DB1 | The Rights of an Apostle 1Cor.9.1-27 | NEB Contents | notes| 9 | New English Bible (New Testament) | Passage | New Testament in Greek (UBS.Ed.26) |
| 9 1 | AM I NOT A FREE MAN? Am I not an apostle? Did I not see Jesus our Lord? Are not you my own handiwork, in the Lord? | The Rights of an Apostle 1Cor.9.1-27 | Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐλεύθερος; οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος; οὐχὶ Ἰησοῦν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν ἑόρακὰ οὐ τὸ ἐργον μου ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν κυρίῳ; |
| 2 | If others do not accept me as an apostle, you at least are bound to do so, for you are yourselves the very seal of my apostolate, in the Lord. | εἰ ἀλλοις οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος, ἀλλά γε ὑμῖν εἰμι· ἡ γὰρ σφραγίς μου τῆς ἀποστολῆς ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν κυρίῳ. | |
| 3 | To those who put me in the dock this is my answer: | Ἡ ἐμὴ ἀπολογία τοῖς ἐμὲ ἀνακρίνουσίν ἐστιν αὑτη. | |
| 4 | Have I no right to eat and drink? | μὴ οὐκ ἐχομεν ἐξουσίαν φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν; | |
| 5 | Have I no right to take a Christian wife about with me, like the rest of the apostles and the Lord's brothers, and Cephas? | μὴ οὐκ ἐχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα περιάγειν, ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ Κηφᾶς; | |
| 6 | Or are Barnabas and I alone bound to work for our living? | ἢ μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἐχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαὶ; | |
| 7 | Did you ever hear of a man serving in the army at his own expense? or planting a vineyard without eating the fruit of it? or tending a flock without using its milk? | τίς στρατεύεται ἰδίοις ὀψωνίοις ποτέ; τίς φυτεύει ἀμπελῶνα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐσθίεὶ ἢ τίς ποιμαίνει ποίμνην καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίεὶ; | |
| 8 | Do not suppose I rely on these human analogies; | Μὴ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ταῦτα λαλῶ, ἢ καὶ ὁ νόμος ταῦτα οὐ λέγεὶ; | |
| 9 | in the Law of Moses we read, 'You shall not muzzle a threshing ox.' Do you suppose God's concern is with oxen? | - You shall not muzzle an ox 1Cor.9.9 | Dt.25.4 | ἐν γὰρ τῷ Μωϋσέως νόμῳ γέγραπται, Οὐ κημώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα. μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ θεῷ; |
| 10 | Or is the reference clearly to ourselves? Of course it refers to us, in the sense that the ploughman should plough and the thresher thresh in the hope of getting some of the produce. | ἢ δῖ ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγεὶ δῖ ἡμᾶς γὰρ ἐγράφη, ὅτι ὀφείλει ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριᾶν, καὶ ὁ ἀλοῶν ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετέχειν. | |
| 11 | If we have sown a spiritual crop for you, is it too much to expect from you a material harvest? | εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν, μέγα εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν; | |
| 12 | If you allow others these rights, have not we a stronger claim? But I have availed myself of no such right. On the contrary, I put up with all that comes my way rather than offer any hindrance to the gospel of Christ. | εἰ ἀλλοι τῆς ὑμῶν ἐξουσίας μετέχουσιν, οὐ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ, ἀλλὰ πάντα στέγομεν ἵνα μή τινα ἐγκοπὴν δῶμεν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. | |
| 13 | You know (do you not?) that those who perform the temple service eat the temple offerings, and those who wait upon the altar claim their share of the sacrifice. | οὐκ οἰδατε ὅτι οἱ τὰ ἱερὰ ἐργαζόμενοι τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἐσθίουσιν, οἱ τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ παρεδρεύοντες τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ συμμερίζονταὶ; | |
| 14 | In the same way the Lord gave instructions that those who preach the Gospel should earn their living by the Gospel. | οὑτως καὶ ὁ κύριος διέταξεν τοῖς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καταγγέλλουσιν ἐκ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ζῆν. | |
| 15 | But I have never taken advantage of any such right, nor do I intend to claim it in this letter. I had rather die! No one shall make my boast an empty boast. | ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ κέχρημαι οὐδενὶ τούτων. οὐκ ἐγραψα δὲ ταῦτα ἵνα οὑτως γένηται ἐν ἐμοί, καλὸν γάρ μοι μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἠ - τὸ καύχημά μου οὐδεὶς κενώσει. | |
| 16 | Even if I preach the Gospel, I can claim no credit for it; I cannot help myself; it would be misery to me not to preach. | ἐὰν γὰρ εὐαγγελίζωμαι, οὐκ ἐστιν μοι καύχημα· ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ἐπίκειται· οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν ἐὰν μὴ εὐαγγελίσωμαι. | |
| 17 | If I did it of my own choice, I should be earning my pay; but since I do it apart from my own choice, I am simply discharging a trust. Or: If I do it willingly I am earning my pay; if I do it unwillingly I should still have a trust laid upon me. | εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, μισθὸν ἐχω· εἰ δὲ ἀκων, οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι. | |
| 18 | Then what is my pay? The satisfaction of preaching the Gospel without expense to anyone; in other words, of waiving the rights which my preaching gives me. | τίς οὖν μού ἐστιν ὁ μισθός; ἵνα εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀδάπανον θήσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, εἰς τὸ μὴ καταχρήσασθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μου ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ. | |
| 19 | I am a free man and own no master; but I have made myself every man's servant, to win over as many as possible. | Ἐλεύθερος γὰρ ὢν ἐκ πάντων πᾶσιν ἐμαυτὸν ἐδούλωσα, ἵνα τοὺς πλείονας κερδήσω· | |
| 20 | To Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; as they are subject to the Law of Moses, I put myself under that law to win them although I am not myself subject to it. | καὶ ἐγενόμην τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὡς Ἰουδαῖος, ἵνα Ἰουδαίους κερδήσω· τοῖς ὑπὸ νόμον ὡς ὑπὸ νόμον, μὴ ὢν αὐτὸς ὑπὸ νόμον, ἵνα τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον κερδήσω· | |
| 21 | To win Gentiles, who are outside the Law, I made myself like one of them, although I am not in truth outside God's law, being under the law of Christ. | τοῖς ἀνόμοις ὡς ἀνομος, μὴ ὢν ἀνομος θεοῦ ἀλλ' ἐννομος Χριστοῦ, ἵνα κερδάνω τοὺς ἀνόμους· | |
| 22 | To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. Indeed, I have become everything in turn to men of every sort, so that in one way or another I may save some. | ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἀσθενέσιν ἀσθενής, ἵνα τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς κερδήσω· τοῖς πᾶσιν γέγονα πάντα, ἵνα πάντως τινὰς σώσω. | |
| 23 | All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, to bear my part in proclaiming it. | πάντα δὲ ποιῶ διὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ἵνα συγκοινωνὸς αὐτοῦ γένωμαι. | |
| 24 | You know (do you not?) that at the sports all the runners run the race, though only one wins the prize. Like them, run to win! | Οὐκ οἰδατε ὅτι οἱ ἐν σταδίῳ τρέχοντες πάντες μὲν τρέχουσιν, εἷς δὲ λαμβάνει τὸ βραβεῖον; οὑτως τρέχετε ἵνα καταλάβητε. | |
| 25 | But every athlete goes into strict training. They do it to win a fading wreath; we, a wreath that never fades. | πᾶς δὲ ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος πάντα ἐγκρατεύεται, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἵνα φθαρτὸν στέφανον λάβωσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀφθαρτον. | |
| 26 | For my part, I run with a clear goal before me; I am like a boxer who does not beat the air; | ἐγὼ τοίνυν οὑτως τρέχω ὡς οὐκ ἀδήλως, οὑτως πυκτεύω ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων· | |
| 27 | I bruise my own body and make it know its master, for fear that after preaching to others I should find myself rejected. | ἀλλὰ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, μή πως ἀλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι. | |