1 Corinthians 9:5

1 Corinthians 9:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?
• New International Version (NIV)Don’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?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
• New Living Translation (NLT)Don’t we have the right to bring a believing wife with us as the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does?

Context of 1 Corinthians 9:5

3My defense to those who examine me is this: 4Do we have no right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working? 7Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk of the flock?

1 Corinthians 9:5 word by word

μὴ οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν ἀδελφὴν γυναῖκα περιάγειν ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ Κηφᾶς;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Have weἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• notοὐou · noG3756
• powerἐξουσίαexousia · authorityG1849
• to lead aboutπεριάγωperiagō · to take/go aroundG4013
• a sisterἀδελφήadelphē · sisterG79
• a wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• as wellὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• asκαίkai · andG2532
• otherλοιπόςloipoi · remainingG3062
• apostlesἀπόστολοςapostolos · apostleG652
• the brethrenἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• CephasΚηφᾶςKēphas · CephasG2786

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:5

• 1 Timothy 3:2A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach;
• 1 Timothy 4:3forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
• Hebrews 13:4Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
• 1 Corinthians 7:15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.
• Romans 16:1I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,
• 1 Timothy 5:2older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.
• Matthew 12:46While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
• Matthew 13:55Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
• Mark 6:3Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
• Luke 6:15Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot;
• John 2:12After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.
• Acts 1:14These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
• Galatians 1:19But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
• 1 Corinthians 1:12Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
• Matthew 8:14Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.
• Mark 1:30But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife - The word is to be understood here, as above in 1 Corinthians 9:4, as implying authority or right; and authority, not merely derived from their office, but from Him who gave them that office; from the constitution of nature; and from universal propriety or the fitness of things. When the apostle speaks of leading about a sister, a wife, he means first, that he and all other apostles, and consequently all…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Have we not power? - Have we not a right? The objection here seems to have been, that Paul and Barnabas were unmarried, or at least that they traveled without wives. The objectors urged that others had wives, and that they took them with them, and expected provision to be made for them as well as for themselves. They therefore showed that they felt that they had a claim to support for their families, and that they were conscious that they were sent of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5the Lord’s brothers: See Mark 6:3 for their names. Cephas: Mark 1:30 mentions that Peter (also called Cephas) was married.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. lead about a sister, a wife--that is, "a sister as a wife"; "a sister" by faith, which makes all believers brethren and sisters in the one family of God: "a wife" by marriage covenant. Paul implies he did not exercise his undoubted right to marry and "lead about" a believer, for the sake of Christian expediency, as well to save the Church the expense of maintaining her in his wide circuits, as also that he might give himself more undistractedly to…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:5

• Celibacy
• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Cephas
• Brethren of the Lord
• Brother
• Crown
• Forbear
• Mastery
• Plow
• Wait
• Apostle
• Apostolic Age

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