1 Corinthians 9:4

1 Corinthians 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Have we not power to eat and to drink?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do we have no right to eat and drink?
• New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?

Context of 1 Corinthians 9:4

2Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

1 Corinthians 9:4 word by word

μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Have weἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• notοὐou · noG3756
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• to eatφαγεῖνphagō · to eatG5315
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to drinkπίνωpinō piō poō · to drinkG4095

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:4

• 1 Corinthians 9:7Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk?
• Matthew 10:10no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep.
• Luke 10:7Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
• Galatians 6:6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:6We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority.
• 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.
• 1 Timothy 5:17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Have we not power to eat and to drink? - Have we not authority, or right, , to expect sustenance, while we are labouring for your salvation? Meat and drink, the necessaries, not the superfluities, of life, were what those primitive messengers of Christ required; it was just that they who labored in the Gospel should live by the Gospel; they did not wish to make a fortune, or accumulate wealth; a living was all they desired. It was probably in reference to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Have we not power - ( ̓́ exousian) Have we not the “right.” The word “power” here is evidently used in the sense of “right” (compare John 1:12, “margin”); and the apostle means to say that though they had not exercised this “right by demanding” a maintenance, yet it was not because they were conscious that they had no such right, but because they chose to forego it for wise and important purposes. To eat and to drink - To be maintained at the expense of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4As an apostle, Paul had the right to expect food and housing from those he served (compare 9:14; Luke 10:7–8). However, to avoid any criticism, he chose not to use this right (see 9:6, 12, 14–15, 18; 2 Corinthians 11:7–9; 12:13–14).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Have we not power--Greek, "right," or lawful power, equivalent to "liberty" claimed by the Corinthians (1Co 8:9). The "we" includes with himself his colleagues in the apostleship. The Greek interrogative expresses, "You surely won't say (will you?) that we have not the power or right," &c. eat and drink--without laboring with our hands (1Co 9:11, 13, 14). Paul's not exercising this right was made a plea by his opponents for insinuating that he was…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:4

• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Crown
• Forbear
• Mastery
• Plow
• Wait
• Authority in Religion
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Mystery
• Paul, the Apostle
• Scribes

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