I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
Parallel translations
- WEB I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air,
- BSB Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air.
- NKJV Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
- NASB Therefore I run in such a way as not to run aimlessly; I box in such a way, as to avoid hitting air;
- NLT So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
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 runs with clear purpose, not aimlessly, and fights not like a boxer flailing at the air. His spiritual effort is focused and intentional.
Overview
Continuing the athletic imagery, Paul describes his own life as a runner with a definite goal and a boxer who lands real blows. He does nothing in vain or without aim. This models the deliberate, disciplined Christian life he commends to the Corinthians—purposeful in pursuing holiness and ministry rather than drifting. Every effort is directed toward the eternal prize and faithful service to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 2 Tim 2:5And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
- 2 Pet 1:10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
- Phil 1:21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
- Col 1:29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
- 2 Tim 1:12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
- Luke 13:24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
- 1 Pet 5:1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
- Eph 6:12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
- 1 Cor 14:9So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
- 2 Cor 5:1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
- 2 Cor 5:8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
- Heb 4:1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
- Matt 11:12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 9:26 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.