14Accept the one whose faith is weak,^l without quarreling over disputable matters. ²One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.^m ³The one who eats everything must not treat with contemptⁿ the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge^o the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?^p To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵One person considers one day more sacred than another;^q another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;^r and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷For none of us lives for ourselves alone,^s and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.^t ⁹For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life^u so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.^v

¹⁰You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^a? Or why do you treat them with contempt?^w For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.^x ¹¹It is written:

“ ‘As surely as I live,’^y says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”^b^z

¹²So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.^a

¹³Therefore let us stop passing judgment^b on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.^c ¹⁴I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.^d But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.^e ¹⁵If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.^f Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.^g ¹⁶Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.^h ¹⁷For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,ⁱ but of righteousness, peace^j and joy in the Holy Spirit,^k ¹⁸because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.^l

¹⁹Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace^m and to mutual edification.ⁿ ²⁰Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.^o All food is clean,^p but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.^q ²¹It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.^r

²²So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn^s himself by what he approves. ²³But whoever has doubts^t is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.^c

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Footnotes

aThe Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21.
b Isaiah 45:23
cSome manuscripts place 16:25–27 here; others after 15:33.

Cross references

l Ro 15:1; 1 Co 8:9–12; 9:22
mver 14
nver 10; Lk 18:9
over 10, 13; Col 2:16
pSee Mt 7:1
q Gal 4:10; Col 2:16
rSee Mt 14:19; 1 Co 10:30, 31; 1 Ti 4:3, 4
s 2 Co 5:15; Gal 2:20
t Php 1:20
u Rev 1:18; 2:8
vSee Ac 10:42; 2 Co 5:15
wver 3; See Mt 7:1
xSee 2 Co 5:10
y Isa 49:18
z Isa 45:23; Php 2:10, 11
a Mt 12:36; 1 Pe 4:5
bver 1; See Mt 7:1
cSee 2 Co 6:3
dver 20; See Ac 10:15
e 1 Co 8:7
f Eph 5:2
gver 20; 1 Co 8:11
h 1 Co 10:30
i 1 Co 8:8
j Isa 32:17
k Ro 15:13; Gal 5:22
l Lk 2:52; Ac 24:16; 2 Co 8:21
m Ps 34:14; Ro 12:18; 1 Co 7:15; 2 Ti 2:22; Heb 12:14
n Ro 15:2; 1 Co 14:3–5, 12, 17, 26; 2 Co 12:19; Eph 4:12, 29
over 15
pver 14; See Ac 10:15
qver 13; 1 Co 8:9–12
rSee Mt 5:29
s 1 Jn 3:21
tver 5