1 Timothy 5:18

‘For the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn.” And, “The labourer is worthy of his hire.” ’

He then cites Scripture to demonstrate how they should be honoured. The first quotation is from Deuteronomy 25:4 where it literally means that the ox should not be muzzled but should be allowed to partake of the grain while it threshes it. Notice that he does not apply the illustration, he expects Timothy to understand it. It is cited in 1 Corinthians 9:9 where it refers to the right of those who minister the Gospel to be provided for and Paul there claims that its primary intention is to indicate that we should be generous to those who work on our behalf. He makes clear in 1 Corinthians that his point is that while God may be concerned for the welfare of animals, He is even more concerned for the welfare of human beings. But in Timothy’s case he expects him to have the discernment to understand this without spelling it out. This idea fits well with the next citation which is from Luke 10:7, where the idea is that the messenger of the Gospel deserves to be properly fed. Note how the words of Jesus are now included as Scripture. (Paul would never have combined the two like this unless that was what he meant. He had too high a view of Scripture). The citation may have been taken from a source which Luke also called on, or directly from Luke’s draft, for Paul would no doubt be familiar with Luke’s work in producing a Gospel. It does not necessarily indicate that the work was yet complete.

‘For the Scripture says.’ A typical Pauline way of expressing the idea. Compare Romans 4:3; Romans 9:17; Romans 11:2; Galatians 4:30; etc. It was indicating that both these sayings had the authority of God behind them because they came from God’s inspired word.