Romans 14:21
◄  Romans 14:21  ►
New International Version (©2011)
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

New Living Translation (©2007)
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.

English Standard Version (©2001)
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

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.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
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.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

International Standard Version (©2012)
The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble, upset, or weak.

NET Bible (©2006)
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)
For it is good that we do not eat flesh, neither drink wine, neither anything by which our brother is subverted.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that causes another Christian to have doubts.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
It is good neither to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak.

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

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

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.

Darby Bible 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.

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

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.

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

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

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:19-23 Many wish for peace, and talk loudly for it, who do not follow the things that make for peace. Meekness, humility, self-denial, and love, make for peace. We cannot edify one another, while quarrelling and contending. Many, for meat and drink, destroy the work of God in themselves; nothing more destroys the soul than pampering and pleasing the flesh, and fulfilling the lusts of it; so others are hurt, by wilful offence given. Lawful things may be done unlawfully, by giving offence to brethren. This takes in all indifferent things, whereby a brother is drawn into sin or trouble; or has his graces, his comforts, or his resolutions weakened. Hast thou faith? It is meant of knowledge and clearness as to our Christian liberty. Enjoy the comfort of it, but do not trouble others by a wrong use of it. Nor may we act against a doubting conscience. How excellent are the blessings of Christ's kingdom, which consists not in outward rites and ceremonies, but in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost! How preferable is the service of God to all other services! and in serving him we are not called to live and die to ourselves, but unto Christ, whose we are, and whom we ought to serve.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

21. It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing—"nor to do any thing"

whereby—"wherein"

thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak—rather, "is weak." These three words, it has been remarked, are each intentionally weaker than the other:—"Which may cause a brother to stumble, or even be obstructed in his Christian course, nay—though neither of these may follow—wherein he continues weak; unable wholly to disregard the example, and yet unprepared to follow it." But this injunction to abstain from flesh, from wine, and from whatsoever may hurt the conscience of a brother, must be properly understood. Manifestly, the apostle is treating of the regulation of the Christian's conduct with reference simply to the prejudices of the weak in faith; and his directions are to be considered not as prescriptions for one's entire lifetime, even to promote the good of men on a large scale, but simply as cautions against the too free use of Christian liberty in matters where other Christians, through weakness, are not persuaded that such liberty is divinely allowed. How far the principle involved in this may be legitimately extended, we do not inquire here; but ere we consider that question, it is of great importance to fix how far it is here actually expressed, and what is the precise nature of the illustrations given of it.

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Do Not Cause Your Brother to Stumble
…20For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eats with offense. 21It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak. 22Have you faith? have it to yourself before God. Happy is he that comdemns not himself in that thing which he allows.

Matthew 13:21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
1 Corinthians 8:9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.