Yet 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!
Parallel translations
- WEB For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about; for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me, if I don’t preach the Good News.
- 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!
- NKJV For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!
- NASB For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am under compulsion; for woe to me if I do not preach the gospel.
- NLT Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
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
Preaching the gospel gives Paul no grounds for boasting, because a compulsion is laid on him; woe to him if he does not preach. He preaches under divine necessity, not as an optional achievement.
Overview
Paul clarifies that proclaiming the gospel is not itself a basis for pride, for he is divinely constrained to do it—it is his commissioned obligation (cf. Acts 9:15). The solemn "woe is to me" expresses the weight of his calling. His real "boast" (v. 18) lies in the manner of his service—preaching free of charge—rather than in the bare fact of preaching, which he simply must do.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Rom 1:14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
- Jer 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 holding it in, and I cannot prevail.
- Col 4:17Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
- 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.”
- Acts 4:20For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
- Acts 26:16–20‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
- Amos 3:8The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
- Acts 9:6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
- Rom 15:17Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
- Acts 9:15“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
- Amos 7:15But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
- Rom 4:2If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.
- Isa 6:5Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”
- Jer 20:7You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
- Jer 1:17Get yourself ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them, or I will terrify you before them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
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 9:16 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.