Romans 14

1 As for those whose faith is weak, always receive them as friends, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on their scruples.

And him who is weak in the faith receive ye — not to determinations of reasonings;

2 One man’s faith permits of his eating food of all kinds, while another whose faith is weak eats only vegetable food.

one doth believe that he may eat all things — and he who is weak doth eat herbs;

3 The man who eats meat must not despise the man who abstains from it; nor must the man who abstains from eating meat pass judgment on the one who eats it, for God himself has received him.

let not him who is eating despise him who is not eating: and let not him who is not eating judge him who is eating, for God did receive him.

4 Who are you, that you should pass judgment on the servant of another? His standing or falling concerns his own master. And stand he will, for his Master can enable him to stand.

Thou — who art thou that art judging another's domestic? to his own master he doth stand or fall; and he shall be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

5 Again, one man considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another considers all days to be alike. Every one ought to be fully convinced in his own mind.

One doth judge one day above another, and another doth judge every day [alike]; let each in his own mind be fully assured.

6 He who observes a day, observes it to the Master’s honour. He, again, who eats meat eats it to the Master’s honour, for he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains from it abstains from it to the Master’s honour, and also gives thanks to God.

He who is regarding the day, to the Lord he doth regard [it], and he who is not regarding the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He who is eating, to the Lord he doth eat, for he doth give thanks to God; and he who is not eating, to the Lord he doth not eat, and doth give thanks to God.

7 There is not one of us whose life concerns himself alone, and not one of us whose death concerns himself alone;

For none of us to himself doth live, and none to himself doth die;

8 for, if we live, our life is for the Master, and, if we die, our death is for the Master. Whether, then, we live or die we belong to the Master.

for both, if we may live, to the Lord we live; if also we may die, to the Lord we die; both then if we may live, also if we may die, we are the Lord's;

9 The very purpose for which Christ died and came back to life was this — that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.

for because of this Christ both died and rose again, and lived again, that both of dead and of living he may be Lord.

10 I would ask the one man ‘Why do you judge your Brother?’ And I would ask the other ‘Why do you despise your Brother?’ For we shall all stand before the Bar of God.

And thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or again, thou, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand at the tribunal of the Christ;

11 For Scripture says — ‘“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bend before me; and every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God.”’

for it hath been written, 'I live! saith the Lord — to Me bow shall every knee, and every tongue shall confess to God;'

12 So, then, each one of us will have to render account of himself to God.

so, then, each of us concerning himself shall give reckoning to God;

13 Let us, then, cease to judge one another. Rather let this be your resolve — never to place a stumbling-block or an obstacle in a Brother’s way.

no longer, therefore, may we judge one another, but this judge ye rather, not to put a stumbling-stone before the brother, or an offence.

14 Through my union with the Lord Jesus, I know and am persuaded that nothing is ‘defiling in itself.’ A thing is ‘defiling’ only to him who holds it to be so.

I have known, and am persuaded, in the Lord Jesus, that nothing [is] unclean of itself, except to him who is reckoning anything to be unclean — to that one [it is] unclean;

15 If, for the sake of what you eat, you wound your Brother’s feelings, your life has ceased to be ruled by love. Do not, by what you eat, ruin a man for whom Christ died!

and if through victuals thy brother is grieved, no more dost thou walk according to love; do not with thy victuals destroy that one for whom Christ died.

16 Do not let what is right for you become a matter of reproach.

Let not, then, your good be evil spoken of,

17 For the Kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and gladness through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

for the reign of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit;

18 He who serves the Christ in this way pleases God, and wins the approval of his fellow men.

for he who in these things is serving the Christ, [is] acceptable to God and approved of men.

19 Therefore our efforts should be directed towards all that makes for peace and the mutual building up of character.

So, then, the things of peace may we pursue, and the things of building up one another;

20 Do not undo God’s work for the sake of what you eat. Though everything is ‘clean,’ yet, if a man eats so as to put a stumbling-block in the way of others, he does wrong.

for the sake of victuals cast not down the work of God; all things, indeed, [are] pure, but evil [is] to the man who is eating through stumbling.

21 The right course is to abstain from meat or wine or, indeed, anything that is a stumbling-block to your Brother.

Right [it is] not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to [do anything] in which thy brother doth stumble, or is made to fall, or is weak.

22 As for yourself — keep this faith of yours to yourself, as in the presence of God. Happy is he who never has to condemn himself in regard to the very thing which he thinks right!

Thou hast faith! to thyself have [it] before God; happy is he who is not judging himself in what he doth approve,

23 He, however, who has misgivings stands condemned if he still eats, because his doing so is not the result of faith. And anything not done as the result of faith is a sin.

and he who is making a difference, if he may eat, hath been condemned, because [it is] not of faith; and all that [is] not of faith is sin.