Passage

1 Corinthians 9.21

Book: 1 Corinthians · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

19. For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. 20. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21. to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23. And I do all things for the gospel's sake, that I may be a joint partaker thereof. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, ASV)

WEB

19. For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. 20. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain those who are under the law;

21. to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law.

To the weak I became as weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23. Now I do this for the sake of the Good News, that I may be a joint partaker of it. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, WEB)

KJV

19. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. 20. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;

21. To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, KJV)

YLT

19. for being free from all men, to all men I made myself servant, that the more I might gain; 20. and I became to the Jews as a Jew, that Jews I might gain; to those under law as under law, that those under law I might gain;

21. to those without law, as without law, (not being without law to God, but within law to Christ), that I might gain those without law;

I became to the infirm as infirm, that the infirm I might gain; to all men I have become all things, that by all means I may save some. 23. And this I do because of the good news, that a fellow-partaker of it I may become; (1 Corinthians 9:19-23, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

Speaker: Paul the Apostle, with Sosthenes named as co-sender
Audience: the church at Corinth, a divided congregation in a wealthy Roman colony
Location: written from Ephesus during the third missionary journey
Time period: c. AD 53-55

Theological reading

Not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ.

The qualifying clause of Paul's accommodation principle, and the phrase ennomos Christou is the crux.

Two claims are made at once. Paul denies being anomos, lawless, before God; and he specifies the law he is under as Christ's. That is not the abolition of moral obligation but its relocation, and it is the same move as Galatians 6:2 on bearing burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ.

The verse is therefore central to the question of what abides from the Mosaic legislation. Paul is neither keeping the law as the ground of standing nor discarding obligation, and the third position he occupies is the one the threefold-division framework tries to describe. See Mosaic Law Binding for True Israelites Objection Defeater Premise 3.

Read without this clause, the preceding verses look like unprincipled adaptability, which is how they are often quoted.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

G5547 - christos, christos, Strong's G5547
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Lexicon:

G3551 - nomos

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.