3 That is what I say to stand up for myself when people judge me.
4 Don't we have the right to eat and drink?
5 Don't we have the right to take a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles do. The Lord's brothers do. Peter does.
6 Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for a living?
7 Who serves as a soldier but doesn't get paid? Who plants a vineyard but doesn't eat any of its grapes? Who takes care of a flock but doesn't drink any of the milk?
8 Do I say that from only a human point of view? The Law says the same thing.
9 Here is what is written in the Law of Moses. "Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw." (Deuteronomy 25:4) Is it oxen that God is concerned about?