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?

¹Handizi muapositori here? Handizi wakasununguka here? Handina kuona Jesu Kristu Ishe wedu here? Imwi hamusi basa rangu muna Ishe here?

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.

²Kana ndisiri muapositori kuna vamwe, asi zviri pachena ndiri iye kwamuri; nekuti mucherechedzo wevuapositori hwangu ndimwi muna Ishe.

³My defense to those who examine me is this.

³Kuzvidavirira kwangu kune vanondinzvera ndeuku.

⁴Have we no right to eat and to drink?

⁴Hatina simba here rekudya nekumwa?

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?

⁵Hatina simba rekutenderera nehamakadzi sevamwe vaapositori nevanin'ina vaIshe naKefasi here?

⁶Or have only Barnabas and I no right to not work?

⁶Kana ndini ndoga naBhanabhasi here tisina simba rekusabata basa?

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?

⁷Ndianiko wakambobudira hondo achizviripira mubairo? Ndiani unorima munda wemizambiringa akasadya zvibereko zvawo? Kana ndiani unofudza boka akasadya zvemukaka weboka?

⁸Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn’t the law also say the same thing?

⁸Zvinhu izvi ndinozvitaura semunhu here? Ko murairo hautauriwo izvozvo here?

⁹For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Deuteronomy 25:4 Is it for the oxen that God cares,

⁹Nekuti zvakanyorwa mumurairo waMozisi kuti: Usasunga muromo wenzombe inopura zviyo. Ko Mwari unehanya nenzombe here?

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.

¹⁰Kana unoreva zvirokwazvo nekuda kwedu here? Nekuti zvirokwazvo, zvakanyorwa nekuda kwedu, kuti uyo unorima unofanira kurima mutariro; neunopura mutariro unofanira kugoverwa mutariro yake.

¹¹If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?

¹¹Kana isu takadzvara kwamuri zvinhu zvemweya, chinhu chikuru here kana tichicheka zvinhu zvenyu zvenyama?

¹²If others partake of this right over you, don’t we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right, but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ.

¹²Kana vamwe vachigovana simba pamusoro penyu, zvikuru isu? Asi hatina kushandisa simba iri; asi tinoregera zvinhu zvose, kuti tirege kupa chipinganidzo kuevhangeri yaKristu.

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?

¹³Hamuzivi here kuti avo vanoshumira pazvinhu zvitsvene vanorarama nezvetembere? Uye avo vanorindira paaritari vanogovana nearitari here?

¹⁴Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good News should live from the Good News.

¹⁴Saizvozvovo Ishe wakaraira kuti avo vanoparidza evhangeri, vararame neevhangeri.

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.

¹⁵Asi ini handina kushandisa chimwe chezvinhu izvi, kana kunyora zvinhu izvi kuti zviitwe saizvozvo kwandiri, nekuti zviri nani kwandiri kuti ndife, pakuti mumwe ashayise kuzvikudza kwangu maturo.

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.

¹⁶Nekuti kunyange ndichiparidza evhangeri, handina chandingazvikudza nacho, nekuti faniro yakatakudzwa pamusoro pangu; ndine nhamo kana ndisingaparidzi evhangeri.

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.

¹⁷Nekuti kana ndichiita chinhu ichi ndichida, ndine mubairo; asi kana ndisingadi, ndakapiwa utariri.

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.

¹⁸Zvino mubairo wangu chii? Kuti kana ndichiparidza evhangeri, ndiite kuti evhangeri yaKristu isabhadharwa, kuti ndirege kushandisa simba rangu zvakapfuurikidza muevhangeri.

¹⁹For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.

¹⁹Nekuti kunyange ndakasununguka kune vose, asi ndakazviita muranda kune vose, kuti ndiwane vazhinji kwazvo.

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;

²⁰Uye kuvaJudha ndakava semuJudha, kuti ndiwane vaJudha; kune vari pasi pemurairo seuri pasi pemurairo, kuti ndiwane vari pasi pemurairo;

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.

²¹kune vasina murairo seusina murairo (ndisati ndiri usina murairo kuna Mwari, asi pasi pemurairo kuna Kristu), kuti ndiwane vasina murairo.

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.

²²Kuna vasina simba ndakava seusina simba, kuti ndiwane vasina simba; ndakava zvinhu zvose kune vose, kuti ndiponese vamwe nemitoo yose.

²³Now I do this for the sake of the Good News, that I may be a joint partaker of it.

²³Uye izvi ndinoita nekuda kweevhangeri, kuti ndive mugovani pariri.

²⁴Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win.

²⁴Hamuzivi here kuti vanomhanya munhangemutange vanomhanya vose, asi umwe unowana mubairo? Mhanyai saizvozvo, kuti muuwane.

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.

²⁵Uye umwe neumwe unokwikwidza unozvidzora pazvinhu zvose. Zvino ivo vanozviita kuti vawane korona inoora, asi isu isingaori.

²⁶I therefore run like that, as not uncertainly. I fight like that, as not beating the air,

²⁶Naizvozvo ini ndinomhanya saizvozvo kwete seusina chokwadi, saizvozvo ndinorwa kwete seunorova mhepo;

²⁷but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

²⁷asi ndinotsikirira muviri wangu, ndichiuita muranda; kuti zvimwe chero nenzira ipi kana ndaparidzira vamwe, ini ndirege kuva wakarashwa.