So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
Parallel translations
- WEB And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
- KJV And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
- NKJV And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
- NASB For through your knowledge the one who is weak is ruined, the brother or sister for whose sake Christ died.
- NLT So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed.
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
Through your "knowledge" the weak brother—one for whom Christ died—is destroyed. Insisting on your freedom can spiritually ruin someone Christ loved enough to die for.
Overview
Paul raises the stakes to their highest: the weak believer is one "for whose sake Christ died." To despise such a person's conscience by flaunting one's liberty is to set one's rights above the value Christ placed on that soul. The cross becomes the measure of how we treat fellow believers. If Christ gave His life for this brother, surely we can give up a meal for his sake.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Rom 14:15If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.
- Rom 15:1–3We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
- 1 Cor 8:13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to stumble.
- 1 Cor 10:33as I also try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.
- Rom 14:20–21Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.
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 8:11 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.