| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you 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? |
| 2If to others I am not an apostle, at least 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 would examine me. | 3This is my answer to those who question my authority. |
| 4Do we not have the right to eat and drink? | 4Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals? |
| 5Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord 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 is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working 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 without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the 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 these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? | 8Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing? |
| 9For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for 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? |
| 10Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. | 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 things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? | 11Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink? |
| 12If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of 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 are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial 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 commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by 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 made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. | 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. |
| 16For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. 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! |
| 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. | 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 my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. | 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. |
| 19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. | 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 as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might 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 outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside 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, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all 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 it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them 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? So run that you may obtain it. | 24Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! |
| 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an 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. |
| 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. | 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. |
| 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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