1 Corinthians 9:16
in 1 Corinthians 9Yet 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!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel.
KJV
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 9
Commentary
10 notes on this verseFor though I preach the Gospel - I have cause of glorying that I preach the Gospel free of all charges to you; but I cannot glory in being a preacher of the Gospel, because I am not such either by my own skill or power. I have received both the office, and the grace by which I execute the office, from God. I have not only his authority to preach, but that authority obliges me to preach; and if I did not, I should endanger my salvation: yea, wo is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel.
This site's exposition
But I have not used
on 1 Corinthians 9:15-16
Paul would rather die than let anyone nullify his boast, preaching the gospel at his own charge. Preaching gives him no reason to boast, since the obligation to preach was laid on him at his calling on the Damascus road.
This site's exposition
I am obligated to preach
Theophylact sets the preaching, which Paul owes as a command, apart from preaching free of charge, where his boast lies. Matthew Henry reads the woe as the charge of a steward who would break a plain command by keeping silent. Ambrosiaster recalls Moses and Jonah, both sent against their wishes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
The servant sent by the Lord does what he has to do even if he is not willing, because if he does not do it he will suffer for it. Moses preached to Pharaoh even though he did not want to, and Jonah was forced …
"For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel! For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward: but if not of mine own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge, so as not to use to the full my right in the Gospel." What sayest thou? tell me. "If thou preach the Gospel, it is nothing for thee to glory of, but it is, if thou make the Gospel of Christ without charge?" Is this therefore greater than that? By no means; but in another point of view it hath some advantage, inasmuch as the one is a command, but the other is a good deed of my own free-will: for what things are done beyond the commandment, have a great reward in this respect: but such as are in pursuance of a commandment, not so great: and so in this respect he says, the one is more than the other; not in the very nature of the thing. For what is equal to preaching; since it maketh men vie even with the angels themselves. Nevertheless since the one is a commandment and a debt, the other a forwardness of free-will, in this respect this is more than that. Wherefore he saith, explaining the same, what I just now mentioned: "For if I do this of mine own will, I have a reward, but if not of mine own will, a stewardship is entrusted to me;" taking the words of mine own "will" and "not of mine own will," of its being committed or not committed to him. And thus we must understand the expression, "for necessity is laid upon me;" not as though he did aught of these things against his will, God forbid, but as though he were bound by the things commanded, and for contradistinction to the liberty in receiving before mentioned. […]
And so there is incumbent on us a necessity binding us, since we have premised that a new law was predicted by the prophets, and that not such as had been already given to their fathers at the time when He led them forth from the land of Egypt, to show and prove, on the one hand, that that old Law has ceased, and on the other, that the promised new law is now in operation.
The Medieval Church1 voice
What are you saying? Your praise is not in preaching the Gospel, but in preaching without charge? Is the latter better than the former? No, he says; but preaching the Gospel has been commanded to me, it is my duty, and if I fulfill it, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This is a duty expressly bound upon me. It is not in any degree a matter of liberty. I am false and unfaithful to my trust, I break a plain and express command, and woe be to me, if I do not preach the gospel. " Those who are set apart to the office of the ministry have it in charge to preach the gospel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For though I preach the gospel ... - This, with the two following verses, is a very difficult passage, and has been very variously understood by interpreters. The general scope and purpose of the passage is to show what was the ground of his “glorying,” or of his hope of” reward” in preaching the gospel. In 1Co 9:15. He had intimated that he had cause of” glorying,” and that that cause was one which he was determined no one should take away. In this passage 1Co 9:16-18. He states what that was. He says, it was not simply that he preached; for there was a necessity laid on him, and he could not help it; his call was such, the command was such, that his life would be miserable if he did not do it, But all idea of “glorying,” or of “reward,” must be connected with some voluntary service - something which would show the inclination, disposition, desire of the soul. And as that in his case could not be well shown where a “necessity” was laid on him, it could be shown only in his submitting voluntarily to trials; in denying himself; in being willing to forego comforts which he might lawfully enjoy; and in thus furnishing a full and complete test of his readiness to do anything to promote the gospel. The essential idea here is, therefore, that there was such a necessity laid on him in his call to preach the gospel, that his compliance with that call could not be regarded as appropriately connected with reward; and that in his case the circumstance which showed that reward would be proper, was, his denying himself, and making the gospel without charge. This would show that “his heart was in the thing;” that he was was not urged on by necessity; that he loved the work; and that it would be consistent for the Lord to reward him for his self-denials and toils in his service. I have nothing to glory of - The force of this would be better seen by a more literal translation. […]
The words behind it
18 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐὰν | ean | If | G1437 → | 352 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| εὐαγγελίζωμαι, | euangelizomai | I shall evangelise, | G2097 → | 54 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | nothing | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔστιν | estin | there is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| μοι | moi | to me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| καύχημα· | kauchema | boasting; | G2745 → | 11 times |
| ἀνάγκη | anagke | necessity | G318 → | 17 times |
| γάρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| μοι | moi | me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐπίκειται· | epikeitai | is laid upon; | G1945 → | |
| οὐαὶ | ouai | Woe | G3759 → | |
| γάρ | gar | however | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| μοί | moi | to me | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | be | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἐὰν | ean | if | G1437 → | 352 times |
| μὴ | me | not | G3361 → | 1066 times |
| εὐαγγελίσωμαι. | euangelisomai | I shall evangelise. | G2097 → | 54 times |
ἐὰνIf
eanG1437 →352 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
εὐαγγελίζωμαι,I shall evangelise,
euangelizomaiG2097 →54 times
οὐκnothing
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔστινthere is
estinG1510 →2333 times
μοιto me
moiG3165 →1936 times
καύχημα·boasting;
kauchemaG2745 →11 times
ἀνάγκηnecessity
anagkeG318 →17 times
γάρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
μοιme
moiG3165 →1936 times
ἐπίκειται·is laid upon;
epikeitaiG1945 →
οὐαὶWoe
ouaiG3759 →
γάρhowever
garG1063 →1039 times
μοίto me
moiG3165 →1936 times
ἐστινbe
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἐὰνif
eanG1437 →352 times
μὴnot
meG3361 →1066 times
εὐαγγελίσωμαι.I shall evangelise.
euangelisomaiG2097 →54 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Luke 9:62Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
it leads to
- Philippians 3:13
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- Hebrews 10:38
But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- 2 Peter 2:20–22
If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse…
- Luke 17:31–32
On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
- James 1:6–8
But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
- Philippians 3:13
Through
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…
it leads to
- Psalms 39:3
My heart grew hot within me; as I mused, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:
- Job 32:18–20
For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.
- Acts 4:20
For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Psalms 39:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 9 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; John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 22; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, An Answer to the Jews and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.