Psalm 89[a]

A maskil[b] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(A) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(B)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(C)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[c](D)

The heavens(E) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(F) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(G)
In the council(H) of the holy ones(I) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(J)
Who is like you,(K) Lord God Almighty?(L)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(M)
10 You crushed Rahab(N) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(O) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(P) and yours also the earth;(Q)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(R)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(S) and Hermon(T) sing for joy(U) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(V)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(W)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(X)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(Y) in the light(Z) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(AA) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(AB)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[d](AC)
18 Indeed, our shield[e](AD) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(AE) to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(AF) my servant;(AG)
    with my sacred oil(AH) I have anointed(AI) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(AJ)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(AK)
    the wicked will not oppress(AL) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(AM)
    and strike down his adversaries.(AN)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(AO)
    and through my name his horn[f] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(AP)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(AQ)
    my God, the Rock(AR) my Savior.’(AS)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(AT)
    the most exalted(AU) of the kings(AV) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(AW)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(AX)

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;(AY)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(AZ)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(BA)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;(BB)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(BC)

38 But you have rejected,(BD) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.(BE)
40 You have broken through all his walls(BF)
    and reduced his strongholds(BG) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(BH) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(BI)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(BJ)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(BK)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(BL) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(BM)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(BN)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(BO)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(BP)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[g] been mocked,(BQ)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(BR)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(BS)

BOOK IV

Psalms 90–106

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place(BT)
    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born(BU)
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting(BV) you are God.(BW)

You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”(BX)
A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.(BY)
Yet you sweep people away(BZ) in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.(CA)

We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins(CB) in the light of your presence.(CC)
All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.(CD)
10 Our days may come to seventy years,(CE)
    or eighty,(CF) if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,(CG)
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.(CH)
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath(CI) is as great as the fear that is your due.(CJ)
12 Teach us to number our days,(CK)
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.(CL)

13 Relent, Lord! How long(CM) will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.(CN)
14 Satisfy(CO) us in the morning with your unfailing love,(CP)
    that we may sing for joy(CQ) and be glad all our days.(CR)
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.(CS)

17 May the favor[h] of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.(CT)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  2. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  4. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  5. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  6. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  7. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have
  8. Psalm 90:17 Or beauty

89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

10 Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

11 The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

12 The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

13 Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.

16 In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

18 For the Lord is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

20 I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

21 With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

22 The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23 And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

24 But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

38 But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

39 Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

41 All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

42 Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

43 Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

44 Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

46 How long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

47 Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49 Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

51 Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52 Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

90 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14 O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16 Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Remembering the Covenant with David, and Sorrow for Lost Blessings

A [a]Contemplation of (A)Ethan the Ezrahite.

89 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;
With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
For I have said, “Mercy shall be built up forever;
(B)Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens.”

“I(C) have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have (D)sworn to My servant David:
‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne (E)to all generations.’ ” Selah

And (F)the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
(G)For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
(H)God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
(I)You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10 (J)You have broken [b]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

11 (K)The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
(L)Tabor and (M)Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the (N)joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our [c]horn is (O)exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your [d]holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one (P)chosen from the people.
20 (Q)I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 (R)With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not [e]outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.

24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will (S)set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are (T)my Father,
My God, and (U)the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him (V)My firstborn,
(W)The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 (X)My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever,
(Y)And his throne (Z)as the days of heaven.

30 “If(AA) his sons (AB)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they [f]break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 (AC)Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not [g]utterly take from him,
Nor [h]allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor (AD)alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn (AE)by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36 (AF)His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne (AG)as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

38 But You have (AH)cast off and (AI)abhorred,[i]
You have been furious with Your [j]anointed.
39 You have renounced the covenant of Your servant;
(AJ)You have [k]profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
40 You have broken down all his hedges;
You have brought his [l]strongholds to ruin.
41 All who pass by the way (AK)plunder him;
He is a reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
And have not sustained him in the battle.
44 You have made his [m]glory cease,
And cast his throne down to the ground.
45 The days of his youth You have shortened;
You have covered him with shame. Selah

46 How long, Lord?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my time (AL)is;
For what (AM)futility have You created all the children of men?
48 What man can live and not [n]see (AN)death?
Can he deliver his life from the power of [o]the grave? Selah

49 Lord, where are Your former lovingkindnesses,
Which You (AO)swore to David (AP)in Your truth?
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Your servants—
(AQ)How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 (AR)With which Your enemies have reproached, O Lord,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of Your [p]anointed.

52 (AS)Blessed be the Lord forevermore!
Amen and Amen.

BOOK FOUR

Psalms 90–106

The Eternity of God, and Man’s Frailty

A Prayer (AT)of Moses the man of God.

90 Lord, (AU)You have been our [q]dwelling place in all generations.
(AV)Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You [r]had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

You turn man to destruction,
And say, (AW)“Return, O children of men.”
(AX)For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
And like a watch in the night.
You carry them away like a flood;
(AY)They are like a sleep.
In the morning (AZ)they are like grass which grows up:
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.

For we have been consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath we are terrified.
(BA)You have set our iniquities before You,
Our (BB)secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
For all our days have passed away in Your wrath;
We finish our years like a sigh.
10 The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
12 (BC)So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Return, O Lord!
How long?
And (BD)have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
(BE)That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us,
The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let (BF)Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.
17 (BG)And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And (BH)establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 89:1 Heb. Maschil
  2. Psalm 89:10 Egypt
  3. Psalm 89:17 Strength
  4. Psalm 89:19 So with many Heb. mss.; MT, LXX, Tg., Vg. holy ones
  5. Psalm 89:22 Or exact usury from him
  6. Psalm 89:31 profane
  7. Psalm 89:33 Lit. break off
  8. Psalm 89:33 Lit. deal falsely with My faithfulness
  9. Psalm 89:38 rejected
  10. Psalm 89:38 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
  11. Psalm 89:39 defiled
  12. Psalm 89:40 fortresses
  13. Psalm 89:44 splendor or brightness
  14. Psalm 89:48 experience death
  15. Psalm 89:48 Or Sheol
  16. Psalm 89:51 Commissioned one, Heb. messiah
  17. Psalm 90:1 LXX, Tg., Vg. refuge
  18. Psalm 90:2 Lit. gave birth to

The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,(A) without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.(B) The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt(C) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge(D) the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?(E) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

One person considers one day more sacred than another;(F) another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;(G) and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone,(H) and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.(I) For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life(J) so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.(K)

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt?(L) For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.(M) 11 It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’(N) says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b](O)

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.(P)

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment(Q) on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.(R) 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.(S) But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.(T) 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.(U) Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.(V) 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.(W) 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,(X) but of righteousness, peace(Y) and joy in the Holy Spirit,(Z) 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.(AA)

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace(AB) and to mutual edification.(AC) 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.(AD) All food is clean,(AE) but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.(AF) 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.(AG)

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn(AH) himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts(AI) is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.[c]

Footnotes

  1. Romans 14:10 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21.
  2. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23
  3. Romans 14:23 Some manuscripts place 16:25-27 here; others after 15:33.

14 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:

17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

21 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.

22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

The Law of Liberty

14 Receive(A) one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he (B)may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and (C)let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. (D)Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

(E)One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who (F)observes the day, observes it to the Lord; [a]and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for (G)he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For (H)none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we (I)live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For (J)to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, that He might be (K)Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For (L)we shall all stand before the judgment seat of [c]Christ. 11 For it is written:

(M)As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then (N)each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another [d]anymore, but rather resolve this, (O)not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

The Law of Love

14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus (P)that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. (Q)Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 (R)Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 (S)for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and (T)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in [e]these things (U)is acceptable to God and approved by men.

19 (V)Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which (W)one may [f]edify another. 20 (X)Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. (Y)All things indeed are pure, (Z)but it is evil for the man who eats with [g]offense. 21 It is good neither to eat (AA)meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles [h]or is offended or is made weak. 22 [i]Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. (AB)Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for (AC)whatever is not from faith is [j]sin.

Footnotes

  1. Romans 14:6 NU omits the rest of this sentence.
  2. Romans 14:9 NU omits and rose
  3. Romans 14:10 NU God
  4. Romans 14:13 any longer
  5. Romans 14:18 NU this thing
  6. Romans 14:19 build up
  7. Romans 14:20 A feeling of giving offense
  8. Romans 14:21 NU omits the rest of v. 21.
  9. Romans 14:22 NU The faith which you have—have
  10. Romans 14:23 M puts Rom. 16:25–27 here.