1 Corinthians
Chapter 9
1 1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
我不是自由的吗？我不是宗徒吗？我不是见过我们的主耶稣吗？你们不是我在主内所建的工程吗？
2 Although I may not be an apostle for others, certainly I am for you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
纵然我为别人不是宗徒，为你们我总是，因为你们在主内正是我任宗徒职分的印证。
3 My defense against those who would pass judgment on me 2 is this.
这也就是我对那些质问我的人的答辨。
4 3 Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
难道我们没有取得饮食的权利吗？
5 Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
难道我们没有权利携带一位为姐妹的妇人，如其它的宗徒及主的弟兄并刻法一样吗？
6 Or is it only myself and Barnabas who do not have the right not to work?
或者，惟有我和巴尔纳伯没有不劳作的权利吗？
7 Who ever serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating its produce? Or who shepherds a flock without using some of the milk from the flock?
谁当兵而自备粮饷呢？谁种植葡萄园而不吃它的出产呢？或者，谁牧放羊群而不吃羊群的奶呢？
8 Am I saying this on human authority, or does not the law also speak of these things?
我说这话，难道是按人之常情？法律不是也这样说吗？
9 It is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is God concerned about oxen,
原来梅瑟法律上记载说：‘牛在打埸的时候，不可笼住它的嘴。’难道天主所关心的是牛吗？
10 or is he not really speaking for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher in hope of receiving a share.
岂不是完全为我们说的吗？的确是为我们记载的，因为犁地的当怀着希望去犁，打场的也当怀着有份的希望去打场。
11 If we have sown spiritual seed for you, is it a great thing that we reap a material harvest from you?
若是我们给你们散播神圣的恩惠，而收割你们那属物质的东西，还算什么大事？
12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we still more? Yet we have not used this right. 4 On the contrary, we endure everything so as not to place an obstacle to the gospel of Christ.
如果别人在你们身上尚且分享权利，我们岂不更该吗？可是我们没有用过这权利，反倒忍受了一切，免得基督的福音受到妨碍。
13 5 Do you not know that those who perform the temple services eat (what) belongs to the temple, and those who minister at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?
你们岂不知道为圣事服务的，就靠圣殿生活；供职于祭坛的，就分享祭坛上的物品吗？
14 In the same way, the Lord ordered that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel.
主也这样规定了，传福音的人，应靠福音而生活。
15 6 I have not used any of these rights, however, nor do I write this that it be done so in my case. I would rather die. Certainly no one is going to nullify my boast.
可是，这些权利我一样也没有用过；我写这话，并非要人这样对待我，因为我宁愿死，也不愿让人使我这夸耀落了空。
16 If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!
我若传福音，原没有什么可夸耀的，因为这是我不得已的事；我若不传福音，我就有祸了。
17 If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
假使我自愿作这事，便有报酬；若不自愿，可是责任已委托给我。
18 What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
这样看来，我的报酬是什么呢？就是传布福音时白白地去传，不享用我在传福音上所有的权利。
19 7 Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.
我原是自由的，不属于任何人；但我却使自己成了众人的奴仆，为赢得更多的人。
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew to win over Jews; to those under the law I became like one under the law--though I myself am not under the law--to win over those under the law.
对犹太人，我就成为犹太人，为赢得犹太人；对于在法律下的人，我虽不在法律下，仍成为在法律下的人，为赢得那在法律下的人；
21 To those outside the law I became like one outside the law--though I am not outside God's law but within the law of Christ--to win over those outside the law.
对那些法律以外的人，我就成为法律以外的人，为赢得那些法律以外的人；其实，我并不在天主的法律以外，而是在基督的法律之下。
22 To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
对软弱的人，我就成为软弱的，为赢得那软弱的人；对一切人，我就成为一切，为的是总要救些人。
23 All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
我所行的一切，都是为了福音，为能与人共沾福音的恩许。
24 8 Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.
你们岂不知道在运动埸上赛跑的，固然都跑，但只有一个得奖赏吗？你们也应该这样跑，好能得到奖赏。
25 Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
凡比武竞赛的，在一切事上都有节制；他们只是为得到可朽坏的花冠，而我们却是为得到不朽坏的花冠。
26 Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
所以我总是这样跑，不是如同无定向的；我这样打拳，不是如同打空气的；
27 No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. 9
我痛击我身，使它为奴，免得我给别人报捷，自己反而落选。
Footnotes(注解)
1 [1-27] This chapter is an emotionally charged expansion of Paul's appeal to his own example in 1 Cor 8:13; its purpose is to reinforce the exhortation of 1 Cor 8:9. The two opening questions introduce the themes of Paul's freedom and his apostleship (1 Cor 9:1), themes that the chapter will develop in reverse order, 1 Cor 9:1-18 treating the question of his apostleship and the rights that flow from it, and 1 Cor 9:19-27 exploring dialectically the nature of Paul's freedom. The language is highly rhetorical, abounding in questions, wordplays, paradoxes, images, and appeals to authority and experience. The argument is unified by repetitions; its articulations are highlighted by inclusions and transitional verses.
2 [3] My defense against those who would pass judgment on me: the reference to a defense (apologia) is surprising, and suggests that Paul is incorporating some material here that he has previously used in another context. The defense will touch on two points: the fact of Paul's rights as an apostle (1 Cor 9:4-12a and 1 Cor 9:13-14) and his nonuse of those rights (1 Cor 9:12b and 1 Cor 9:15-18).
3 [4-12a] Apparently some believe that Paul is not equal to the other apostles and therefore does not enjoy equal privileges, . His defense on this point (here and in 1 Cor 9:13-14) reinforces the assertion of his apostolic character in 1 Cor 9:2. It consists of a series of analogies from natural equity (7) and religious custom (1 Cor 9:13) designed to establish his equal right to support from the churches (1 Cor 9:4-6, 11-12a); these analogies are confirmed by the authority of the law (1 Cor 9:8-10) and of Jesus himself (1 Cor 9:14).
4 [12] It appears, too, that suspicion or misunderstanding has been created by Paul's practice of not living from his preaching. The first reason he asserts in defense of this practice is an entirely apostolic one; it anticipates the developments to follow in 1 Cor 9:19-22. He will give a second reason in 1 Cor 9:15-18.
5 [13-14] The position of these verses produces an interlocking of the two points of Paul's defense. These arguments by analogy (1 Cor 9:13) and from authority (1 Cor 9:14) belong with those of 1 Cor 9:7-10 and ground the first point. But Paul defers them until he has had a chance to mention "the gospel of Christ" (1 Cor 9:12b), after which it is more appropriate to mention Jesus' injunction to his preachers and to argue by analogy from the sacred temple service to his own liturgical service, the preaching of the gospel (cf Romans 1:9; 15:16).
6 [15-18] Paul now assigns a more personal motive to his nonuse of his right to support. His preaching is not a service spontaneously undertaken on his part but a stewardship imposed by a sort of divine compulsion. Yet to merit any reward he must bring some spontaneous quality to his service, and this he does by freely renouncing his right to support. The material here is quite similar to that contained in Paul's "defense" at 2 Cor 11:5-12; 12:11-18.
7 [19-23] In a rhetorically balanced series of statements Paul expands and generalizes the picture of his behavior and explores the paradox of apostolic freedom. It is not essentially freedom from restraint but freedom for service--a possibility of constructive activity.
8 [24-27] A series of miniparables from sports, appealing to readers familiar with Greek gymnasia and the nearby Isthmian games.
9 [27] For fear that . . . I myself should be disqualified: a final paradoxical turn to the argument: what appears at first a free, spontaneous renunciation of rights (1 Cor 9:12-18) seems subsequently to be required for fulfillment of Paul's stewardship (to preach effectively he must reach his hearers wherever they are, 1 Cor 9:19-22), and finally is seen to be necessary for his own salvation (1 Cor 9:23-27). Mention of the possibility of disqualification provides a transition to 1 Cor 10.