Darby Bible
1 Corinthians 9:17
17For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with an administration.
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
15But I have used none of these things. Now I have not written these things that it should be thus in my case; for [it were] good for me rather to die than that any one should make vain my boast. 16For if I announce the glad tidings, I have nothing to boast of; for a necessity is laid upon me; for it is woe to me if I should not announce the glad tidings. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with an administration. 18What is the reward then that I have? That in announcing the glad tidings I make the glad tidings costless [to others], so as not to have made use, as belonging to me, of my right in [announcing] the glad tidings. 19For being free from all, I have made myself bondman to all, that I might gain the most [possible].
Read all of 1 Corinthians 91 Corinthians 9:17 word by word
εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, μισθὸν ἔχω· εἰ δὲ ἄκων, οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:17
- 1 Chronicles 28:9And thou, Solomon my son, know the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for Jehovah searches all hearts, and discerns all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cut thee off for ever.
- 1 Chronicles 29:5gold for [things of] gold, and silver for [things of] silver, and for all manner of work by the hands of artificers. And who is willing to offer to Jehovah this day?
- Nehemiah 11:2And the people blessed all the men that willingly offered themselves to dwell in Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 6:8And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I; send me.
- 2 Corinthians 8:12For if the readiness be there, [a man is] accepted according to what he may have, not according to what he has not.
- Philemon 1:14but I have wished to do nothing without thy mind, that thy good might not be as of necessity but of willingness:
- 1 Peter 5:2shepherd the flock of God which [is] among you, exercising oversight, not by necessity, but willingly; not for base gain, but readily;
- 1 Corinthians 3:8But the planter and the waterer are one; but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
- Matthew 10:41He that receives a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward.
- Exodus 4:13And he said, Ah Lord! send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.
- Jeremiah 20:9And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not.
- Ezekiel 3:14And the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away; and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of Jehovah was strong upon me.
- Jonah 1:3But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah; and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish, from the presence of Jehovah.
- Jonah 4:1And it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.
- Malachi 1:10Who is there among you that would even shut the doors? and ye would not kindle [fire] on mine altar for nothing. I have no delight in you, saith Jehovah of hosts, neither will I accept an oblation at your hand.
- 1 Corinthians 9:16For if I announce the glad tidings, I have nothing to boast of; for a necessity is laid upon me; for it is woe to me if I should not announce the glad tidings.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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