1. 1 Samuel 25:7–8 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Did David and his men have a right to share in Nabal’s profit or were they asking for charity?

1 Samuel 25:7–8 (ESV)

7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel.

Since David and his men had helped Nabal’s shepherds for some time (see 1 Samuel 25:16, 1 Samuel 25:21),1 they had a right to be rewarded for their work and share in the profit which they helped to secure. A worker is worthy of his wages (see Leviticus 19:13; 1 Timothy 5:18).