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
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.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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.
