Joshua 15-17
New Living Translation
The Land Given to the Tribe of Judah
15 The allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah reached southward to the border of Edom, as far south as the wilderness of Zin.
2 The southern boundary began at the south bay of the Dead Sea,[a] 3 ran south of Scorpion Pass[b] into the wilderness of Zin, and then went south of Kadesh-barnea to Hezron. Then it went up to Addar, where it turned toward Karka. 4 From there it passed to Azmon until it finally reached the Brook of Egypt, which it followed to the Mediterranean Sea.[c] This was their[d] southern boundary.
5 The eastern boundary extended along the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan River.
The northern boundary began at the bay where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, 6 went up from there to Beth-hoglah, then proceeded north of Beth-arabah to the Stone of Bohan. (Bohan was Reuben’s son.) 7 From that point it went through the valley of Achor to Debir, turning north toward Gilgal, which is across from the slopes of Adummim on the south side of the valley. From there the boundary extended to the springs at En-shemesh and on to En-rogel. 8 The boundary then passed through the valley of Ben-Hinnom, along the southern slopes of the Jebusites, where the city of Jerusalem is located. Then it went west to the top of the mountain above the valley of Hinnom, and on up to the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. 9 From there the boundary extended from the top of the mountain to the spring at the waters of Nephtoah,[e] and from there to the towns on Mount Ephron. Then it turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). 10 The boundary circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the town of Kesalon on the northern slope of Mount Jearim, and went down to Beth-shemesh and on to Timnah. 11 The boundary then proceeded to the slope of the hill north of Ekron, where it turned toward Shikkeron and Mount Baalah. It passed Jabneel and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.
12 The western boundary was the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.[f]
These are the boundaries for the clans of the tribe of Judah.
The Land Given to Caleb
13 The Lord commanded Joshua to assign some of Judah’s territory to Caleb son of Jephunneh. So Caleb was given the town of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), which had been named after Anak’s ancestor. 14 Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the sons of Anak.
15 From there he went to fight against the people living in the town of Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher). 16 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” 17 Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, was the one who conquered it, so Acsah became Othniel’s wife.
18 When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him[g] to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”
19 She said, “Give me another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
The Towns Allotted to Judah
20 This was the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Judah.
21 The towns of Judah situated along the borders of Edom in the extreme south were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine towns with their surrounding villages.
33 The following towns situated in the western foothills[h] were also given to Judah: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim—fourteen towns with their surrounding villages.
37 Also included were Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Kitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—sixteen towns with their surrounding villages.
42 Besides these, there were Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah—nine towns with their surrounding villages.
45 The territory of the tribe of Judah also included Ekron and its surrounding settlements and villages. 46 From Ekron the boundary extended west and included the towns near Ashdod with their surrounding villages. 47 It also included Ashdod with its surrounding settlements and villages and Gaza with its settlements and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
48 Judah also received the following towns in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven towns with their surrounding villages.
52 Also included were the towns of Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine towns with their surrounding villages.
55 Besides these, there were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten towns with their surrounding villages.
58 In addition, there were Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—six towns with their surrounding villages.
60 There were also Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—two towns with their surrounding villages.
61 In the wilderness there were the towns of Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six towns with their surrounding villages.
63 But the tribe of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, who lived in the city of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there among the people of Judah to this day.
The Land Given to Ephraim and West Manasseh
16 The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan River near Jericho, east of the springs of Jericho, through the wilderness and into the hill country of Bethel. 2 From Bethel (that is, Luz)[i] it ran over to Ataroth in the territory of the Arkites. 3 Then it descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer and over to the Mediterranean Sea.[j]
4 This was the homeland allocated to the families of Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
The Land Given to Ephraim
5 The following territory was given to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim.
The boundary of their homeland began at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, 6 then on to the Mediterranean Sea. From Micmethath on the north, the boundary curved eastward past Taanath-shiloh to the east of Janoah. 7 From Janoah it turned southward to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan River. 8 From Tappuah the boundary extended westward, following the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea. This is the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim.
9 In addition, some towns with their surrounding villages in the territory allocated to the half-tribe of Manasseh were set aside for the tribe of Ephraim. 10 They did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves among the people of Ephraim to this day.
The Land Given to West Manasseh
17 The next allotment of land was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph’s older son. Makir, the firstborn son of Manasseh, was the father of Gilead. Because his descendants were experienced soldiers, the regions of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan had already been given to them. 2 So the allotment on the west side of the Jordan was for the remaining families within the clans of the tribe of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These clans represent the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph.
3 However, Zelophehad, a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 These women came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us a grant of land along with the men of our tribe.”
So Joshua gave them a grant of land along with their uncles, as the Lord had commanded. 5 As a result, Manasseh’s total allocation came to ten parcels of land, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan across the Jordan River, 6 because the female descendants of Manasseh received a grant of land along with the male descendants. (The land of Gilead was given to the rest of the male descendants of Manasseh.)
7 The boundary of the tribe of Manasseh extended from the border of Asher to Micmethath, near Shechem. Then the boundary went south from Micmethath to the settlement near the spring of Tappuah. 8 The land surrounding Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh’s territory, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. 9 From the spring of Tappuah, the boundary of Manasseh followed the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea.[k] Several towns south of the ravine were inside Manasseh’s territory, but they actually belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. 10 In general, however, the land south of the ravine belonged to Ephraim, and the land north of the ravine belonged to Manasseh. Manasseh’s boundary ran along the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. North of Manasseh was the territory of Asher, and to the east was the territory of Issachar.
11 The following towns within the territory of Issachar and Asher, however, were given to Manasseh: Beth-shan,[l] Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphoth-dor),[m] Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
12 But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these towns because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region. 13 Later, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.
14 The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land as our homeland when the Lord has blessed us with so many people?”
15 Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, and if the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear out land for yourselves in the forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites live.”
16 The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.”
17 Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. 18 The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots.”
Footnotes
- 15:2 Hebrew the Salt Sea; also in 15:5.
- 15:3 Hebrew Akrabbim.
- 15:4a Hebrew the sea; also in 15:11.
- 15:4b Hebrew your.
- 15:9 Or the spring at Me-nephtoah.
- 15:12 Hebrew the Great Sea; also in 15:47.
- 15:18 Some Greek manuscripts read he urged her.
- 15:33 Hebrew the Shephelah.
- 16:2 As in Greek version (also see 18:13); Hebrew reads From Bethel to Luz.
- 16:3 Hebrew the sea; also in 16:6, 8.
- 17:9 Hebrew the sea; also in 17:10.
- 17:11a Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan; also in 17:16.
- 17:11b The meaning of the Hebrew here is uncertain.
Joshua 15-17
New American Standard Bible
Territory of Judah
15 Now (A)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families [a]reached the (B)border of Edom, southward to the (C)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. 2 Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south. 3 Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned to Karka. 4 It (D)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the [b](E)brook of Egypt, and the [c]border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border. 5 The (F)eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the [d]mouth of the Jordan. And the (G)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the [e]mouth of the Jordan. 6 Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 7 And the border went up to Debir from (H)the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and [f]it ended at En-rogel. 8 Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the (I)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north. 9 And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to (J)Baalah (that is, (K)Kiriath-jearim). 10 The border turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through (L)Timnah. 11 Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the [g]border ended at the sea. 12 The western border was (M)at the Great Sea, even its [h]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.
13 Now (N)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion (O)among the sons of Judah, in accordance with the [i]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, [j]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). 14 And (P)Caleb [k]drove out from there the three (Q)sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15 Then (R)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir previously was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, “The one who [l]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, [m]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” 17 (S)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. 18 (T)And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 19 Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the [n]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.
21 Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel, (U)Eder, and Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, and Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, (V)Beersheba, and Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, and Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah, 31 (W)Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.
33 In the lowland: (X)Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, 35 Jarmuth, (Y)Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.
37 Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel, 39 (Z)Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42 Libnah, Ether, and Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the [o]side of Ashdod, with their villages.
47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages, as far as (AA)the [p]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its [q]coastline.
48 In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52 Arab, Dumah, and Eshan, 53 Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58 Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.
60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.
61 In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.
63 Now as for the (AB)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not [r]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
Territory of Ephraim
16 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into (AC)the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and (AD)continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. 3 Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower (AE)Beth-horon even to (AF)Gezer, and [s]it ended at the sea.
4 The (AG)sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was (AH)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. 6 Then the border went westward at (AI)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to (AJ)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8 From (AK)Tappuah the border continued westward to the [t]brook of Kanah, and [u]it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, 9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 (AL)But they did not [v]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so (AM)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.
Territory of Manasseh
17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of (AN)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, [w]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. 2 So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male [x]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 However, (AO)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So (AP)in accordance with the [y]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the (AQ)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh [z]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went [aa]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but (AR)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. 9 And the (AS)border went down to the [ab]brook of Kanah, southward of the [ac]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the [ad]brook, and [ae]it ended at the sea. 10 The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was [af]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and in Asher, (AT)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is (AU)Napheth. 12 (AV)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 13 And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, (AW)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not [ag]drive them out completely.
14 Then the (AX)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go [ah]up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have (AY)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its [ai]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall [aj]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have (AZ)iron chariots and though they are strong.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 15:1 Lit was to
- Joshua 15:4 Or wadi
- Joshua 15:4 Lit goings out of the border were
- Joshua 15:5 Lit end
- Joshua 15:5 Lit end
- Joshua 15:7 Lit the goings out of it were
- Joshua 15:11 Lit goings out...were
- Joshua 15:12 Lit border
- Joshua 15:13 Lit mouth
- Joshua 15:13 I.e., the city of Arba
- Joshua 15:14 Or dispossessed them
- Joshua 15:16 Lit strikes
- Joshua 15:16 Lit and I
- Joshua 15:19 I.e., South country
- Joshua 15:46 Lit hand
- Joshua 15:47 Or wadi
- Joshua 15:47 Lit border
- Joshua 15:63 Or dispossess them
- Joshua 16:3 Lit the goings out of it were
- Joshua 16:8 Or wadi
- Joshua 16:8 Lit the goings out of it were
- Joshua 16:10 Or dispossess
- Joshua 17:1 Lit and there was to him
- Joshua 17:2 Lit sons
- Joshua 17:4 Lit mouth
- Joshua 17:7 Lit was
- Joshua 17:7 Lit to the right hand
- Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
- Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
- Joshua 17:9 Or wadi
- Joshua 17:9 Lit goings out of it were
- Joshua 17:10 Lit its
- Joshua 17:13 Or dispossess
- Joshua 17:15 Lit up for yourself
- Joshua 17:18 Lit goings out
- Joshua 17:18 Or dispossess
1 Corinthians 8
New Living Translation
Food Sacrificed to Idols
8 Now 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. 2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.[a]
4 So, 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. 5 There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 6 But 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.
7 However, 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. 8 It’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.
9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 10 For 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? 11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer[b] for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 12 And when you sin against other believers[c] by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. 13 So 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.
1 Corinthians 8
New American Standard Bible
Take Care with Your Liberty
8 Now concerning (A)food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have (B)knowledge. Knowledge [a](C)makes one conceited, but love (D)edifies people. 2 (E)If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he has not yet (F)known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he (G)is known by Him.
4 Therefore, concerning the eating of (H)food sacrificed to idols, we know that an (I)idol is [b]nothing at all in the world, and that (J)there is no God but one. 5 For even if (K)there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us (L)there is only one God, (M)the Father, (N)from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and (O)one Lord, Jesus Christ, (P)by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7 However, not all people (Q)have this knowledge; but (R)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. 8 Now (S)food will not bring us [c]close to God; we are neither [d]the worse if we do not eat, nor [e]the better if we do eat. 9 But (T)take care that this [f]freedom of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the (U)weak. 10 For if someone sees you, the one who has (V)knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will his conscience, if he is weak, not be strengthened to eat (W)things sacrificed to idols? 11 For through (X)your knowledge the one who is weak (Y)is ruined, the brother or sister for whose sake Christ died. 12 (Z)And so, by sinning against the brothers and sisters and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin (AA)against Christ. 13 Therefore, (AB)if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to sin.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 8:1 Lit puffs up
- 1 Corinthians 8:4 I.e., what it represents does not exist
- 1 Corinthians 8:8 Or before God
- 1 Corinthians 8:8 Lit lacking
- 1 Corinthians 8:8 Lit abounding
- 1 Corinthians 8:9 Lit right
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, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
