Paul Is like the Other Apostles

9 ·I am a free man [^LAm I not free?]. ·I am [^LAm I not…?] an apostle. ·I have [Haven’t I…?] seen Jesus our Lord. ·You people are all an example of [^LAre you not…?] my work in the Lord. ² If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are ·proof that I am an apostle [^Lthe seal/verification of my apostleship] in the Lord.

³ This is the answer I give people who want to ·judge me [examine me; question my credentials]: ⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink [^Creceive hospitality and support for their missionary work]? ⁵ Do we not have the right to ·bring a believing wife with us when we travel [or be married to a believer; ^Ltake along a wife who is a sister] as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers [Matt. 13:55; Acts 1:14] and ·Peter [^LCephas; ^CPeter’s name in Aramaic; see 1:12]? ⁶ Are Barnabas [Acts 13—14] and I the only ones who ·must work to earn our living [^Ldon’t have the authority/right not to work]? ⁷ ·No soldier [^LWho…?] ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. ·No one [^LWho…?] ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. ·No person [^LWho…?] takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.

⁸ I do not say this ·by human authority [from human experience; ^Laccording to man]; God’s law also says the same thing. ⁹ [^LFor] It is written in the law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox when it is ·working in [treading; threshing] the grain [Deut. 25:4].” When God said this, was he ·thinking only [concerned] about oxen? No. ¹⁰ He was ·really [surely] talking ·about us [for our benefit]. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who ·works in the grain [threshes] should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” ¹¹ ·Since [If] we ·planted [sowed] spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things from you [^Creceive support for ministry]? ¹² If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, ·too [or even more so]. But we ·do not use it [have not exercised this right]. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not ·keep anyone from believing [^Lput up a hindrance to] the ·Good News [Gospel] of Christ. ¹³ ·Surely [^LDon’t…?] you know that those who ·work at the Temple [perform priestly temple service] get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who ·tell the Good News [proclaim/preach the Gospel] should get their living from ·this work [^Lthe Gospel].

¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for ·bragging [boasting] taken away. ¹⁶ ·Telling the Good News [Preaching the Gospel] does not give me any reason for ·bragging [boasting]. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And ·how terrible it will be for [^Lwoe to] me if I do not ·tell the Good News [preach the Gospel]. ¹⁷ If I preach ·because it is my own choice [voluntarily], I have a reward. But if I preach ·and it is not my choice to do so [without volunteering], I am ·only doing the duty that was given to me [^Lentrusted with a stewardship/responsibility]. ¹⁸ So what ·reward [payment; wages] do I get? Only this: that when I tell the ·Good News [Gospel] I can offer it ·freely [free of charge]. I do not ·use [take advantage of; or misuse] my full rights in ·my work of preaching the Good News [^Lthe Gospel].

¹⁹ I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ·ruled by [subject to; ^Lunder] the law. But to those who are ·ruled by [subject to; ^Lunder] the law I became like a person who is ·ruled by [subject to; ^Lunder] the law. I did this to win those who are ·ruled by [subject to; ^Lunder] the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law [^CGentiles] I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ·ruled by [^Lunder] Christ’s law.) ²² To those who are weak [^Cin faith; 8:7–13], I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. ²³ I do all this because of the ·Good News [Gospel] and so I can ·share in its blessings [or be a participant in it].

²⁴ ·You [^LDon’t you…?] know that in a ·race [^Lstadium] all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! ²⁵ All those who compete in the games ·use self-control [train with strict discipline] so they can win a ·crown [victor’s wreath]. That ·crown [victor’s wreath] is ·an earthly thing that lasts only a short time [^Lperishable], but our crown ·will never be destroyed [^Lis imperishable]. ²⁶ So I do not run ·without a goal [aimlessly]. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. ²⁷ I ·treat my body hard [discipline/subdue/pummel my body] and ·make it my slave [subdue it] so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.