1 Am I not free? R305 Am I not an apostle? R306 Have I not seen R307 Jesus our Lord? Are you not my R308 work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal R309 of my apostleship R310 in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Do R311F94 we not have a right to eat and drink? 5 Do R312F95 we not have a right to take along a believing F96 wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers R313 of the Lord and Cephas? R3146 Or do only Barnabas R315F97 and I not have a right to refrain from working? 7 Who at any time serves as R316 a soldier at his own expense? Who plants R317 a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use F98 the milk of the flock?
8 I am not speaking these things according R318 to human F99 judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, "YOU R319 SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING." God is not concerned about oxen, R320 is He? 10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for R321 our sake it was written, because the R322 plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.11 If R323 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 did R324 not use this right, but we endure all things so R325 that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel R326 of Christ. 13 Do R327 you not know that those who perform R328 sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from F100 the altar? 14 So also the R329 Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel R330 to get R331 their living from the gospel.
15 But I have used R332 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 any man make my R333 boast an empty one. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I R334 am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the R335 gospel. 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; R336 but if against my will, I have a stewardship R337 entrusted to me. 18 What then is my reward? R338 That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without R339 charge, so as not R340 to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For though I am free R341 from all men, I have made myself a R342 slave to all, so that I may win R343 more. 20 To R344 the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the F101 Law, as under the F101 Law though not R345 being myself under the F101 Law, so that I might win those who are under the F101 Law; 21 to those who are without R346 law, as R347 without law, though not being without the law of God but under R348 the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak R349 I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all R350 things to all men, so R351 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 Do R352 you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the R353 prize? Run R354 in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes R355 in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, R356 but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run R357 in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating R358 the air; 27 but I discipline F102 my R359 body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
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