¹⁴ “Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord.

¹⁸ ‘Cursed is anyone who leads a blind person astray on the road.’

And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

³² “Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the Lord.

¹⁷ Show your fear of God by not taking advantage of each other. I am the Lord your God.

¹⁷ Respect everyone, and love the family of believers.^[a] Fear God, and respect the king.

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^[a] for whom Christ died will be destroyed. ¹² And when you sin against other believers^[b] 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.

¹³ So 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.

¹⁵ The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces^[a] of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.

¹⁷ And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”