As in 3.16 and 9.13, Do you not know may be expressed as “I am sure that you know” or “I am sure that you are aware of the fact that.” In this verse the above phrase does not introduce traditional Christian teaching but a generally known fact. The Greek of the words following this phrase is literally “those running in a race all run, but one receives the prize.” Most translations expand this considerably. “Surely you know” (Good News Bible) should link with the statement but only one receives the prize. Another way of expressing the first part of the verse is to combine the first two clauses “I am sure that you know that only one runner in a race receives the prize.”

Paul is not saying that only one Christian will persevere to the end, but that not all are certain to do so.

So run can be translated as “You should run” or “So you must run.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .