Coverdale(i)
1 Am I not an Apostle? Am I not fre? Haue I not sene Iesus Christ oure LORDE?
2 Are not ye my worke in the LORDE? Yf I be not an Apostle vnto other, yet am I youre Apostle: for the seale of myne Apostleshippe are ye in the LORDE.
3 Myne answere vnto them that axe me, is this:
4 Haue we not power to eate and drynke?
5 Haue we not power also to leade aboute a sister to wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the brethren of the LORDE, and Cephas?
6 Or haue onely I and Barnabas not power this to do?
7 Who goeth a warfare at eny tyme vpon his awne wages? Who planteth a vynyarde, and eateth not of the frute therof? Who fedeth a flocke, and eateth not of the mylke of the flocke?
8 Saye I these thinges after the maner of men? Sayeth not the lawe the same also?
9 For it is wrytten in the lawe off Moses: Thou shalt not mosell the mouth of the oxe that treadeth out the corne. Doth God take thought for the oxen?
10 Or sayeth he it not alltogether for oure sakes? For no doute it is wrytte for oure sakes. For he that eareth, shulde eare vpon hope: and he yt throssheth, shulde trosshe vpon hope, yt he mighte be partaker of his hope.
11 Yf we haue sowne vnto you spiritual thinges, is it a greate thige yf we reape yor bodely thiges?
12 But yf other be partakers of this power on you, wherfore are not we rather? Neuertheles we haue not vsed this power, but suffre all thinges, lest we shulde hynder the Gospell off Christ.
13 Knowe ye not that they which laboure in the temple, haue their lyuynge of ye temple: and they that wayte at the altare, enioye the altare?
14 Euen thus also hath ye LORDE ordeyned, that they which preach the Gospell, shulde lyue of ye Gospell.
15 But I haue vsed none of these thinges. Nether wryte I therof, that it shulde be done so vnto me: for I had rather dye, the that eny man shulde brynge my reioysinge to naughte.
16 For in that I preach the Gospell, I neade not boost my selfe, for I must nedes do it. And wo vnto me, yff I preach not the Gospell.
17 Yf I do it with a good wyll, I shall haue my rewarde: but yff I do it agaynst my wyll, yet is the office commytted vnto me.
18 Wherfore the shal I be rewarded? (Namely therfore) that I preach the Gospell, and do the same frely for naughte, that I abuse not my libertye in ye Gospell.
19 For though I am fre from all men, yet haue I made my selfe euery mans seruaunt, yt I mighte wynne ye moo.
20 Vnto the Iewes I am become as a Iewe, to wynne ye Iewes. To them that are vnder the lawe, I am become as though I were vnder the lawe, to wynne them which are vnder the lawe.
21 Vnto them that are without lawe, I am become as though I were without lawe (where as yet I am not without the lawe of God, but am in ye lawe of Christ) to wynne the that are without lawe.
22 To the weake, am I become as weake, to wynne the weake. I am become of all fasshions vnto euery man, to saue some at ye leest.
23 But this I do for the Gospels sake, that I mighte be partaker therof.
24 Knowe ye not, that they which runne in a course, runne all, yet but one receaueth the rewarde? Runne ye so, that ye maye optayne.
25 Euery one that proueth mastrye, absteyneth from all thinges, and they do it, that they maye optayne a corruptible crowne, but we to optayne an vncorruptible crowne.
26 I therfore so runne, not as at an vncertayne thinge: So fighte I, not as one yt beateth ye ayre:
27 but I tame my body, and brynge it in to subieccion, lest whan I preach vnto other: I my selfe be a cast awaye.