World English Bible · Under Rome
1 Corinthians 8
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Now concerning things to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn't yet know as he ought to know. But anyone who loves is known by him. Therefore concerning the eating of things to idols, we know that no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other but one. For though there are things that are called "gods", whether in or on earth—as there are many "gods" and many "lords"— yet to us there is one , , of whom are all things, and we for him; and one , , through whom are all things, and we live through him. However, that knowledge isn't in all men. But some, with consciousness of an idol until now, eat as of a thing to an idol, and their , being weak, is defiled. But food will not commend us to . For neither, if we don't eat are we the worse, nor if we eat are we the better. But be careful that by no means does this of yours become a stumbling block to the weak. For if a man sees you who have knowledge sitting in an idol's temple, won't his , if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things to idols? And through your knowledge, he who is weak perishes, the brother for whose sake Christ . Thus, sinning against the brothers, and wounding their when it is weak, you against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat more, that I don't cause my brother to stumble.
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.