| Food Offered to Idols 1Cor.8.1-13 | NEB Contents | notes | GO TO highlighted passage ↓| 8 | New English Bible (New Testament) | Passage | New Testament in Greek (UBS.Ed.26) |
| 8 1 | NOW ABOUT FOOD consecrated to heathen deities. Of course we all 'have knowledge', as you say. | Food Offered to Idols 1Cor.8.1-13 | Περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, οἰδαμεν ὅτι πάντες γνῶσιν ἐχομεν. ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ. |
| 2 | This 'knowledge' breeds conceit; it is love that builds. | εἰ τις δοκεῖ ἐγνωκέναι τι, οὐπω ἐγνω καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι· | |
| 3 | If anyone fancies that he knows, he knows nothing yet, in the true sense of knowing. But if a man loves, Some witnesses read: loves God. he is acknowledged by God. Or: he is recognized. | εἰ δέ τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν θεόν, οὗτος ἐγνωσται ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. | |
| 4 | Well then, about eating this consecrated food: of course, as you say, 'a false god has no existence in the real world. There is no god but one.' | Περὶ τῆς βρώσεως οὖν τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων οἰδαμεν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἰδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ, καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς. | |
| 5 | For indeed, if there be so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'— | καὶ γὰρ εἰπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ εἰτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἰτε ἐπὶ γῆς, ὡσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, | |
| 6 | yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all being comes, towards whom we move; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came to be, and we through him. | ἀλλ' ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς αὐτόν, καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δῖ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δῖ αὐτοῦ. | |
| 7 | But not everyone knows this. There are some who have been so accustomed to idolatry Some witnesses read: in whom the consciousness of the false god is persistent ... that even now they eat this food with a sense of its heathen consecration, and their conscience, being weak, is polluted by the eating. | Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν πᾶσιν ἡ γνῶσις· τινὲς δὲ τῇ συνηθείᾳ ἑως ἀρτι τοῦ εἰδώλου ὡς εἰδωλόθυτον ἐσθίουσιν, καὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτῶν ἀσθενὴς οὖσα μολύνεται. | |
| 8 | Certainly food will not bring us into God's presence: if we do not eat, we are none the worse, and if we eat, we are none the better. | βρῶμα δὲ ἡμᾶς οὐ παραστήσει τῷ θεῷ· οὐτε ἐὰν μὴ φάγωμεν ὑστερούμεθα, οὐτε ἐὰν φάγωμεν περισσεύομεν. | |
| 9 | But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a pitfall for the weak. | βλέπετε δὲ μή πως ἡ ἐξουσία ὑμῶν αὑτη πρόσκομμα γένηται τοῖς ἀσθενέσιν. | |
| 10 | If a weak character sees you sitting down to a meal in a heathen temple—you, who 'have knowledge'—will not his conscience be emboldened to eat food consecrated to the heathen deity? | ἐὰν γάρ τις ἰδῃ σὲ τὸν ἐχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον, οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὀντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τὸ τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν; | |
| 11 | This 'knowledge' of yours is utter disaster to the weak; the brother for whom Christ died. | ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, ὁ ἀδελφὸς δῖ ὃν Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν. | |
| 12 | In thus sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience, Some witnesses insert: weak as it is. you sin against Christ. | οὑτως δὲ ἀμαρτάνοντες εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τύπτοντες αὐτῶν τὴν συνείδησιν ἀσθενοῦσαν εἰς Χριστὸν ἀμαρτάνετε. | |
| 13 | And therefore, if food be the downfall of my brother, I will never eat meat any more, for I will not be the cause of my brother's downfall. | διόπερ εἰ βρῶμα σκανδαλίζει τὸν ἀδελφόν μου, οὐ μὴ φάγω κρέα εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἵνα μὴ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου σκανδαλίσω. | |