Do you not know that those who work in the temple eat of its food, and those who serve at the altar partake of its offerings?
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar?
- KJV Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
- NKJV Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar?
- NASB Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?
- NLT Don’t you realize that those who work in the temple get their meals from the offerings brought to the temple? And those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrificial offerings.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul reminds them that those who serve in the temple eat from its offerings, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrifices. God's own ordained pattern provides for sacred ministry.
Overview
Drawing on the Old Testament priesthood, Paul notes that priests and Levites were sustained from the temple's offerings (Num 18:8-31). This divinely established arrangement further supports the principle that those devoted to spiritual service may live from it. It is another strand in his cumulative case, showing that ministerial support is not novel but rooted in God's own provision for those who serve Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Num 18:8–20Then the LORD said to Aaron, “Behold, I have put you in charge of My offerings. As for all the sacred offerings of the Israelites, I have given them to you and your sons as a portion and a permanent statute.
- Lev 6:26The priest who offers it shall eat it; it must be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Num 5:9–10Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.
- 1 Cor 10:18Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?
- Deut 18:1–5The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the LORD; that is their inheritance.
- 1 Sam 2:28And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the offerings of the Israelites made by fire.
- Lev 6:16–18Aaron and his sons are to eat the remainder. It must be eaten without leaven in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting.
- Deut 10:9That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.
- Lev 7:6–8Every male among the priests may eat of it. It must be eaten in a holy place; it is most holy.
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Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 9:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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