Passage

1 Corinthians 9.21

Book: 1 Corinthians · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (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."

"22. 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 (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."

"22. 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 (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."

"22. 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 (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;"

"22. 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)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

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.

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Quoted in

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.