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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - 1 Corinthians 9:17 - 9:17
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17. εἰ γὰρ ἑκών. Whether St Paul did his work willingly or unwillingly, he could not escape his responsibility. He had been chosen (Act 9:15; Act 13:2; Rom 1:5; Rom 15:16; Gal 1:15-16; 1Ti 2:7; 2Ti 1:11, also ch. 1Co 1:1) to bear the good tidings to the Gentiles, and no man can disobey God and be guiltless. If he willingly obeyed God, he had a reward in the consciousness of having done his duty (1Co 9:18); if not, he still had been entrusted with the task. Cf. Luk 17:10.
μισθόν. Wages. Cf. Joh 4:36; Mat 20:8, and Luk 10:7, where the same word is used.
οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευμαι. I have been entrusted with a stewardship. See note on 1Co 4:1. οἰκονομία came to be used in the sense of any work of practical utility. See Marcus Aurelius, Meditations IV. 19 τί ὁ ἔπαινος πλὴν ἄρα δι' οἰκονομίαν τινά; and cf. our translation dispensation, which means a giving forth to others. For this use of the accusative, cf. Rom 3:2; Gal 2:7; 1Ti 1:11. See Winer Gr. Gram. § 32.