| New Living Translation | New American Standard Bible 1995 |
| 1Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. | 1Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. |
| 2Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. | 2If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; |
| 3But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. | 3but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. |
| 4So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. | 4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. |
| 5There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. | 5For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, |
| 6But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. | 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. |
| 7However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. | 7However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. |
| 8It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. | 8But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. |
| 9But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. | 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. |
| 10For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? | 10For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? |
| 11So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. | 11For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. |
| 12And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. | 12And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. |
| 13So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. | 13Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. |
| 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. | New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org |
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