| New Living Translation | English Standard Version |
| 1Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | 1As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. |
| 2For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. | 2One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. |
| 3Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. | 3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. |
| 4Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval. | 4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. |
| 5In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. | 5One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. |
| 6Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. | 6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. |
| 7For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. | 7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. |
| 8If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. | 8For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. |
| 9Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. | 9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. |
| 10So why do you condemn another believer ? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. | 10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; |
| 11For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God. ’” | 11for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” |
| 12Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. | 12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. |
| 13So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. | 13Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. |
| 14I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. | 14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. |
| 15And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. | 15For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. |
| 16Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. | 16So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. |
| 17For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. | 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. |
| 18If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. | 18Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. |
| 19So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. | 19So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. |
| 20Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. | 20Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. |
| 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. | 21It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. |
| 22You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. | 22The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. |
| 23But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning. | 23But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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