Romans 14:21

Amplified Bible

It is good [to do the right thing and] not eat meat or drink wine, or do anything that offends your brother and weakens him spiritually.

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that hurts the faith of your brother or sister.

Revised Standard Version
it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
It is good nether to eate flesshe nether to drincke wyne nether eny thinge wherby thy brother stombleth ether falleth or is made weake.

Hebrew Names Version
It is good not to eat meat, drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.

International Standard Version
The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble or become upset or weak.or become upset or weak">[fn]1 Corinthians 8:13;">[xr]

New American Standard Bible
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles.

New Century Version
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that will cause your brother or sister to sin.

Update Bible Version
It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [to do anything] whereby your brother stumbles.

Webster's Bible Translation
[It is] good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [any thing] by which thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

English Standard Version
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

World English Bible
It is good not to eat meat, drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
It is good, not to eat flesh, neither to drink wine, nor to do any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or made weak.

Weymouth's New Testament
The right course is to forego eating meat or drinking wine or doing anything that tends to your brother's fall.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
It is good to not ete fleisch, and to not drynke wyn, nethir in what thing thi brother offendith, or is sclaundrid, or is maad sijk.

English Revised Version
It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth.

Berean Standard Bible
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

Contemporary English Version
It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord.

American Standard Version
It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth.

Bible in Basic English
It is better not to take meat or wine or to do anything which might be a cause of trouble to your brother.

Complete Jewish Bible
What is good is not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Darby Translation
[It is] right not to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor [do anything] in which thy brother stumbles, or is offended, or is weak.

Etheridge Translation
It is well not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing by which our brother is offended.

Murdock Translation
It is proper, that we neither eat flesh, nor drink wine, nor [fn] any thing, whereby our brother is stumbled.

King James Version (1611)
It is good neither to eate flesh, nor to drinke wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weake.

New Living Translation
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.

New Life Bible
Do not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it would make your Christian brother fall into sin.

New Revised Standard
it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.

Geneva Bible (1587)
It is good neither to eate flesh, nor to drinke wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or made weake.

George Lamsa Translation
It is better that we neither eat meat nor drink wine nor do any other thing whereby we cause our brother to stumble.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Well, is it not to eat flesh nor to drink wine nor to do aught whereby thy brother is caused to stumble.

Douay-Rheims Bible
It is good not to eat flesh and not to drink wine: nor any thing whereby thy brother is offended or scandalized or made weak.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
It is good neither to eate fleshe, neither to drinke wine, neither any thyng wherby thy brother stumbleth, either falleth, or is made weake.

Good News Translation
The right thing to do is to keep from eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that will make other believers fall.

Christian Standard Bible®
It is a good thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother or sister stumble.

King James Version
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Lexham English Bible
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine or to do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is weakened.

Literal Translation
It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is weak.

Young's Literal Translation
Right [it is] not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to [do anything] in which thy brother doth stumble, or is made to fall, or is weak.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
It is moch better yt thou eate no flesh, and drynke no wyne, nor eny thinge, wherby thy brother stombleth, or falleth, or is made weake.

Mace New Testament (1729)
it is better to abstain from flesh, and wine, and every thing whereby your brother is in danger of falling off.

New English Translation
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

New King James Version
It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. [fn]

Simplified Cowboy Version
It is better to stay away from meat or wine if it causes the other person to question their beliefs.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

Legacy Standard Bible
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

Contextual Overview

¹As for the one whose faith is weak, accept him [into your fellowship], but not for [the purpose of] quarreling over his opinions. ²One man's faith permits him to eat everything, while the weak believer eats only vegetables [to avoid eating ritually unclean meat or something previously considered unclean]. ³The one who eats [everything] is not to look down on the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat must not criticize or pass judgment on the one who eats [everything], for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge the servant of another? Before his own master he stands [approved] or falls [out of favor]. And he [who serves the Master—the Lord] will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. ⁵One person regards one day as better [or more important] than another, while another regards every day [the same as any other]. Let everyone be fully convinced (assured, satisfied) in his own mind. ⁶He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord. He who eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷None of us lives for himself [for his own benefit, but for the Lord], and none of us dies for himself [but for the Lord]. ⁸If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. ⁹For Christ died and lived again for this reason, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you again, why do you look down on your [believing] brother or regard him with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God [who alone is judge].

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

good: Romans 14:17, Romans 15:1, Romans 15:2, 1 Corinthians 8:13

whereby: Romans 14:13, Malachi 2:8, Matthew 16:23, Matthew 18:7-10, Luke 17:1, Luke 17:2, Philippians 1:10, Hebrews 12:13, Revelation 2:14

Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:8 - they are unclean Numbers 32:15 - ye shall 1 Samuel 25:31 - grief Psalms 73:15 - offend Jeremiah 18:15 - caused Matthew 5:30 - offend Matthew 17:27 - lest Matthew 18:6 - offend Matthew 18:10 - heed John 16:1 - General Acts 15:29 - ye abstain Romans 4:19 - being Romans 14:3 - despise Romans 14:20 - but 1 Corinthians 8:9 - take 1 Corinthians 8:11 - shall Colossians 2:16 - in meat

Gill's Notes on the Bible

It is good neither to eat flesh,.... Any sort of flesh, even that which is not forbidden in the law, rather than offend a weak brother; and the apostle determines for himself, that he would not, where there was any danger of doing this, 1 Corinthians 8:13.

Nor to drink wine; not only the wine of libations to Heathen deities, but wine in common; which was not prohibited by the law of Moses, but in the case of a Nazarite, and of vows:

nor anything, be it what it will,

whereby thy brother stumbleth. The Syriac version reads, "our brother"; anyone that stands in such a spiritual relation to any of us; and for which reason care should be taken, that no stumblingblock, or occasion to fall, should be put in his way; particularly that Christian liberty in things indifferent be not unseasonably and imprudently used, and so become a means of stumbling and staggering to weak minds:

or is offended; to that degree, as to censure and judge him that eats, as an impious person, and a transgressor of the law; with whom he cannot keep his communion, but withdraws himself from it, and is even tempted to drop his profession of the Christian religion entirely, being ready to think it is not right, since contrary to the law of Moses:

or is made weak; more weak in the faith than he was before, and his love is weakened and grows very cold and indifferent to his Christian brethren, that can take and use a liberty which he cannot. These two last phrases are not in the Syriac and Ethiopic versions, nor in the Alexandrian copy, though in others, and are used for the sake of explanation and amplification.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It is good - It is right; or it is better. This verse is an explanation or enlarged specification of the meaning of the former.

To eat flesh - That is, such flesh as the “Jewish” convert regarded as unclean; Romans 14:2.

Nor to drink wine - Wine was a common drink among the Jews, and usually esteemed lawful. But the Nazarites were not allowed to drink it Numbers 6:3, and the Rechabites Jeremiah 35:0 drank no wine, and it is possible that some of the early converts regarded it as unlawful for Christians to drink it. Wine was moreover used in libations in pagan worship, and perhaps the Jewish coverts might be scrupulous about its use from this cause. The caution here shows us what should be done “now” in regard to the use of wine. It may not be possible to prove that wine is absolutely unlawful, but still many friends of “temperance” regard it as such, and are grieved at its use. They esteem the habit of using it as tending to intemperance, and as encouraging those who cannot afford expensive liquors. Besides, the wines which are now used are different from those which were common among the ancients. That was the pure juice of the grape. That which is now in common use is mingled with alcohol, and with other intoxicating ingredients. Little or none of the wine which comes to this country is pure. And in this state of the case, does not the command of the apostle here require the friends of temperance to abstain even from the use of wine?

Nor anything - Any article of food or drink, or any course of conduct. So valuable is peace, and so desirable is it not to offend a brother, that we should rather deny ourselves to any extent, than to be the occasion of offences and scandals in the church.

Stumbleth - For the difference between this word and the word “offended,” see the note at Romans 11:11. It means here that by eating, a Jewish convert might be led to eat also, contrary to his own conviction of what was right, and thus be led into sin.

Or is made weak - That is, shaken, or rendered “less stable” in his opinion or conduct. By being led to imitate the Gentile convert, he would become less firm and established; he would violate his own conscience; his course would be attended with regrets and with doubts about its propriety, and thus he would be made “weak.” In this verse we have an eminent instance of the charity of the apostle, and of his spirit of concession and kindness. If this were regarded by all Christians, it would save no small amount of strife, and heart-burnings, and contention. Let a man begin to act on the principle that peace is to be promoted, that other Christians are not to be offended, and what a change would it at once produce in the churches, and what an influence would it exert over the life!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 14:21. It is good neither to eat flesh, c.] The spirit and self-denying principles of the Gospel teach us, that we should not only avoid every thing in eating or drinking which may be an occasion of offence or apostasy to our brethren, but even to lay down our lives for them should it be necessary.

Whereby thy brother stumbleth — Προσκοπτει, from προς, against, and κοπτω, to strike, to hit the foot against a stone in walking, so as to halt, and be impeded in one's journey. It here means, spiritually, any thing by which a man is so perplexed in his mind as to be prevented from making due progress in the Divine life. Any thing by which he is caused to halt, to be undecisive, and undetermined and under such an influence no man has ever yet grown in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Or is offended — Η σκανδαλιζεται, from σκανδαλον, a stumbling-block; any thing by which a person is caused to fall, especially into a snare, trap, or gin. Originally the word signified the piece of wood or key in a trap, which being trodden on caused the animal to fall into a pit, or the trap to close upon him. In the New Testament it generally refers to total apostasy from the Christian religion; and this appears to be its meaning in this place.

Or is made weak. — Η ασθενει, from α, negative, and σθενος, strength; without mental vigour; without power sufficiently to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil, lawful and unlawful. To get under the dominion of an erroneous conscience, so as to judge that to be evil or unlawful which is not so. The two last terms are omitted by two excellent MSS. (the Codex Alexandrinus and the Codex Ephraim,) by the Syriac of Erpen, the Coptic and the Ethiopic, and by some of the primitive fathers. It is very likely that they were added by some early hand by way of illustration. Griesbach has left them in the text with a note of doubtfulness.