King James Version · Under Rome
1 Corinthians 8
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Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love , the same is known of him. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one , , of whom are all things, and we in him; and one , by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to : for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother , for whom Christ ? But when ye so against the brethren, and wound their , ye against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. 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.