19
Therefore do not suppose that it would be a petty sin if we were to eat defiling food;
20
to transgress the law in matters either small or great is of equal seriousness,
21
for in either case the law is equally despised.
22
You scoff at our philosophy as though living by it were irrational,
23
but it teaches us self-control, so that we master all pleasures and desires, and it also trains us in courage, so that we endure any suffering willingly;
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.