Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock?
I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things?
For it is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He?
Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.
If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?
So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.
What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;
to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.
I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;
For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
and all ate the same spiritual food;
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, “THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY.”
Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?
Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake;
FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS.
If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake.
But if anyone says to you, “This is meat sacrificed to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake;
I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God;
just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.
Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.
Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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