1 Corinthians 9

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The Rights of an Apostle

¹Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐλεύθερος οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος οὐχὶ Ἰησοῦν τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν ἑόρακα οὐ τὸ ἔργον μου ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν Κυρίῳ

¹Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?

²εἰ ἄλλοις οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος ἀλλά γε ὑμῖν εἰμι ἡ γὰρ σφραγίς μου τῆς ἀποστολῆς ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν Κυρίῳ

²Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

³Ἡ ἐμὴ ἀπολογία τοῖς ἐμὲ ἀνακρίνουσίν ἐστιν αὕτη

³This is my defense to those who scrutinize me:

⁴μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν

⁴Have we no right to food and to drink?

⁵μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα περιάγειν ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ Κηφᾶς

⁵Have we no right to take along a believing wife,^a as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?^b

⁶ἢ μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρνάβας οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι

⁶Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living?^a

⁷Τίς στρατεύεται ἰδίοις ὀψωνίοις ποτέ τίς φυτεύει ἀμπελῶνα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐσθίει ἢ τίς ποιμαίνει ποίμνην καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίει

⁷Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?

⁸Μὴ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ταῦτα λαλῶ ἢ καὶ ὁ νόμος ταῦτα οὐ λέγει

⁸Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?

⁹ἐν γὰρ τῷ Μωϋσέως νόμῳ γέγραπται Οὐ κημώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ Θεῷ

⁹For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”^a Is it about oxen that God is concerned?

¹⁰ἢ δι’ ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγει δι’ ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγράφη ὅτι ὀφείλει ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριᾶν καὶ ὁ ἀλοῶν ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετέχειν

¹⁰Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.

¹¹Εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν μέγα εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν

¹¹If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?

¹²εἰ ἄλλοι τῆς ὑμῶν ἐξουσίας μετέχουσιν οὐ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ ἀλλὰ πάντα στέγομεν ἵνα μή τινα ἐνκοπὴν δῶμεν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ

¹²If others have this right to your support, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not exercise this right. Instead, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

¹³Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ τὰ ἱερὰ ἐργαζόμενοι τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐσθίουσιν οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ παρεδρεύοντες τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ συμμερίζονται

¹³Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?

¹⁴οὕτως καὶ ὁ Κύριος διέταξεν τοῖς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καταγγέλλουσιν ἐκ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ζῆν

¹⁴In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

¹⁵ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ κέχρημαι οὐδενὶ τούτων οὐκ ἔγραψα δὲ ταῦτα ἵνα οὕτως γένηται ἐν ἐμοί καλὸν γάρ μοι μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἢ τὸ καύχημά μου οὐδεὶς κενώσει

¹⁵But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that something be done for me. Indeed, I would rather die than let anyone nullify my boast.

¹⁶Ἐὰν γὰρ εὐαγγελίζωμαι οὐκ ἔστιν μοι καύχημα ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ἐπίκειται οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν ἐὰν μὴ εὐαγγελίσωμαι

¹⁶Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

¹⁷εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω μισθὸν ἔχω εἰ δὲ ἄκων οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι

¹⁷If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.

¹⁸τίς οὖν μού ἐστιν ὁ μισθός ἵνα εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀδάπανον θήσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον εἰς τὸ μὴ καταχρήσασθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ

¹⁸What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it.

Paul the Servant to All

¹⁹Ἐλεύθερος γὰρ ὢν ἐκ πάντων πᾶσιν ἐμαυτὸν ἐδούλωσα ἵνα τοὺς πλείονας κερδήσω

¹⁹Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

²⁰καὶ ἐγενόμην τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὡς Ἰουδαῖος ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσω τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον ὡς ὑπὸ νόμον μὴ ὢν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ νόμον ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον κερδήσω

²⁰To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law.

²¹τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος μὴ ὢν ἄνομος Θεοῦ ἀλλ’ ἔννομος Χριστοῦ ἵνα κερδάνω τοὺς ἀνόμους

²¹To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law.

²²ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἀσθενέσιν ἀσθενής ἵνα τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς κερδήσω τοῖς πᾶσιν γέγονα πάντα ἵνα πάντως τινὰς σώσω

²²To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.

²³Πάντα δὲ ποιῶ διὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἵνα συνκοινωνὸς αὐτοῦ γένωμαι

²³I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

Run Your Race to Win

²⁴Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ ἐν σταδίῳ τρέχοντες πάντες μὲν τρέχουσιν εἷς δὲ λαμβάνει τὸ βραβεῖον οὕτως τρέχετε ἵνα καταλάβητε

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.

²⁵πᾶς δὲ ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος πάντα ἐγκρατεύεται ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἵνα φθαρτὸν στέφανον λάβωσιν ἡμεῖς δὲ ἄφθαρτον

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.

²⁶ἐγὼ τοίνυν οὕτως τρέχω ὡς οὐκ ἀδήλως οὕτως πυκτεύω ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων

²⁶Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.

²⁷ἀλλὰ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ μή πως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι

²⁷No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.