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1 Corinthians 9:10

in 1 Corinthians 9

Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

or saith he it assuredly for our sake? Yea, for our sake it was written: because he that ploweth ought to plow in hope, and he that thresheth, to thresh in hope of partaking.

KJV

Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

This verse in 1 Corinthians 9

Commentary

11 notes on this verse
Or saith he it altogether for our sakes,.... That is, God says this, or delivers out this law, forbidding the muzzling the ox, while it treads out the corn; not merely for the sake of the ox, but chiefly for the sake of men; and so Jarchi upon the place says, that the ox is mentioned, להוציא את אדם, "to express man"; and so another of the Jewish writers (m) interprets the law in Deu 22:

This site's exposition

Do I say this from

on 1 Corinthians 9:8-10

Paul grounds the claim in the written Law, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, from Deuteronomy 25:4. The argument runs from light to heavy, a common rabbinic pattern, reaching from the ox to the plowman and thresher.

This site's exposition

the plowman plows

Paul applies the ox law to the worker in the gospel. Theophylact reads the plowman and thresher as the teacher who cultivates the field of hearts in hope of a share in the harvest.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on 1 Corinthians 21 · Written before 407.

proposed

"For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." And on what account hath he mentioned this, having the example of the priests? Wishing to establish it far beyond what the case required. Further, lest any should say, "And what have we to do with the saying about the oxen?" he works it out more exactly, saying, "Is it for the oxen that God careth;" Doth God then, tell me, take no care for oxen? Well, He doth take care of them, but not so as to make a law concerning such a thing as this. So that had he not been hinting at something important, training the Jews to mercy in the case of the brutes, and through these, discoursing with them of the teachers also; he would not have taken so much interest as even to make a law to forbid the muzzling of oxen. Wherein he points out another thing likewise, that the labor of teachers both is and ought to be great. And again another thing. What then is this? That whatever is said by the Old Testament respecting care for brutes, in its principal meaning bears on the instruction of human beings: as in fact do all the rest: the precepts, for example, concerning various garments; and those concerning vineyards and seeds and not making the ground bear divers crops, and those concerning leprosy; and, in a word, all the rest: for they being of a duller sort He was discoursing with them from these topics, advancing them by little and little. And see how in what follows he doth not even confirm it, as being clear and self-evident. […]

A commentator

Ambrosiaster

COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES · Written before 384.

proposed

The whole of Scripture applies to us by way of analogy.

A commentator

Tertullian

Against Marcion Book II · Written before 220.

proposed

To these prime counsels of innocence, chastity, and justice, and piety, are also added prescriptions of humanity, as when every seventh year slaves are released for liberty; when at the same period the land is spared from tillage; a place is also granted to the needy; and from the treading ox's mouth the muzzle is removed, for the enjoyment of the fruit of his labour before him, in order that kindness first shown in the case of animals might be raised from such rudiments to the refreshment of men.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 1 Corinthians · Written before 1107.

proposed

He used the word "certainly" (πάντως), as about a universally acknowledged matter, so as not to give the listener occasion to object anything. That is, the teacher must cultivate the field of hearts and labor with the hope of recompense and reward. From sowing he …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

What, get so much good by them, and yet grudge to do so little good to them! Is this grateful or equitable? He argues from the maintenance they afforded others: " If others are partakers of this power over you, are not we rather?

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

3 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope - Instead of ὁ αλοων της ελπιδος αυτου μετεχειν, επ’ ελπιδι, many of the best MSS. and versions read the passage thus: ὁ αλοων επ’ ελπιδι του μετεχειν· And he who thresheth in hope of partaking. “The words της ελπιδος, which are omitted by the above, are,” says Bp. Pearce, “superfluous, if not wrong; for men do not live in hope to partake of their hope, but to partake of what was the object and end of their hope.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

altogether--Join this with "saith." "Does he (the divine lawgiver) by all means say it for our sakes?" It would be untrue, that God saith it altogether (in the sense of solely) for our sakes. But it is true, that He by all means saith it for our sakes as the ultimate object in the lower world.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? - The word “altogether” (πάντως pantōs) cannot mean that this was the “sole” and “only” design of the law, to teach that ministers of the gospel were entitled to support; for: (1) This would be directly contrary to the law itself, which had some direct and undoubted reference to oxen; (2) The scope of the argument here does not require this interpretation, since the whole object will be met by supposing that this settled a “principle” of humanity and equity in the divine law, according to which it was “proper” that ministers should have a support; and, (3) The word “altogether” (πάντως pantōs) does not of necessity require this interpretation. It may be rendered “chiefly, mainly, principally, or doubtless;” Luk 4:23, “Ye will ‘surely’ (πάντως pantōs certainly, surely, doubtless) say unto me this proverb,” etc.; Act 18:21, “I must ‘by all means’ (πάντως pantōs, certainly, surely) keep this feast; Act 21:22, “The multitude ‘must needs’ (πάντως pantōs, will certainly, surely, inevitably) come together,” etc.; Act 28:4, “‘No doubt’ (πάντως pantōs) this man is a murderer,” etc. The word here, therefore, means that the “principle” stated in the law about the oxen was so broad and humane, that it might “certainly, surely, particularly” be regarded as applicable to the case under consideration. An important and material argument might be drawn from it; an argument from the less to the greater. The precept enjoined justice, equity, humanity; and that was more applicable to the case of the ministers of the gospel than to the case of oxen. For our sakes ... - To show that the laws and requirements of God are humane, kind, and equitable; not that Moses had Paul or any other minister in his eye, but the “principle” was one that applied particularly to this case. That he that ploweth ... […]

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Romans 15:4

    For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 10:11

      Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

    • 2 Timothy 3:16–17

      All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

    • Romans 4:23–24

      Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham,

    • 2 Peter 1:20–21

      Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation.

    • Hebrews 10:35–36

      So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

  • Through

    1 Corinthians 3:9

    For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 2:5

      you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

    • Ephesians 2:20–22

      built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

    • 2 Corinthians 6:1

      As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Corinthians

The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci, 1495 to 1498. Public domain.
The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci, 1495 to 1498. Public domain.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 21; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book II and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.