If any of those who do not believe invites you to dinner, and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience’ sake.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if one of those who don’t believe invites you to a meal, and you are inclined to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of conscience.
- KJV If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
- BSB If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat anything set before you without raising questions of conscience.
- NASB If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions, for the sake of conscience.
- NLT If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you 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 invited to an unbeliever's meal may eat what is served without interrogating its source. Liberty allows ordinary fellowship with outsiders.
Overview
Paul applies his principle socially: a Christian may accept a non-believer's invitation and eat freely without probing questions of conscience. This shows that the gospel does not demand withdrawal from ordinary society. Christian liberty enables loving engagement with unbelievers, provided it does not become participation in actual idol worship.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Cor 10:25Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat, asking no question for the sake of conscience,
- Luke 10:7–8Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don’t go from house to house.
- 1 Cor 5:9–11I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;
- 2 Cor 4:2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
- Luke 19:7When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner.”
- Luke 15:23Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat, and celebrate;
- 2 Cor 5:11Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.
- Luke 5:29–30Levi made a great feast for him in his house. There was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining with them.
- 2 Cor 1:13For we write no other things to you, than what you read or even acknowledge, and I hope you will acknowledge to the end;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 10:27 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.