1 Corinthians 9

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, nevertheless I surely am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. ³ My defense to those examining me in this: ⁴ Have we no right at all to eat and drink? ⁵ Have we no right at all to be leading about a sister as a wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? ⁶ Or have only I and Barnabas no right not to be working? ⁷ Who is warring at any time supplying his own rations? Who is planting a vineyard and not eating of its fruit? Or who is tending a flock and not eating of the milk of the flock? ⁸ Not according to man am I speaking these things. Or is the law not also saying these things? ⁹ For in the law of Moses it is written: "You shall not muzzle the threshing ox." Not for oxen is the care of God! ¹⁰ Or is He undoubtedly saying it because of us? Because of us, for it was written that the plower ought to be plowing in expectation, and the thresher to partake of his expectation. ¹¹ If, in expectation, we sow the spiritual in you, is it a great thing if we shall reap of your fleshly things? ¹² If others are partaking of this right from you, are not rather we? Nevertheless we do not use this right, but we are forgoing all, lest we may be giving any hindrance to the evangel of Christ ¹³ Are you not aware that the workers at the sacred things are eating of the things of the sanctuary? Those settling beside the altar have their portion with the altar. ¹⁴ Thus the Lord also prescribes that those who are announcing the evangel are to be living of the evangel. ¹⁵ Yet I do not use any of these things. Now I do not write these things that it may be becoming thus with me, for it is my ideal rather to be dying, than that anyone shall be making my boast void. ¹⁶ For if I should be bringing the evangel, it is not for me to boast in, for necessity is lying upon me, for it were woe to me if I should not be bringing the evangel! ¹⁷ For if I am engaging in this voluntarily, I have wages, yet if involuntarily, I have been entrusted with an administration. ¹⁸ What, then, is my wage? That, in bringing the evangel, I should be placing the evangel without expense, so as not to use up my authority in the evangel. ¹⁹ For, being free of all, I enslave myself to all, that I should be gaining the more. ²⁰ And I became to the Jews as a Jew, that I should be gaining Jews; to those under law as under law (not being myself under law), that I should be gaining those under law; ²¹ to those without law as without law (not being without God's law, but legally Christ's), that I should be gaining those without law. ²² I became as weak to the weak, that I should be gaining the weak. To all have I become all, that I should undoubtedly be saving some. ²³ Now all am I doing because of the evangel, that I may be becoming a joint participant of it. ²⁴ Are you not aware that those racing in a stadium are, indeed, all racing, yet one is obtaining the prize? Thus be racing that you may be grasping it. ²⁵ Now every contender is controlling himself in all things; they, indeed, then, that they may be obtaining a corruptible wreath, yet we an incorruptible. ²⁶ Now then, thus am I racing, not as dubious, thus am I boxing, not as punching the air, ²⁷ but I am belaboring my body and leading it into slavery, lest somehow, when heralding to others, I myself may become disqualified.