Am I not ^afree? Am I not an ^bapostle? Have I not ^cseen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^dmy work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you; for you are the ^aseal of my ^bapostleship in the Lord.

3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 ^1aDo we not have a right to eat and drink? 5 ^1aDo we not have a right to take along a ²believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^bbrothers of the Lord, and ^3cCephas? 6 Or do only ^1aBarnabas and I have no right to refrain from ²working? 7 Who at any time serves ^aas a soldier at his own expense? Who ^bplants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not ¹consume some of the milk of the flock?

8 I am not just asserting these things ^aaccording to human judgment, am I? Or does the Law not say these things as well? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “^aYOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS THRESHING.” God is not concerned about ^boxen, is He? 10 Or is He speaking entirely for our sake? Yes, it was written ^afor our sake, because ^bthe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing in the crops. 11 ^aIf we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^adid not use this right, but we endure all things ^bso that we will cause no hindrance to the ^cgospel of Christ. 13 ^aDo you not know that those who ^bperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ¹from the altar? 14 So also ^athe Lord directed those who proclaim the ^bgospel to ^cget their living from the gospel.

15 But I have ^aused none of these things. And I have not written these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than that. No one shall make ^bmy boast an empty one! 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for ^aI am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach ^bthe gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^areward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a ^bcommission nonetheless. 18 What, then, is my ^areward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^bwithout charge, so as ^cnot to make full use of my right in the gospel.

19 For though I am ^afree from all people, I have made myself ^ba slave to all, so that I may ^cgain more. 20 ^aTo the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the Law, I became as one under the Law, though ^bnot being under the Law myself, so that I might gain those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are ^awithout the Law, I became ^bas one without the Law, though not being without the law of God but ^cunder the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the Law. 22 To the ^aweak I became weak, that I might gain the weak; I have become ^ball things to all people, ^cso that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

24 ^aDo you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives ^bthe prize? ^cRun in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who ^acompetes in the games exercises self-control in all things. So they do it to obtain a perishable ^bwreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I ^arun in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as ¹to avoid ^bhitting air; 27 but I strictly discipline ^amy body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Am I not ^afree unrestrained and exempt from any obligation? Am I not an ^bapostle? Have I not ^1cseen Jesus our risen Lord in person? Are you not the result and proof of ^dmy work in the Lord? 2 If I am not considered an apostle to others, at least I am one to you; for you are the ^aseal and the certificate and the living evidence of my ^bapostleship in the Lord confirming and authenticating it.

3 This is my defense to those who would put me on trial and interrogate me concerning my authority as an apostle: 4 ^aHave we not the right to our food and drink at the expense of the churches? 5 ^aHave we not the right to take along with us a believing wife, as do the rest of the apostles and the ^bLord’s brothers and ^cCephas (Peter) ? 6 Or is it only ^aBarnabas and I who have no right to stop doing manual labor in order to support our ministry? 7 Consider this: Who at any time serves ^aas a soldier at his own expense? Who ^bplants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?

8 Do I say these things only ^afrom a man’s perspective? Does the Law not endorse the same principles? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^aYOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE AN OX WHILE IT IS TREADING OUT THE GRAIN to keep it from eating the grain.” Is it only for ^boxen that God cares? Deut 25:4 10 Or does He speak entirely for our sake? Yes, it was written ^afor our sake: ^bThe plowman ought to plow ¹in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the harvest. 11 ^aIf we have sown the good seed of spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share in this rightful claim over you, do not we even more? However, we ^adid not exercise this right, but we put up with everything ^bso that we will not hinder the spread of the ^cgood news of Christ. 13 ^aDo you not know that those who ^bofficiate in the sacred services of the temple eat from the temple offerings of meat and bread and those who regularly attend the altar have their share from the offerings brought to the altar? Deut 18:1 14 So also on the same principle ^athe Lord directed those who preach the ^bgospel to ^cget their living from the gospel.

15 But I have ^aused none of these privileges, nor am I writing this to suggest that any such provision be made for me now. For it would be better for me to die than to have anyone deprive me of ^bmy ¹boast in this matter of financial support. 16 For if I merely preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for ^aI am compelled that is, absolutely obligated to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach ^bthe good news of salvation! 17 For if I do this work ¹of my own free will, then I have a ^areward; but if it is not of my will but by God’s choosing, I have been entrusted with a sacred ^bstewardship. 18 What then is my ^areward? Just this: that, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^bwithout charge to everyone, so as ^cnot to take advantage of my rights as a preacher and apostle in preaching the gospel.

19 For though I am ^afree from all men, I have made myself ^ba slave to everyone, so that I may ^cwin more for Christ. 20 ^aTo the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews for Christ; to men under the Law, I became as one ¹under the Law, though ^bnot being under the Law myself, so that I might win those who are under the Law. 21 To those who are ^awithout (outside) the Law, I became ^bas one without the Law, though I am not without the law of God, but ^cunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the ^1aweak I became as the weak, to win the weak. I have become ^ball things to all men, ^cso that I may by all means in any and every way save some by leading them to faith in Jesus Christ. 23 And I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings along with you.

24 ^1aDo you not know that in a race all the runners run their very best to win, but only one receives ^bthe prize? ^cRun your race in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours! 25 Now every athlete who goes into training and ^acompetes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a ^1bcrown that withers, but we do it to receive an imperishable crown that cannot wither. 26 Therefore I do not ^arun without a definite goal; I do not flail around like one ^bbeating the air just shadow boxing. 27 But like a boxer I strictly discipline ^amy body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached the gospel to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified as unfit for service.

Am I not ^afree? Am I not an ^bapostle? Have I not ^cseen Jesus our Lord? Are you not ^dmy work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the ^aseal of my ^bapostleship in the Lord.

3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 ^aDo we not have authority to eat and drink? 5 ^aDo we not have authority to take along a ¹believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the ^bbrothers of the Lord and ^cCephas? 6 Or do only ^1aBarnabas and I not have authority to refrain from working? 7 Who at any time serves ^aas a soldier at his own expense? Who ^bplants a vineyard and does not ¹consume the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not ²consume the milk of the flock?

8 Am I speaking these things ^aaccording to ¹human judgment? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “^aYOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS THRESHING.” Is God merely concerned about ^boxen? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, ^afor our sake it was written, because ^bthe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. 11 ^aIf we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this authority over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we ^adid not use this authority, but we endure all things ^bso that we will cause no hindrance to the ^cgospel of Christ. 13 ^aDo you not know that those who ^bperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share ¹from the altar? 14 So also ^athe Lord directed those who proclaim the ^bgospel to ^cget their living from the gospel.

15 But I have ^aused none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case, for it would be better for me to die than have anyone make ^bmy boast an empty one. 16 For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for ^aI am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim ^bthe gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a ^areward; but if against my will, I have a ^bstewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my ^areward? That, when I proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel ^bwithout charge, so as ^cnot to make full use of my authority in the gospel.

19 For though I am ^afree from all, I have made myself ^ba slave to all, so that I may ^cwin more. 20 ^aAnd to the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews. To those who are under ¹the Law, as under ²the Law though ^bnot being myself under ³the Law, so that I might win those who are under ⁴the Law. 21 To those who are ^awithout law, ^bas without law, though not being without the law of God but ^cunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the ^aweak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become ^ball things to all men, ^cso that I may by all means save some. 23 So I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

24 ^aDo you not know that those who run in a ¹race all run, but only one receives ^bthe prize? ^cRun in such a way that you may win. 25 Now everyone who ^acompetes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a corruptible ^bcrown, but we an incorruptible. 26 Therefore I ^arun in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not ^bbeating the air; 27 but I ¹discipline ^amy body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.