Now by “conscience” I do not mean your own, but the other person’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?
Parallel translations
- WEB Conscience, I say, not your own, but the other’s conscience. For why is my liberty judged by another conscience?
- KJV Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?
- BSB the other one’s conscience, I mean, not your own. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else’s conscience?
- NKJV “Conscience,” I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?
- NLT It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks?
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
The conscience in view is the other person's, not the believer's own. Liberty is restrained out of regard for someone else, not personal scruple.
Overview
Paul clarifies that abstaining in verse 28 is for the sake of the informer's conscience, since the believer's own liberty remains intact before God. He then raises the genuine tension of having one's freedom judged by another's conscience. The point is that love willingly yields its rights, even while affirming that those rights are real.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 1 Cor 9:19For though I was free from all, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more.
- Rom 14:15–21Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don’t destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
- 1 Cor 8:9–13But be careful that by no means does this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to the weak.
- 2 Cor 8:21Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
- 1 Th 5:22Abstain from every form of evil.
- 1 Cor 10:32Give no occasion for stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.
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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.