Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
Parallel translations
- WEB Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn’t the law also say the same thing?
- BSB Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
- NKJV Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also?
- NASB I am not just asserting these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does the Law not say these things as well?
- NLT Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing?
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 asks whether he argues only from human custom, or whether the Law itself says the same. He grounds his case not merely in common practice but in Scripture.
Overview
Anticipating the objection that he relies on mere human reasoning, Paul appeals to the higher authority of God's Law. This shows his conviction that the principle of supporting gospel workers is not a human convenience but a divine ordinance. He thereby strengthens his case and models how Christian ethics rests ultimately on the authority of Scripture rather than on social custom alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Th 4:8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
- 1 Cor 7:40But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
- Rom 3:31Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
- Rom 6:19I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
- 1 Th 2:13For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
- Isa 8:20To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
- 1 Cor 14:34Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
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 9:8 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.