| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea. | 1I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. |
| 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. | 2In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. |
| 3They all ate the same spiritual food | 3All of them ate the same spiritual food, |
| 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. | 4and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. |
| 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness. | 5Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. |
| 6These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did. | 6These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did, |
| 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and to drink, and got up to indulge in revelry.” | 7or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.” |
| 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. | 8And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day. |
| 9We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes. | 9Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites. |
| 10And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. | 10And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. |
| 11Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. | 11These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. |
| 12So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall. | 12If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. |
| 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it. | 13The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. |
| 14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. | 14So, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. |
| 15I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. | 15You are reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true. |
| 16Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? | 16When we bless the cup at the Lord’s Table, aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? And when we break the bread, aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? |
| 17Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. | 17And though we are many, we all eat from one loaf of bread, showing that we are one body. |
| 18Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar? | 18Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar? |
| 19Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? | 19What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? |
| 20No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. | 20No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. |
| 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too. | 21You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. |
| 22Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? | 22What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is? |
| 23“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying. | 23You say, “I am allowed to do anything” —but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. |
| 24No one should seek his own good, but the good of others. | 24Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. |
| 25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, | 25So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. |
| 26for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” | 26For “the earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.” |
| 27If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience. | 27If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience. |
| 28But if someone tells you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience— | 28(But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. |
| 29the other one’s conscience, I mean, not your own. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience? | 29It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? |
| 30If I partake in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? | 30If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it? |
| 31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. | 31So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. |
| 32Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God— | 32Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. |
| 33as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved. | 33I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved. |
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