1 Corinthians 9:17

BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

“If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.”

What this verse means

A short, plain-language explanation of 1 Corinthians 9:17 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.

Compare translations
BSBPD

“If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.”

Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)
KJVPD

“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.”

King James Version · Public Domain
ASVPD

“For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship intrusted to me.”

American Standard Version · Public Domain
YLTPD

“for if willing I do this, I have a reward; and if unwillingly--with a stewardship I have been entrusted!”

Young's Literal Translation · Public Domain
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Cross references

Other passages that echo 1 Corinthians 9:17 — 24 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  1. Exodus 4:13But Moses replied, “Please, Lord, send someone else.”
  2. 1 Chronicles 28:9As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
  3. 1 Chronicles 29:5for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the LORD today?”
  4. 1 Chronicles 29:9And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.
  5. 1 Chronicles 29:14But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.
  6. Nehemiah 11:2And the people blessed all the men who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
  7. Isaiah 6:8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” And I said: “Here am I. Send me!”
  8. Jeremiah 20:9If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
  9. Ezekiel 3:14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me.
  10. Jonah 1:3Jonah, however, got up to flee to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went aboard to sail for Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.
  11. Jonah 4:1Jonah, however, was greatly displeased, and he became angry.
  12. Malachi 1:10“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
  13. Matthew 10:41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
  14. Matthew 24:25See, I have told you in advance.
  15. Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
  16. 1 Corinthians 3:8He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
  17. 1 Corinthians 3:14If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
  18. 1 Corinthians 4:1So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
  19. 1 Corinthians 9:16Yet when I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am obligated to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
  20. 2 Corinthians 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
  21. Galatians 2:7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.
  22. Ephesians 3:2Surely you have heard about the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
  23. Philippians 1:16The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.
  24. Colossians 1:25I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God,

Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

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