Have we no right to food and to drink?
Parallel translations
- WEB Have we no right to eat and to drink?
- KJV Have we not power to eat and to drink?
- NKJV Do we have no right to eat and drink?
- NASB Do we not have a right to eat and drink?
- NLT Don’t we have the right to live in your homes and share your meals?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Don't Paul and his coworkers have the right to receive food and drink—that is, material support—for their ministry? He affirms a legitimate apostolic entitlement.
Overview
Paul begins listing the rights he could claim. The first is the basic right to be supported by those he serves, freed from earning his own keep so he can labor in the gospel. This is not greed but a God-given provision for ministers. By naming the right clearly, Paul prepares to show that his refusal to use it (v. 12, 15) is a deliberate act of love, not a sign of inferiority.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Th 2:6Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.
- 2 Th 3:8–9nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
- Luke 10:7Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
- Gal 6:6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
- Matt 10:10Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.
- 1 Cor 9:7–14Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
- 1 Th 2:9Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
- 1 Tim 5:17–18Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 9:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.