1 Corinthians 8:4

1 Corinthians 8:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
• New International Version (NIV)So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

Context of 1 Corinthians 8:4

2If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know. 3But if someone loves God, he is known by God. With regard then to eating food sacrificed to idols, we know that “an idol in this world is nothing,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.

1 Corinthians 8:4 word by word

Περὶ τῆς βρώσεως οὖν τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς θεὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• As concerningπερίperi · aboutG4012
• thereforeοὖνoun · therefore/thenG3767
• the eatingβρῶσιςbrōsis · eatingG1035
• of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idolsεἰδωλόθυτοςeidōlothuton · sacrificed to idolsG1494
• we knowεἴδωeidō · to perceive: understandG1492
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• an idolεἴδωλονeidōlon · idolG1497
• nothingοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the worldκόσμοςkosmos · worldG2889
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• otherἕτεροςheteros · otherG2087
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• butεἰei · if: notG1487
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• oneεἷςheis · oneG1520

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 8:4

• 1 Corinthians 10:19Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything?
• Psalms 115:4Their idols are made of silver and gold – they are man-made.
• Isaiah 41:24Look, you are nothing, and your accomplishments are nonexistent; the one who chooses to worship you is disgusting.
• Isaiah 44:8Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none.
• Jeremiah 10:14All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
• Jeremiah 51:17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
• Habakkuk 2:19The one who says to wood, ‘Wake up!’ is as good as dead – he who says to speechless stone, ‘Awake!’ Can it give reliable guidance? It is overlaid with gold and silver; it has no life’s breath inside it.
• Acts 19:26And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.
• 1 Corinthians 8:6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live.
• Deuteronomy 3:24“O, Lord God, you have begun to show me your greatness and strength. (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?)
• Deuteronomy 4:39Today realize and carefully consider that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below – there is no other!
• Deuteronomy 6:4Listen, Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
• Deuteronomy 32:39“See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, “and there is no other god besides me. I kill and give life, I smash and I heal, and none can resist my power.
• Isaiah 37:16“O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.
• Isaiah 44:6This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: “I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.
• Isaiah 45:5I am the Lord, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 8:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Things that are offered in sacrifice - See on the first verse, ( 1 Corinthians 8:1; (note)). An idol is nothing in the world - Dr. Lightfoot translates this, We know that there is no idol in the world; which he explains thus: , idol, is ̔, , , , , a likeness, an image, a sign, a character, a shadow: now signifies there is no idol, no representation of God, in the world. Images there are of stone, wood and metal; but none of these is any representation of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4As concerning therefore … - The parenthesis closes with 1 Corinthians 8:3. The apostle now proceeds to the real question in debate, and repeats in this verse the question, and the admission that all had knowledge. The admission that all had knowledge proceeds through 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; and in 1 Corinthians 8:7 he gives the answer to it. In 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 everything is admitted by Paul which they asked in regard to the real extent of their knowledge…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-6In reality, the idols to which such meat is sacrificed are not gods, because there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; see also Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; 10:19–20). He is the Creator of everything, including the meat being sacrificed for the idols. The only ultimate reality is God, the Father, and the one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created (see also John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. As concerning, &c.--resuming the subject begun in 1Co 8:1, "As touching," &c. idol is nothing--has no true being at all, the god it represents is not a living reality. This does not contradict 1Co 10:20, which states that they who worship idols, worship devils; for here it is the Gods believed by the worshippers to be represented by the idols which are denied to have any existence, not the devils which really under the idols delude the worshippers…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 8:4

• Fraternity
• God Continued...
• Idolatry

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Charity
• Commend
• Offend
• Perish
• Touching
• Corinthians, First Epistle to the
• Food
• Jude, the Epistle of

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