⁸ But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine, so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself.^(A)

¹³ The Lord said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread, unclean, among the nations to which I will drive them.”^{(A) 14} Then I said, “Ah Lord God! I have never defiled myself; from my youth up until now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by animals, nor has carrion flesh come into my mouth.”^(B)

¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel:^[a] Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?^{(A) 19} What do I imply, then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, I imply that what they^[b] sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.^{(B) 21} You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.^(C)

⁴⁵ For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall be holy, for I am holy.^(A)

⁴⁶ “This is the law pertaining to land animal and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms upon the earth, ⁴⁷ to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten.”^(B)

³⁷ But if someone stands firm in his resolve, being under no necessity but having his own desire under control, and has determined in his own mind to keep her as his fiancée,^[a] he will do well.

⁷ It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.^{(A) 8} “Food will not bring us close to God.”^[a] We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do.^{(B) 9} But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.^{(C) 10} For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols?