1 Corinthians 9

¹Am I not free? am I not an apostle? have I not seen Jesus our Lord? are not ye my work in [the] Lord?

²If I am not an apostle to others, yet at any rate I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in [the] Lord.

³My defence to those who examine me is this:

⁴Have we not a right to eat and to drink?

⁵have we not a right to take round a sister [as] wife, as also the other apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?

⁶Or I alone and Barnabas, have we not a right not to work?

⁷Who ever carries on war at his own charges? who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? or who herds a flock and does not eat of the milk of the flock?

⁸Do I speak these things as a man, or does not the law also say these things?

⁹For in the law of Moses it is written, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that is treading out corn. Is God occupied about the oxen,

¹⁰or does he say [it] altogether for our sakes? For for our sakes it has been written, that the plougher should plough in hope, and he that treads out corn, in hope of partaking of [it].

¹¹If we have sown to you spiritual things, [is it a] great [thing] if we shall reap your carnal things?

¹²If others partake of this right over you, should not rather we? But we have not used this right, but we bear all things, that we may put no hindrance in the way of the glad tidings of the Christ.