English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 9:26
26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
1 Corinthians 9:26 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
- New International Version (NIV)Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
- New Living Translation (NLT)So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
Context of 1 Corinthians 9:26
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 91 Corinthians 9:26 word by word
ἐγὼ τοίνυν οὕτως τρέχω ὡς οὐκ ἀδήλως, οὕτως πυκτεύω ὡς οὐκ ἀέρα δέρων·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:26
- 2 Corinthians 5:1For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
- Philippians 1:21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- 2 Timothy 1:12which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
- 2 Timothy 2:5An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.
- Hebrews 4:1Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.
- 1 Peter 5:1So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
- 2 Peter 1:10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
- Matthew 11:12From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
- Luke 13:24"Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
- Ephesians 6:12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
- Colossians 1:29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:26
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26I therefore so run, not as uncertainly - In the foot-course in those games, how many soever ran, only one could have the prize, however strenuously they might exert themselves; therefore, all ran uncertainly; but it was widely different in the Christian course, if every one ran as he ought, each would receive the prize. The word , which we translate uncertainly, has other meanings. It signifies ignorantly; I do not run like one ignorant of what he is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 26I therefore so run - In the Christian race; in my effort to obtain the prize, the crown of immortality. I exert myself to the utmost, that I may not fail of securing the crown. Not as uncertainly - ( ̓ ̓́ ouk adēlōs). This word occurs no where else in the New Testament. It usually means, in the Classic writers, “obscurely.” Here it means that he did not run as not knowing to what object he aimed. “I do not run haphazardly; I do not exert myself for…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-27Verses 24-27 The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the exercises. And those who pursue the interests of their souls, must…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 26I do not fight like I am beating the air: Christians need to truly follow Christ instead of just acting like they do.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2626. I--Paul returns to his main subject, his own self-denial, and his motive in it. run, not as uncertainly--not as a runner uncertain of the goal. Ye Corinthians gain no end in your entering idol temples or eating idol meats. But I, for my part, in all my acts, whether in my becoming "all things to all men," or in receiving no sustenance from my converts, have a definite end in view, namely, to "gain the more." I know what 1 aim at, and how to aim at it…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:26
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries