| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 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? | 1Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord? |
| 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. | 2Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle. |
| 3This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: | 3This is my answer to those who question my authority. |
| 4Have we no right to food and to drink? | 4Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? |
| 5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? | 5Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does? |
| 6Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? | 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves? |
| 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? | 7What soldier has to pay his own expenses? What farmer plants a vineyard and doesn’t have the right to eat some of its fruit? What shepherd cares for a flock of sheep and isn’t allowed to drink some of the milk? |
| 8Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? | 8Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? |
| 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 the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this? |
| 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. | 10Wasn’t he actually speaking to us? Yes, it was written for us, so that the one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest. |
| 11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you? | 11Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? |
| 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 you support others who preach to you, shouldn’t we have an even greater right to be supported? But we have never used this right. We would rather put up with anything than be an obstacle to the Good News about Christ. |
| 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? | 13Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings. |
| 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 ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it. |
| 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. | 15Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge. |
| 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! | 16Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! |
| 17If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility. | 17If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. |
| 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 pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. |
| 19Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. | 19Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. |
| 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. | 20When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are 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. | 21When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. |
| 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. | 22When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. |
| 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings. | 23I do everything to spread the Good News and 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. | 24Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! |
| 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. | 25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. |
| 26Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. | 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. |
| 27No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. | 27I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. |
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