¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? ² Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. ³ This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. ⁴ Don`t we have the right to food and drink? <sup>5</sup> Don`t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord`s brothers and Cephas? <sup>6</sup> Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? <sup>7</sup> Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? <sup>8</sup> Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn`t the Law say the same thing?