Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
Parallel translations
- WEB Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat, asking no question for the sake of conscience,
- KJV Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:
- NKJV Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake;
- NASB Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions, for the sake of conscience;
- NLT So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Believers may freely eat meat sold in the market without anxious questions about its origin. Conscience need not be burdened over food itself.
Overview
Paul gives practical guidance: ordinary marketplace meat, even if it had been offered to idols, may be eaten freely. Since the idol is nothing and the earth belongs to God, the food itself is not defiling. This balances his warning against idol-feasts with genuine Christian liberty in everyday matters, freeing consciences from needless scruples.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 1 Tim 4:4For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
- 1 Cor 8:7But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- Rom 14:14I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
- 1 Cor 10:27–29If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.
- Rom 13:5Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.
- Acts 10:15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 10:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.