1 Corinthians 9:24 BSB

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain.

KJV

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.

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Commentary

2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

They which run in a race run all - It is sufficiently evident that the apostle alludes to the athletic exercises in the games which were celebrated every fifth year on the isthmus, or narrow neck of land, which joins the Peloponnesus, or Morea, to the main land; and were thence termed the Isthmian games. The exercises were running, wrestling, boxing, throwing the discus or quoit, etc.; to the three first of these the apostle especially alludes.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Know ye not that - In those famous games which are kept at the isthmus, near your city. They who run in the foot race all run, though but one receiveth the prize - How much greater encouragement have you to run; since ye may all receive the prize of your high calling!

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

The New Park Street Pulpit, Sermon No. 198: “The Heavenly Race” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) (1858)

WE ARE CONTINUALLY insisting upon it from day to day, that salvation is not of works, but of grace. We lay this down as one of the very first doctrines of the gospel. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” But we find that it is equally necessary to preach the absolute necessity of a religious life for the attainment of heaven at last.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

19 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Οὐκ	Ouk	Surely	G3756 →
οἴδατε	oidate	you know
ὅτι	hoti	that	G3754 →
οἱ	hoi	those	G3588 →
ἐν	en	in	G1722 →
σταδίῳ	stadiō	a race course	G4712 →
τρέχοντες	trechontes	running	G5143 →
πάντες	pantes	all	G3956 →
μὲν	men	indeed	G3303 →
τρέχουσιν,	trechousin	run,	G5143 →
εἷς	heis	one	G1520 →
δὲ	de	however	G1161 →
λαμβάνει	lambanei	receives	G2983 →
τὸ	to	the	G3588 →
βραβεῖον;	brabeion	prize?	G1017 →
οὕτως	houtōs	Thus	G3779 →
τρέχετε	trechete	do run	G5143 →
ἵνα	ina	that	G2443 →
καταλάβητε.	katalabēte	you may grasp [it].	G2638 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set…
leads to
- 2 Timothy 4:7
  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24–27
  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way as to take the prize.
- Philippians 2:16
  as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
- Luke 21:34
  But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Hebrews 10:35–39
  So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.
Through
Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
leads to
- 1 Peter 5:10
  And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Revelation 3:21
  To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- 2 Timothy 4:7–8
  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

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Walks through 1 Corinthians 9

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About 1 Corinthians

The Crucifixion — 'Christ crucified' (1 Cor 2:2) — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

1 Corinthians: the study guide →Read chapter 9 →The featured study →

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Corinthians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Corinthians