1 Corinthians 9:17

1 Corinthians 9:17 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
• New International Version (NIV)If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

Context of 1 Corinthians 9:17

15Yet 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. 16Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News! If I were doing this on my own initiative, I would deserve payment. But I have no choice, for God has given me this sacred trust. 18What then is my pay? It is the opportunity to preach the Good News without charging anyone. That’s why I never demand my rights when I preach the Good News. 19Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:17 word by word

εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, μισθὸν ἔχω· εἰ δὲ ἄκων, οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• ifεἰei · ifG1487
• I doπράσσωprassō · to do/requireG4238
• this thingοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• willinglyἑκώνhekōn · voluntarilyG1635
• I haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a rewardμισθόςmisthos · wageG3408
• butδέde · thenG1161
• against my willἄκωνakōn · unwillingG210
• a dispensationοἰκονομίαoikonomia · managementG3622
• is committed unto meπιστεύωpisteuō · to trust (in)G4100

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:17

• 1 Chronicles 28:9“And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
• 1 Chronicles 29:5and for the other gold and silver work to be done by the craftsmen. Now then, who will follow my example and give offerings to the Lord today?”
• Nehemiah 11:2And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem.
• Isaiah 6:8Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:12Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.
• Philemon 1:14But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced.
• 1 Peter 5:2Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.
• 1 Corinthians 3:8The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.
• Matthew 10:41If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.
• Exodus 4:13But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
• Jeremiah 20:9But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!
• Ezekiel 3:14The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the Lord’s hold on me was strong.
• Jonah 1:3But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.
• Jonah 4:1This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry.
• Malachi 1:10“How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings.
• 1 Corinthians 9:16Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17For if I do this thing willingly - If I be a cordial co-operator with God, I have a reward, an incorruptible crown, 1 Corinthians 9:25. Or, if I freely preach this Gospel without being burthensome to any, I have a special reward; but if I do not, I have simply an office to fulfill, into which God has put me, and may fulfill it conscientiously, and claim my privileges at the same time; but then I lose that special reward which I have in view by preaching…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17For if I do this thing willingly - If I preach so as to show that my heart is in it; that I am not compelled, If I pursue such a course as to show that I prefer it to all other employments. If Paul took a compensation for his services, he could not well do this; if he did not, he showed that his heart was in it, and that he preferred the work to all others. Even though he had been in a manner compelled to engage in that work, yet he so acted in the work…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. 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. 1717. Translate, "If I be doing this (that is, preaching) of my own accord (which I am not, for the 'necessity' is laid on me which binds a servant to obey his master), I have a reward; but if (as is the case) involuntarily (Ac 9:15; 22:15; 26:16); not of my own natural will, but by the constraining grace of God; (Ro 9:16; 1Ti 1:13-16), I have had a dispensation (of the Gospel) entrusted to me" (and so can claim no "reward," seeing that I only "have done…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:17

• Evil
• Minister, Christian
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Crown
• Dispensation
• Forbear
• Mastery
• Plow
• Wait
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Eschatology of the New Testament
• Mystery
• Paul, the Apostle

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