1 Corinthians 9:27

1 Corinthians 9:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
• New International Version (NIV)No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Context of 1 Corinthians 9:27

25Every competitor exercises self-control in all respects. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we do it to receive an imperishable one. 26So I run in this way—not aimlessly. So I box in this way—not beating the air. Rather, I punish my body and bring it into submission, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:27 word by word

ἀλλ᾽ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, μή πως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butἀλλάalla · butG235
• I keep underὑπωπιάζωhupōpiazō · to wear outG5299
• myἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• bodyὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• bodyσῶμαsōma · bodyG4983
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• bringδουλαγωγέωdoulagōgeō · to enslaveG1396
• lest that by any meansμήπωςmēpōs mē pōs · so thatG3381
• when I have preachedκηρύσσωkērussō · to preachG2784
• to othersἄλλοςallos · anotherG243
• I myselfαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• should beγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• a castawayἀδόκιμοςadokimos · failingG96

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 9:27

• 1 Corinthians 9:25Every competitor exercises self-control in all respects. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we do it to receive an imperishable one.
• 1 Corinthians 4:11To this very hour we are both hungry and thirsty, dressed in rags and mistreated and homeless.
• 1 Corinthians 6:12“Everything is permitted for me”—but not everything is helpful. “Everything is permitted for me”—but I will not be controlled by anything.
• 1 Corinthians 8:13For this reason, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I do not cause my brother to stumble.
• Romans 8:13For if you live according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Ruach you put to death the deeds of the body, you shall live.
• 2 Corinthians 6:4But as God’s servants, we are commending ourselves in every way—in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
• 2 Corinthians 11:27in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
• Colossians 3:5Therefore, put to death what is earthly in you—sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed—for that is idolatry.
• 2 Timothy 2:22Now flee from youthful desires; instead, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and shalom, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
• 1 Peter 2:11Loved ones, I urge you as strangers and sojourners to keep away from the fleshly cravings that war against the soul.
• Romans 6:18and after you were set free from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.
• 1 Corinthians 13:1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
• Psalms 50:16But to the wicked, God says: “What are you doing, reciting My laws and taking My covenant in your mouth?
• Matthew 7:21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
• Luke 12:45“But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking a long time to come,’ and he begins to beat the young slave boys and girls and to eat and drink and get drunk,
• Luke 13:26Then you will start to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your company, and You taught in our streets.’

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 9:27

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 27But I keep under my body, etc. - This is an allusion, not only to boxers, but also to wrestlers in the same games, as we learn from the word ̔, which signifies to hit in the eyes; and , which signifies to trip, and give the antagonist a fall, and then keep him down when he was down, and having obliged him to acknowledge himself conquered, make him a slave. The apostle considers his body as an enemy with which he must contend; he must mortify it by…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 27But I keep under my body - ( ̔́ hupōpiazō). This word occurs in the New Testament only here and in Luke 18:5, “Lest by her continual coming she weary‘ me.” The word is derived probably from ̔́ hupōpionthe part of the face “under the eye” (Passow), and means properly, to strike under the eye, either with the fist or the cestus, so as to render the part livid, or as we say, “black and blue”; or as is commonly termed, “to give anyone a black eye.” The…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-27Verses 24-27 The apostle compares himself to the racers and combatants in the Isthmian games, well known by the Corinthians. But in the Christian race all may run so as to obtain. There is the greatest encouragement, therefore, to persevere with all our strength, in this course. Those who ran in these games were kept to a spare diet. They used themselves to hardships. They practised the exercises. And those who pursue the interests of their souls, must…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 27I myself will not be disqualified: Those disqualified from a sporting event cannot win the prize. To avoid losing the eternal prize, Paul disciplined himself strictly, like an athlete, to stay close to Christ and avoid sin (see 9:25; Hebrews 12:1).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2727. keep under--literally, "bruise the face under the eyes," so as to render it black and blue; so, to chastise in the most sensitive part. Compare "mortify the deeds of the body," Ro 8:13; also 1Pe 2:11. It is not ascetic fasts or macerations of the body which are here recommended, but the keeping under of our natural self-seeking, so as, like Paul, to lay ourselves out entirely for the great work. my body--the old man and the remainders of lust in my…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 9:27

• Affections
• Apostasy
• Appetite
• Captivity
• Continence
• Lasciviousness
• Lust
• Minister, Christian
• Self-Denial
• Stoicism
• Temperance
• War
• Watchfulness
• Wicked (People)
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Castaway
• Crown
• Forbear
• Mastery
• Plow
• Reprobate
• Wait
• Body
• Buffet
• Burden

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