New International Version
1 Corinthians 9:11
11If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
1 Corinthians 9:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
- English Standard Version (ESV)If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
- New King James Version (NKJV)If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Since we have planted spiritual seed among you, aren’t we entitled to a harvest of physical food and drink?
Context of 1 Corinthians 9:11
9For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?
Read all of 1 Corinthians 91 Corinthians 9:11 word by word
εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῖν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἐσπείραμεν, μέγα εἰ ἡμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:11
- Malachi 3:8“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
- Matthew 10:10no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.
- Romans 15:27They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
- Galatians 6:6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
- 2 Kings 5:13Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”
- 2 Corinthians 11:15It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11If we have sown unto you spiritual things - If we have been the means of bringing you into a state of salvation by the Divine doctrines which we have preached unto you, is it too much for us to expect a temporal support then we give ourselves up entirely to this work? Every man who preaches the Gospel has a right to his own support and that of his family while thus employed.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11If we have sown unto you spiritual things - If we have been the means of imparting to you the gospel, and bestowing upon you its high hopes and privileges; see the note at Romans 15:27. The figure of “sowing,” to denote the preaching of the gospel, is not unfrequently employed in the Scriptures; see John 4:37, and the parable of the sower, Matthew 13:3 ff. Is it a great thing - See the note at Romans 15:27. Is it to be regarded as unequal, unjust, or…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. 1111. we ... we--emphatical in the Greek. We, the same persons who have sown to you the infinitely more precious treasures of the Spirit, may at least claim in return what is the only thing you have to give, namely, the goods that nourish the flesh ("your carnal things").Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:11
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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