1 Corinthians 8-10

Disciples’ Literal New Testament

Concerning Food Sacrificed To Idols: Let Love Guide Your Exercise of “Rights”

8 Now concerning the foods-sacrificed-to-idols, we know that we all have knowledge^[a]. Knowledge puffs-up, but love builds-up. ² If anyone thinks that he has come-to-know anything, he did not-yet know as he ought-to know. ³ But if one loves^[b] God, this one has been known by Him. ⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of the foods-sacrificed-to-idols— we know that an idol is nothing^[c] in the world, and that there is no God except one. ⁵ For even if-indeed there are ones being called gods, whether in heaven or on earth— as-indeed there are many^[d] gods and many lords— ⁶ yet for us there is One God the Father, from Whom are all things, and we are^[e] for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom are all things, and we are through Him. ⁷ But this knowledge is not in all people. But some, by the accustomed-habit^[f] of the idol until now, eat this food as^[g] food-sacrificed-to-an-idol. And their conscience, being weak, is stained^[h]. ⁸ But food will not bring us^[i] near^[j] to God— neither if we do not eat are we lacking, nor if we eat are we abounding. ⁹ But be watching-out that this right^[k] of yours does not somehow become an opportunity-for-stumbling to the weak ones. ¹⁰ For if someone sees you, the one having knowledge, reclining [to eat] in an idol-temple, will not his conscience, being weak, be built-up so as to eat the foods-sacrificed-to-idols? ¹¹ For the one being weak is being destroyed^[l] by your knowledge— the brother for the sake of whom Christ died! ¹² And in this manner sinning against the brothers and striking^[m] their conscience while being weak, you are sinning against Christ.

On The One Hand, I Will Not Do Anything That Hinders People’s Spiritual Advance

¹³ For-this-very-reason, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meats, ever— in-order-that I may not cause my brother to fall.

For Example, I Have The Right To Be Paid As God’s Workman

9 Am^[n] I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord— ³ this^[o] is my defense to the ones examining me! ⁴ We do not fail to have the right to eat^[p] and drink, do we? ⁵ We do not fail to have the right to take along^[q] a sister who is a wife, do we?— as also the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas. ⁶ Or I alone and Barnabas— do not we have the right not to be working^[r]?

Workers Always Partake of The Fruit of Their Labors

⁷ Who ever serves-as-a-soldier with his own rations? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not eat of the milk of the flock?

Does Not The Law Say This Very Thing?

⁸ I am not speaking these things according to [mere] human thinking^[s], am I ? Or does not the Law also say these things? ⁹ For in the Law of Moses it has been written [in Deut 25:4], “You shall not muzzle a threshing ox”. God is not concerned about the oxen^[t], is He? ¹⁰ Or is He surely speaking for our sake? Indeed it was written for our sake— because^[u] the one plowing ought to plow on the basis of hope, and the one threshing to thresh on the basis of hope that he might partake.

I Do Have This Right Over You

¹¹ If we sowed spiritual things to you, is it a great thing if we shall reap fleshly^[v] things from you? ¹² If others partake of this right over you, should we not more?

But I Chose Not To Make Use Of This Right So As Not To Hinder The Gospel

Nevertheless, we did not make-use-of ^[w] this right. But we are bearing^[x] all things, in order that we might not give any hindrance to the good-news of Christ.

The Lord Even Commanded That Gospel Workers Live By Their Work

¹³ Do you not know that the ones working the temple-duties eat the things from the temple, that the ones serving at the altar divide-a-share with the altar? ¹⁴ So also the Lord directed^[y] the ones proclaiming the good-news to be living from the good-news.

But My Boast Is That I Do Not Make Use of This Right

¹⁵ But I have not made-use-of any of these things. And I did not write these things in order that it might become so in my case, for it would be better for me to die rather than— no one shall empty my boast^[z]! ¹⁶ For if I am announcing-the-good-news, it is not^[aa] a boast for me, for a necessity^[ab] is lying-upon^[ac] me; for woe is to me if I do not announce-the-good-news. ¹⁷ For if I am practicing this of-my-own-will, I have a reward; but if not-of-my-own-will, I have been entrusted a stewardship^[ad]. ¹⁸ What then is my reward? That while announcing-the-good-news, I might place the good-news free-of-charge, so as not to make-full-use-of my right in^[ae] the good-news.

For I Have Chosen To Enslave Myself To All For The Advance of The Gospel

¹⁹ For^[af] while being free from all people, I enslaved myself to all in order that I might gain the more. ²⁰ Indeed I became to the Jews as a Jew, in order that I might gain Jews; to the ones under the Law, as under the Law— not being myself under the Law— in order that I might gain the ones under the Law; ²¹ to the ones without-the-Law, as without-the-Law— not being without-the-law of God, but within-the-law of Christ— in order that I might gain the ones without-the-Law. ²² I became weak to the weak, in order that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, in order that I might by all means save some. ²³ And I am doing all things for the sake of the good-news, in order that I might become a co-partner of it.

On The Other Hand, I Will Do Everything Needed To Win My Race And Keep My Prize

²⁴ Do^[ag] you not know that the ones running in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Be running in this manner: that you may take-hold-of the prize. ²⁵ And everyone competing exercises-self-control as to all things. So those do it in order that they might receive a decayable crown, but we an undecayable one. ²⁶ So-indeed I run in this manner, as not aimlessly^[ah]. I box in this manner, as not beating the air. ²⁷ But I bruise my body and make it my slave, that having proclaimed to others, I myself should not somehow become disapproved^[ai].

For Loss of The Prize Is Possible: Remember What Happened To Israel

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers^[aj] were all under the cloud, and all went through the sea, ² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ and all ate the same spiritual^[ak] food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were drinking from a spiritual^[al] rock following them. And the rock was Christ. ⁵ But God was not well-pleased with the majority of them, for they were strewn in the wilderness.

Do Not Follow Their Example

⁶ Now these things took place as our examples, so that we might not be desirers of evil things, as those also desired. ⁷ And do not be idolaters, as some of them, as-indeed it has been written [in Ex 32:6], “The people sat-down to eat and drink, and stood up to play”. ⁸ And let us not be committing-sexual-immorality, as some of them committed sexual immorality, and twenty three thousand fell in one day [Num 25:1-9]. ⁹ And let us not be putting Christ to the test, as some of them tested, and were being destroyed by the serpents [Num 21:5-6]. ¹⁰ And do not be grumbling, like some of them grumbled, and perished by the destroyer [Num 16:41-49]. ¹¹ Now these^[am] things were happening to those ones as-an-example. And it was written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come^[an].

So Watch Out That You Do Not Fall

¹² So then let the one thinking that he stands be watching-out that he may not fall. ¹³ A temptation has not seized you except what is common-to-humanity. And God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but also with the temptation will make the way-out, that you may be able to endure.

For This Very Reason, Flee From The Eating Connected With Idol Worship

¹⁴ For-this-very-reason, my beloved, be fleeing from idolatry^[ao]. ¹⁵ I speak as to wise ones; you judge what I say: ¹⁶ the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing^[ap] of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing of the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one bread, we the many are one body^[aq], for we all partake from the one bread. ¹⁸ Look-at Israel according to the flesh— are not the ones eating the sacrifices sharers of the altar? ¹⁹ Therefore what am I saying? That^[ar] food-sacrificed-to-an-idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ On the contrary, that the things which they are sacrificing, they are sacrificing to demons, and not^[as] to God. And I do not want you to be sharers of the demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the demons’ cup. You cannot^[at] partake of the Lord’s table and the demons’ table. ²² Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

So As To The Eating of Meat, Do What Is Beneficial And Edifying To Those Eating

²³ All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial. All things are lawful, but not all things build-up. ²⁴ Let no one be seeking his own thing, but the thing of the other. ²⁵ Be eating anything being sold in the meat-market, examining nothing for the sake of conscience. ²⁶ For “The earth and the fullness of it are the Lord’s” [Ps 24:1]. ²⁷ If one of the unbelievers invites you, and you want to go, eat anything being set-before you, examining nothing for the sake of conscience. ²⁸ But if one should say to you “This is offered-in-sacrifice”, do not eat^[au]— for the sake of that one having disclosed it, and the conscience. ²⁹ Now the conscience I mean is not the one of oneself, but the one of the other. For why^[av] is my freedom being judged^[aw] by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I am partaking with thanks, why am I being blasphemed for that which I am giving-thanks?

In Summary, Do All For God’s Glory. Be Blameless To All And Seek Their Benefit

³¹ Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything, be doing all for the glory of God. ³² Be blameless^[ax] both to Jews and Greeks, and to the church of God— ³³ just as I also am pleasing all people as to all things, not seeking the benefit of myself, but the benefit of the many, in order that they might be saved.