Do I say these things as a mere man? Or does not the law say 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?
- KJV Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
- BSB Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?
- 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 4:8Therefore he who rejects this doesn’t reject man, but God, who has also given his Holy Spirit to you.
- 1 Cor 7:40But she is happier if she stays as she is, in my judgment, and I think that I also have God’s Spirit.
- Rom 3:31Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law.
- Rom 6:19I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh, for as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification.
- 1 Th 2:13For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe.
- Isa 8:20Turn to the law and to the testimony! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them.
- 1 Cor 14:34Let the women be quiet in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them to be talking except in submission, as the law also says,
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
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