1 Corinthians 9:17

1 Corinthians 9:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
• New International Version (NIV)If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

Context of 1 Corinthians 9:17

15For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast! 16For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach — and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a commission. 18What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my rights in the gospel. 19Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.

1 Corinthians 9:17 word by word

εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, μισθὸν ἔχω· εἰ δὲ ἄκων, οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• I doπράσσωprassō · to do/requireG4238
• this thingοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• willinglyἑκώνhekōn · voluntarilyG1635
• I haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a rewardμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408
• butδέde · thenG1161
• against my willἄκωνakōn · unwillingG210
• a dispensationοἰκονομίαoikonomia · managementG3622
• is committed unto meπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:17

• 1 Chronicles 28:9“As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands the intention of every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will reject you forever.
• 1 Chronicles 29:5the gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?”
• Nehemiah 11:2The people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 6:8Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.
• 2 Corinthians 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
• Philemon 1:14But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent, so that your good deed might not be out of obligation, but of your own free will.
• 1 Peter 5:2Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly;
• 1 Corinthians 3:8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
• Matthew 10:41Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. And anyone who welcomes a righteous person because he’s righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward.
• Exodus 4:13Moses said, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
• Jeremiah 20:9I say, “I won’t mention him or speak any longer in his name.” But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
• Ezekiel 3:14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I left in bitterness and in an angry spirit, and the Lord’s hand was on me powerfully.
• Jonah 1:3Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the Lord’s presence.
• Jonah 4:1Jonah was greatly displeased and became furious.
• Malachi 1:10“I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Armies, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
• 1 Corinthians 9:16For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach — and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For if I do this thing willingly - If I be a cordial co-operator with God, I have a reward, an incorruptible crown, 1 Corinthians 9:25. Or, if I freely preach this Gospel without being burthensome to any, I have a special reward; but if I do not, I have simply an office to fulfill, into which God has put me, and may fulfill it conscientiously, and claim my privileges at the same time; but then I lose that special reward which I have in view by preaching…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17For if I do this thing willingly - If I preach so as to show that my heart is in it; that I am not compelled, If I pursue such a course as to show that I prefer it to all other employments. If Paul took a compensation for his services, he could not well do this; if he did not, he showed that his heart was in it, and that he preferred the work to all others. Even though he had been in a manner compelled to engage in that work, yet he so acted in the work…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 It is the glory of a minister to deny himself, that he may serve Christ and save souls. But when a minister gives up his right for the sake of the gospel, he does more than his charge and office demands. By preaching the gospel, freely, the apostle showed that he acted from principles of zeal and love, and thus enjoyed much comfort and hope in his soul. And though he looked on the ceremonial law as a yoke taken off by Christ, yet he submitted…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-27Continuing the argument from 8:1, Paul shares personal examples of giving up his rights to help others (see study note on 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. Translate, "If I be doing this (that is, preaching) of my own accord (which I am not, for the 'necessity' is laid on me which binds a servant to obey his master), I have a reward; but if (as is the case) involuntarily (Ac 9:15; 22:15; 26:16); not of my own natural will, but by the constraining grace of God; (Ro 9:16; 1Ti 1:13-16), I have had a dispensation (of the Gospel) entrusted to me" (and so can claim no "reward," seeing that I only "have done…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:17

• Evil
• Minister, Christian
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Crown
• Dispensation
• Forbear
• Mastery
• Plow
• Wait
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Mystery
• Paul, the Apostle

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings