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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Corinthians 9 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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Paul Gives Up His Rights

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:1 - Am 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:2 - Even if others think I am not an apostle, I certainly am to you. You yourselves are proof that I am the Lord’s apostle.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:3 - This is my answer to those who question my authority.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:4 - Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:5 - Don’t we have the right to bring a Christian wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter[fn] does?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:6 - Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to support ourselves?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:7 - What 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?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:8 - Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:9 - For the law of Moses says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.”[fn] Was God thinking only about oxen when he said this?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:10 - Wasn’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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:11 - Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:12 - If 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:13 - Don’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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:14 - In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:15 - Yet 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:16 - Yet 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!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:17 - If 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:18 - What 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:19 - Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:20 - When 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:21 - When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,[fn] 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:22 - When 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:23 - I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:24 - Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:25 - All 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:26 - So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Co 9:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Co 9:27 - I 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.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Greek those who examine me.
Greek Cephas.
Deut 25:4.
Greek those without the law.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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1 Corinthians Chapter 9 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras