for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.
Parallel translations
- WEB for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.”
- KJV For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.
- BSB for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”
- NKJV for “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
- NLT For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
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
All creation belongs to the Lord, so its good gifts may be received with thanks. God's ownership of the earth grounds Christian freedom to eat.
Overview
Quoting Psalm 24:1, Paul roots his teaching on food in the doctrine of creation: everything is the Lord's and therefore good. Nothing God made is inherently unclean for those who receive it with thanksgiving. This affirms that the material world is God's gift, to be enjoyed gratefully under his lordship rather than feared.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ps 24:1A Psalm by David. The earth is Yahweh’s, with its fullness; the world, and those who dwell therein.
- Ps 50:12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
- Exod 19:5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
- Deut 10:14Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein.
- Job 41:11Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Everything under the heavens is mine.
- 1 Tim 6:17Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be haughty, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy;
- 1 Cor 10:28But if anyone says to you, “This was offered to idols,” don’t eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.”
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 10:26 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
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