1 Corinthians 9:3-5

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

³This is my defense to those who would examine me.^[a] ⁴Do we not have the right to our food and drink? ⁵Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife,^[b]^[c] as the other apostles and the brethren^[d] of the Lord and Cephas?

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Footnotes

9.3 Paul set great store by the fact that he has earned his living and waived his right to support by the faithful. He used this as an authentication of his apostolate.
1 Corinthians 9:5 Greek woman, sister
9.5 wife: Greek, a “woman,” a “sister.” This could mean either a woman who is a Christian or a wife who is a Christian. There were pious women who ministered to the apostles (Lk 8.3). As many of the apostles must have been married, they may have been ministered to by their wives, though it is possible they had left their wives in answer to the Lord’s command to leave all (Lk 18.28-29).
9.5 brethren: See note on Mt 12.46.

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

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