New International Version
1 Corinthians 9:15
15But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.
1 Corinthians 9:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But I have used none of these things, nor have I written these things that it should be done so to me; for it would be better for me to die than that anyone should make my boasting void.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Yet I have never used any of these rights. And I am not writing this to suggest that I want to start now. In fact, I would rather die than lose my right to boast about preaching without charge.
Context of 1 Corinthians 9:15
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? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. 16For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 91 Corinthians 9:15 word by word
ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ κέχρημαι οὐδενὶ τούτων· οὐκ ἔγραψα δὲ ταῦτα ἵνα οὕτως γένηται ἐν ἐμοί· καλὸν γάρ μοι μᾶλλον ἀποθανεῖν ἢ τὸ καύχημά μου οὐδεὶς κενώσει.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- Iἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- have usedχράωchraomai · to useG5530
- noneοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
- of these thingsοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- neitherοὐou · noG3756
- have I writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- thatἵναhina · in order that/toG2443
- it should beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- untoἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- betterκαλόςkalos · goodG2570
- ·μᾶλλονmallon · more: ratherG3123
- to dieἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599
- thanἤē · orG2228
- any manτιςtis · oneG5100
- should makeκενόωkenoō · to emptyG2758
- gloryingὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- gloryingκαύχημαkauchēma · prideG2745
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:15
- 1 Corinthians 9:12If 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.
- 1 Corinthians 4:12We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
- Acts 8:3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
- Acts 20:34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
- 2 Corinthians 11:9And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.
- 2 Corinthians 12:13How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
- Matthew 18:6“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
- Acts 20:24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- Philippians 1:20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Neither have I written, etc. - Though I might plead the authority of God in the law, of Christ in the Gospel, the common consent of our own doctors, and the usages of civil society, yet I have not availed myself of my privileges; nor do I now write with the intention to lay in my claims.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15But I have used none of these things - I have not urged and enforced this right. I have chosen to support myself by the labor of my own hands. This had been objected to him as a reason why he could not be an apostle. He here shows that that was not the reason why he had not; urged this claim; but that it was because in this way he could do most to honor the gospel and save the souls of people; compare Acts 20:33; 2 Thessalonians 3:8. The sense is, “Though…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. 15Paul had never insisted on his rights, and he was not trying to do so now. Instead, he showed the importance of giving up one's rights to help others (compare 8:13).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. Paul's special gift of continency, which enabled him to abstain from marriage, and his ability to maintain himself without interrupting seriously his ministry, made that expedient to him which is ordinarily inexpedient; namely, that the ministry should not be supported by the people. What to him was a duty, would be the opposite to one, for instance, to whom God had committed a family, without other means of support. I have used none of these…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:15
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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