1st Corinthians Chapter 9 verse 27 Holy Bible

ASV 1stCorinthians 9:27

but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
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BBE 1stCorinthians 9:27

But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.
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DARBY 1stCorinthians 9:27

But I buffet my body, and lead it captive, lest [after] having preached to others I should be myself rejected.
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KJV 1stCorinthians 9:27

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
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WBT 1stCorinthians 9:27


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WEB 1stCorinthians 9:27

but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.
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YLT 1stCorinthians 9:27

but I chastise my body, and bring `it' into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others -- I myself may become disapproved.
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1st Corinthians 9 : 27 Bible Verse Songs

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 27. - I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; literally, I bruise my body, and lead it about as a slave. The word tamely rendered "keep in subjection" means literally, I smite under the eyes. The pugilistic metaphor is kept up, and the picturesque force of the words would convey a vivid impression to Corinthians familiar with the contests of the Pancratum, in which boxing with the heavy lead-bound caestus played a prominent part. The only other place in the New Testament where the word occurs is Luke 18:5, where it seems (on the lips of the unjust judge) to have a sort of slang sense. How St. Paul "bruised his body" may be seen in 2 Corinthians 6:4, 5; Colossians 3:5; Romans 8:13. It was not by absurd and harmful self torture, but by noble labour and self denial for the good of others. When I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. "Lest" - such is the meaning of the metaphor" after proclaiming to others the laws of the contest (as a herald), I should myself violate those conditions, and be not only defeated as a combatant, but ignominiously rejected from the lists and not allowed to contend at all." The metaphor is not strictly adhered to, for the herald did not personally contend. No candidate could compete without a preliminary scrutiny, and to be "rejected" was regarded as a deadly insult The word "rejected," "reprobate" - here rendered "a castaway" - is a metaphor derived from the testing of metals, and the casting aside of those which are spurious. That Paul should see the necessity for such serious and unceasing effort shows how little he believed in the possibility of saintly "works of supererogation, over and above what is commanded." "When the cedar of Lebanon trembles, what shall the reed by the brookside do?"

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(27) But I keep under my body.--Better, but I bruise my body. The word is very strong, and implies to beat the flesh until it becomes black and blue. The only other place the word occurs is in Luke 18:5. The body is spoken of as his adversary, or the seat of those lusts and appetites which "war against the mind" (Romans 7:23; Galatians 5:17).Bring it into subjection.--Better, and make it a slave. The idea is carried on that the body is not only conquered, but led captive. We must remember that the language all throughout this passage is figurative, and the statement here refers, not to the infliction of actual pain on the body, but to the subduing of the appetites and passions which are located in it. The true position of our natural appetites is that they should be entirely our servants, and not our masters; that we "should not follow or be led by them," but that they should follow and be led by us.Lest that by any means.--Better, lest having been a herald to others, I myself should be rejected. The image is carried on, and the Apostle says that he has a further motive to live a life of self-denial--viz., that he having acted as a herald, proclaiming the conditions of the contest and the requisite preliminaries for it, should not be found to have himself fulfilled them. It is the same image kept up still of this race, and of the herald who announced the name of the victor, and the fact that he had fulfilled the necessary conditions. It was not the custom for the herald to join in the contest, but the Apostle was himself both a runner in the Christian course, and a herald of the conditions of that race to others. Hence, naturally, he speaks of the two characters, which in the actual illustration would be distinct, as united in one when applied spiritually to himself. The word "cast away" conveys a wrong impression. The Greek word signifies one who had not behaved according to the prescribed regulations.