The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,(A) without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.(B) The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt(C) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge(D) the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?(E) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

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Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions.[a] One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him. Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord[b] is able to make him stand.

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 14:1 tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
  2. Romans 14:4 tc Most mss, especially Western and Byzantine (D F G L 048 33 1739 1175 1241 1505 1881 M latt), read θεός (theos, “God”) in place of κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) here. However, κύριος is found in many of the most significant mss (P46 א A B C P Ψ co), and θεός looks to be an assimilation to θεός in v. 3.