Some of you say,“ I have the right to do anything.” But not everything is helpful. Again some of you say,“ I have the right to do anything.” But I will not be controlled by anything.

凡事我都可行，但不都有益处。凡事我都可行，但无论哪一件，我总不受它的辖制。

“凡事我都可行”，但不是凡事都有益处。“凡事我都可行”，但无论哪一件，我都不受它的辖制。

“凡事我都可行”，但不是凡事都有益处。“凡事我都可行”，但无论哪一件，我都不受它的辖制。

凡事我都可以做，但并非事事都有益处；凡事我都可以做，但我不受任何事的辖制。

什么事我都可以作，但不是都有益处。什么事我都可以作，但我不要受任何事的辖制。

“什么事我都可以做”，但不都有益处；“什么事我都可以做”，但我却不受任何事的辖制。

凡事我都可行，但不都有益處。凡事我都可行，但無論哪一件，我總不受它的轄制。

「凡事我都可行」，但不是凡事都有益處。「凡事我都可行」，但無論哪一件，我都不受它的轄制。

「凡事我都可行」，但不是凡事都有益處。「凡事我都可行」，但無論哪一件，我都不受它的轄制。

凡事我都可以做，但並非事事都有益處；凡事我都可以做，但我不受任何事的轄制。

甚麼事我都可以作，但不是都有益處。甚麼事我都可以作，但我不要受任何事的轄制。

『凡事於我都可行』，但不都有益。『凡事於我都可行』，但我總不受任何事物的轄制。

「什麼事我都可以做」，但不都有益處；「什麼事我都可以做」，但我卻不受任何事的轄制。

凡物皆宜於我、然不盡有益、凡物皆宜於我、然不受其制、

或以為無不可之物、我則謂不盡有益、或以為無不可之事、我則謂不可役於彼、

物於我無不可用、但不盡有益、物於我無不可用、但我不服於一物、但我不服於一物或作但無一物能主我

『苟非犯罪、萬事皆可為之、』然亦有緩急輕重之分。『苟非犯罪、萬物皆可享之、』然亦不可令外物累吾之心、而使心為形役也。

“ I have the right to do anything,” you say— but not everything is beneficial.“ I have the right to do anything”— but I will not be mastered by anything.

“ All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.“ All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

You say,“ I am allowed to do anything”— but not everything is good for you. And even though“ I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

“ Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial.“ Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.

All things are permitted for me, but not all things are of benefit. All things are permitted for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any.

“ Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is helpful.“ Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be brought under the control of anything.

All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

“ All things are lawful for me”– but not everything is beneficial.“ All things are lawful for me”– but I will not be controlled by anything.

“ All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are expedient.“ All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of anything.

You say,“ I have the right to do anything.” But not everything is helpful. Again you say,“ I have the right to do anything.” But not everything builds us up.No one should look out for their own interests. Instead, they should look out for the interests of others.Eat anything sold in the meat market. Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong.Scripture says,“ The earth belongs to the Lord. And so does everything in it.”( Psalm 24:1)Suppose an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go. Then eat anything that is put in front of you. Don’t ask if it’s right or wrong.But suppose someone says to you,“ This food has been sacrificed to a statue of a god.” Then don’t eat it. Keep in mind the good of the person who told you. And don’t eat because of a sense of what is right and wrong.I’m talking about the other person’s sense of what is right and wrong, not yours. Why is my freedom being judged by what someone else thinks?Suppose I give thanks when I eat. Then why should I be blamed for eating food I thank God for?So eat and drink and do everything else for the glory of God.Don’t do anything that causes another person to trip and fall. It doesn’t matter if that person is a Jew or a Greek or a member of God’s church.Follow my example. I try to please everyone in every way. I’m not looking out for what is good for me. I’m looking out for the interests of others. I do it so that they might be saved.

No, I train my body and bring it under control. Then after I have preached to others, I myself will not break the rules. If I did break them, I would fail to win the prize.

I am absolutely sure that nothing is“ unclean” in itself. The Lord Jesus has convinced me of this. But someone may consider a thing to be“ unclean.” If they do, it is“ unclean” for them.Your brother or sister may be upset by what you eat. If they are, you are no longer acting as though you love them. So don’t destroy them by what you eat. Remember that Christ died for them.So suppose you know something is good. Then don’t let it be spoken of as if it were evil.God’s kingdom is not about eating or drinking. It is about doing what is right and having peace and joy. All this comes through the Holy Spirit.Those who serve Christ in this way are pleasing to God. They are pleasing to people too.So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build up one another.Don’t destroy the work of God because of food. All food is“ clean.” But it’s wrong to eat anything that might cause problems for someone else’s faith.Don’t eat meat if it causes your brother or sister to sin. Don’t drink wine or do anything else that will make them sin.Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the person who doesn’t feel guilty for what they do.But whoever has doubts about what they eat is guilty if they eat. That’s because their eating is not based on faith. Everything that is not based on faith is sin.

But not everyone knows this. Some people still think that statues of gods are real gods. They might eat food sacrificed to statues of gods. When they do, they think of it as food sacrificed to real gods. And because those people have a weak sense of what is right and wrong, they feel guilty.But food doesn’t bring us close to God. We are no worse if we don’t eat. We are no better if we do eat.But be careful how you use your rights. Be sure you don’t cause someone weaker than you to fall into sin.Suppose you, with all your knowledge, are eating in a temple of one of those gods. And suppose someone who has a weak sense of what is right and wrong sees you. Won’t that person become bold and eat what is sacrificed to statues of gods?If so, then your knowledge destroys that weak brother or sister for whom Christ died.Suppose you sin against them in this way. Then you harm their weak sense of what is right and wrong. By doing this, you sin against Christ.So suppose what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin. Then what should I do? I will never eat meat again. In that way, I will not cause them to fall.

We worked, even though we have the right to receive help from you. We did it in order to be a model for you to follow.

Be sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. See to it that a bitter plant doesn’t grow up. If it does, it will cause trouble. And it will make many people impure.See to it that no one commits sexual sins. See to it that no one is godless like Esau. He sold the rights to what he would receive as the oldest son. He sold them for a single meal.

So then, here is what I say about eating food sacrificed to statues of gods. We know that“ a god made by human hands is really nothing at all in the world.” We know that“ there is only one God.”

We know that the law is holy. But I am not. I have been sold to be a slave of sin.

These ungodly people are like stains at the meals you share. They have no shame. They are shepherds who feed only themselves. They are like clouds without rain. They are blown along by the wind. They are like trees in the fall. Since they have no fruit, they are pulled out of the ground. So they die twice.

Others have the right to receive help from you. Don’t we have even more right to do so? But we didn’t use that right. No, we have put up with everything. We didn’t want to keep the good news of Christ from spreading.