of merely worldly illustrations? Does not the Law speak in the same tone?
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 written, "Thou shalt not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain."
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.
Is God simply thinking about the oxen? Or is it really in our interest that He speaks? Of course, it was written in our interest, because it is His will that when a plough-man ploughs, and a thresher threshes, it should be in the hope of sharing that which comes as the result.
11 Si nos vobis spiritualia seminavimus, magnum est si nos carnalia vestra metamus?
If it is we who sowed the spiritual grain in you, is it a great thing that we should reap a temporal harvest from you?
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 other teachers possess that right over you, do not we possess it much more? Yet we have not availed ourselves of the right, but we patiently endure all things rather than hinder in the least degree 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?
Do you not know that those who perform the sacred rites have their food from the sacred place, and that those who serve at the altar all alike share with the altar?
14 Ita et Dominus ordinavit iis, qui Evangelium annunciant, de Evangelio vivere.
In the same way the Lord also directed those who proclaim the Good News to maintain themselves by 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.
But I, for my part, have not used, and do not use, my full rights in any of these things. Nor do I now write with that object so far as I myself am concerned, for I would rather die than have anybody make this boast of mine an empty one.
16 Nam si evangelizavero, non est mihi gloria: necessitas enim mihi incumbit: væ enim mihi est, si non evangelizavero.
If I go on preaching the Good News, that is nothing for me to boast of; for the necessity is imposed upon me; and alas for me, if I fail to preach it!
17 Si enim volens hoc ago, mercedem habeo: si autem invitus, dispensatio mihi credita est.
And if I preach willingly, I receive my wages; but if against my will, a stewardship has nevertheless been entrusted to me.
18 Quæ est ergo merces mea? Ut Evangelium prædicans, sine sumptu ponam Evangelium, ut non abutar potestate mea in Evangelio.
What are my wages then? The very fact that the Good News which I preach will cost my hearers nothing, so that I cannot be charged with abuse of my privileges as a Christian preacher.
19 Nam cum liber essem ex omnibus, omnium me servum feci, ut plures lucrifacerem.
Though free from all human control, I have made myself the slave of all in the hope of winning as many converts as possible.
20 Et factus sum Iudæis tamquam Iudæus, ut Iudæos lucrarer.
To the Jews I have become like a Jew in order to win Jews; to men under the Law as if I were under the Law--although I am not--in order to win those who are under the 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 men without Law as if I were without Law--although I am not without Law in relation to God but am abiding in Christ's Law--in order to win those who are without Law.
22 Factus sum infirmis infirmus, ut infirmos lucrifacerem. Omnibus omnia factus sum, ut omnes facerem salvos.
To the weak I have become weak, so as to gain the weak. To all men I have become all things, in the hope that in every one of these ways I may save some.
23 Omnia autem facio propter Evangelium: ut particeps eius efficiar.
And I do everything for the sake of the Good News, that I may share with my hearers in its benefits.
24 Nescitis quod ii, qui in stadio currunt, omnes quidem currunt, sed unus accipit bravium? Sic currite ut comprehendatis.
Do you not know that in the foot-race the runners all run, but that only one gets the prize? You must run like him, in order to win with certainty.
25 Omnis autem, qui in agone contendit, ab omnibus se abstinet: et illi quidem ut corruptibilem coronam accipiant: nos autem incorruptam.
But every competitor in an athletic contest practices abstemiousness in all directions. They indeed do this for the sake of securing a perishable wreath, but we for the sake of securing one that will not perish.
26 Ego igitur sic curro, non quasi in incertum: sic pugno, non quasi aerem verberans:
That is how I run, not being in any doubt as to my goal. I am a boxer who does not inflict blows on the air,
27 sed castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo: ne forte cum aliis prædicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar.
but I hit hard and straight at my own body and lead it off into slavery, lest possibly, after I have been a herald to others, I should myself be rejected.
