1 Corinthians 8:11

1 Corinthians 8:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
• New International Version (NIV)So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?

Context of 1 Corinthians 8:11

9You are free to eat any kind of food. You understand that. But other Christians do not understand so well. So you must be careful. Do not cause them to do something that they think is wrong. 10You may be eating food in a place where people worship idols. Then another Christian sees you there. You know that the idols are not real gods. But the other Christian may have weak thoughts about this. So, because he sees you, he may think that he can eat that food too. Because you understand properly, you are hurting someone who does not understand so well. In that way, the life of your Christian friend has become completely spoiled. Remember that Christ died to save that friend. 12If you do that kind of bad thing to hurt your Christian friends, you are hurting Christ himself. You are causing them to do something which they think is wrong. 13I do not want to hurt any of my Christian friends. So, if the food that I eat causes them to do something wrong, I will never eat meat again.

1 Corinthians 8:11 word by word

ἀπόλλυται γὰρ ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἐν τῇ σῇ γνώσει, ὁ ἀδελφὸς δι᾽ ὃν Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• throughἐπίepi · upon/to/againstG1909
• thyσόςsos · yourG4674
• knowledgeγνῶσιςgnōsis · knowledgeG1108
• shallἀπολλύωapollumi · to destroyG622
• the weakἀσθενέωastheneō · be weak: weakG770
• brotherἀδελφόςadelphos · brotherG80
• forδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• diedἀποθνήσκωapothnēskō · to dieG599

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 8:11

• 1 Corinthians 8:13I do not want to hurt any of my Christian friends. So, if the food that I eat causes them to do something wrong, I will never eat meat again.
• 1 Corinthians 10:33Copy my example. Whatever I do, I try to make other people happy. I do not try to do what will help me. Instead, I want to help other people. I live in that way so that God will save many people.
• 1 Corinthians 11:1Copy my example, in the same way that I copy Christ's example.
• Romans 14:15You should not cause another believer to be sad because of what you eat. If you do make him sad, then you are not really loving him. Remember that Christ died on behalf of that person. So do not let your food make him turn away from God.
• Romans 15:1Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not just do things that will make us happy ourselves.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 8:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Shall the weak brother perish - Being first taught by thy conduct that there was no harm in thus eating, he grieves the Spirit of God; becomes again darkened and hardened; and, sliding back into idolatry, dies in it, and so finally perishes. For whom Christ died? - So we learn that a man may perish for whom Christ died: this admits of no quibble. If a man for whom Christ died, apostatizing from Christianity, (for he is called a brother though weak)…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11And through thy knowledge - Because you knew that an idol was nothing, and that there could be really no danger of falling into idolatry from partaking of these entertainments. You will thus be the means of deceiving and destroying him. The argument of the apostle here is, that if This was to be the result, the duty of those who had this knowledge was plain. Shall the weak brother - The uninformed and ignorant Christian. That it means real Christian there…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 Eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, have nothing in them to recommend a person to God. But the apostle cautions against putting a stumbling-block in the way of the weak; lest they be made bold to eat what was offered to the idol, not as common food, but as a sacrifice, and thereby be guilty of idolatry. He who has the Spirit of Christ in him, will love those whom Christ loved so as to die for them. Injuries done to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11Believers who insist on eating food offered to idols (because they believe their knowledge allows them to eat it) could harm less mature Christians. These less mature Christians may see eating this meat as worshipping pagan gods. for whom Christ died: Compare Romans 14:15.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. shall ... perish--The oldest manuscripts read "perisheth." A single act seemingly unimportant may produce everlasting consequences. The weak brother loses his faith, and if he do not recover it, his salvation [Bengel] (Ro 14:23). for whom Christ died--and for whose sake we too ought to be willing to die (1Jo 3:16). And yet professing Christians at Corinth virtually tempted their brethren to their damnation, so far were they from sacrificing aught for…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 8:11

• Commandments
• Conscience
• Evil
• Example
• Expediency
• Fraternity
• Idolatry
• Jesus, the Christ
• Prudence
• Self-Denial
• Stumbling
• Suffering
• Temptation

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Christ, Messiah
• Charity
• Commend
• Offend
• Perish
• Touching
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Drunkenness
• Gnosticism

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings