New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
1 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.
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Now concerning meat that has been sacrificed to a false god: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes people arrogant, but love builds people up.
2 Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.
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If anyone thinks they know something, they don't yet know as much as they should know.
3 But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
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But if someone loves God, then they are known by God.
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.
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So concerning the actual food involved in these sacrifices to false gods, we know that a false god isn't anything in this world, and that there is no God except for the 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.
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Granted, there are so-called "gods," in heaven and on the earth, as there are 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.
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However, for us believers, There is one God the Father. All things come from him, and we belong to him. And there is one Lord Jesus Christ. All things exist through him, and we live through him.
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.
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But not everybody knows this. Some are eating this food as though it really is food sacrificed to a real idol, because they were used to idol worship until now. Their conscience is weak because it has been damaged.
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.
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Food won't bring us close to God. We're not missing out if we don't eat, and we don't have any advantage if we do eat.
9 But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.
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But watch out or else this freedom of yours might be a problem for those who are weak.
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?
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Suppose someone sees you (the person who has knowledge) eating in an idol's temple. Won't the person with a weak conscience be encouraged to eat the meat sacrificed to false gods?
11 So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed.
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The weak brother or sister for whom Christ died is destroyed by your knowledge.
12 And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ.
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You sin against Christ if you sin against your brothers and sisters and hurt their weak consciences this way.
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.
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This is why, if food causes the downfall of my brother or sister, I won't eat meat ever again, or else I may cause my brother or sister to fall.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible