| Berean Study Bible | International Standard Version |
| 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? | 1I am free, am I not? I am an apostle, am I not? I have seen Jesus our Lord, haven't I? You are the result of my work in the Lord, aren't you? |
| 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. | 2If I am not an apostle to other people, surely I am one to you, for you are the evidence of my apostolic authority from the Lord. |
| 3This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: | 3This is my defense to those who would examine me: |
| 4Have we no right to food and to drink? | 4We have the right to earn our food, don't we? |
| 5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? | 5We have the right to take a believing wife with us like the other apostles, the Lord's brothers, and Cephas, don't we? |
| 6Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? | 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to keep on working for a living? |
| 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? | 7Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its grapes? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink any of its milk? |
| 8Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? | 8I am not saying this on human authority, am I? The Law says the same thing, doesn't it? |
| 9For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? | 9For in the Law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not only concerned about oxen, is he? |
| 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. | 10Isn't he really speaking for our benefit? Yes, this was written for our benefit, because the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. |
| 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? | 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? |
| 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. | 12If others enjoy this right over you, don't we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we tolerate everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of the Messiah. |
| 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? | 13You know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who serve at the altar get their share of its offerings, don't you? |
| 14In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. | 14In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who proclaim the gospel should make their living from the gospel. |
| 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. | 15But I have not used any of these rights, and I'm not writing this so that they may be applied in my case. I would rather die than let anyone deprive me of my reason for boasting. |
| 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! | 16For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been entrusted to me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn't preach the gospel! |
| 17If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. | 17For if I preach voluntarily, I get a reward, but if I am unwilling to do it, I am still entrusted with that obligation. |
| 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. | 18What, then, is my reward? It is to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so I never resort to demanding my rights when I'm preaching the gospel. |
| 19Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. | 19Although I am free from everyone's expectations, I have made myself a servant to all of them to win more people. |
| 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. | 20To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became like a man under the Law, in order to win those under the Law (although I myself am not under the Law). |
| 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. | 21To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God's Law, but I'm subject to the Messiah's law. |
| 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. | 22To the weak I became weak in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some of them. |
| 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. | 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings. |
| 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. | 24You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don't you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. |
| 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. | 25Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that never fades. |
| 26Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. | 26That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing. |
| 27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. | 27No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified. |
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