1Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus Christ, our Lord? Aren’t you my work in the Lord? 2If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3My defense to those who examine me is this: 4Have we no right to eat and to drink? 5Have we no right to take along a wife who is a believer, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? 6Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work? 7What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink from the flock’s milk?
8Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn’t the law also say the same thing? 9For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen that God cares, 10or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope. 11If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things? 12If others partake of this right over you, don’t we yet more?
Nevertheless we didn’t use this right, but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ. 13Don’t you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar? 14Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News.
15But I have used none of these things, and I don’t write these things that it may be done so in my case; for I would rather die, than that anyone should make my boasting void. 16For if I preach the Good News, I have nothing to boast about, for necessity is laid on me; but woe is to me if I don’t preach the Good News. 17For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward. But if not of my own will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 18What then is my reward? That when I preach the Good News, I may present the Good News of Christ without charge, so as not to abuse my authority in the Good News.
19For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. 20To 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; 21to 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. 22To 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. 23Now I do this for the sake of the Good News, that I may be a joint partaker of it. 24Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, so that you may win. 25Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. 26I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air, 27but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
References to the prophet and lawgiver Moses are found over 1,000 times in the Bible, demonstrating his importance in biblical history. His life ranges from being a baby hidden by his mother from the death decree ordered by the Pharoah of Egypt (Exod 2:2, 3) to his death on Mt. Nebo in Jordan (Deut 34:1, 6), not far from his brother Aaron on Mt. Ebal (Deut 10:6).
Moses was the son of Amram and Jochebed (Hebrews in Egyptian slavery). He was a descendant of Levi and brother of Aaron and Miriam. His wife's name was Zipporah, through whom was born Gershom and Eliezer. He is most known as the lawgiver of the Jews and the miracle worker in Egypt, responsible for the freeing of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt.
Moses was brought up in Egypt in the royal house (trained in all the ways of the Egyptians, Exod ), but afterwards the killing of an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, he fled Egypt, staying in the desert with Jethro, a priest of Midian. Moses afterward married Zipporah, a daughter of Jethro, from whom was born Moses' first son, Gershom.
Several years later, Moses encountered Yahweh, the God of Israel, who appeared to Moses in a burning bush, revealed His personal name (see Exod ) and told Moses to return to Egypt, showing miraculous signs to the Pharoah, demanding the release of the Israelites from bondage.
For more information on Moses, see Joan Comay and Ronald Brownrigg, Who's Who in the Bible: The Old Testament and The Apocrypha, The New Testament, Two Volumes in One (New York: Bonanza Books, 1980), pp. 270-289; Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible and All the Women of the Bible, Two Books in One (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1958, 1967), pp. 246-248; Biographies of Bible Characters, People and characters in the Bible. https://www.encinardemamre.com/en/Biographies/M.html