Take Care with Your Liberty

8 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge ^[a]makes arrogant, but love edifies. ² If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; ³ but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that ^[b]there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. ⁵ For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, ⁶ yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.

⁷ However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. ⁸ But food will not ^[c]commend us to God; we are neither ^[d]the worse if we do not eat, nor ^[e]the better if we do eat. ⁹ But take care that this ^[f]liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. ¹⁰ For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? ¹¹ For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. ¹² And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

Obey Rulers

8 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines ^[a]him and causes his stern face to ^[b]beam.

² I say, “Keep the ^[c]command of the king because of the oath ^[d]before God. ³ Do not be in a hurry ^[e]to leave him. Do not join in an evil matter, for he will do whatever he pleases.” ⁴ Since the word of the king is authoritative, who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

⁵ He who keeps a royal command experiences no ^[f]trouble, for a wise heart knows the proper time and procedure. ⁶ For there is a proper time and procedure for every delight, though a man’s trouble is heavy upon him. ⁷ If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen? ⁸ No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver ^[g]those who practice it. ⁹ All this I have seen and applied my ^[h]mind to every deed that has been done under the sun wherein a man has exercised authority over another man to his hurt.

¹⁰ So then, I have seen the wicked buried, those who used to go in and out from the holy place, and they are soon forgotten in the city where they did thus. This too is futility. ¹¹ Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. ¹² Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear ^[i]Him openly. ¹³ But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

¹⁴ There is futility which is done on the earth, that is, there are righteous men to whom it ^[j]happens according to the deeds of the wicked. On the other hand, there are evil men to whom it ^[k]happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I say that this too is futility. ¹⁵ So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his ^[l]toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

¹⁶ When I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the task which has been done on the earth (even though one should ^[m]never sleep day or night), ¹⁷ and I saw every work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work which has been done under the sun. Even though man should seek laboriously, he will not discover; and though the wise man should say, “I know,” he cannot discover.