New International Version
Romans 14:3
3The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
Romans 14:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.
Context of Romans 14:3
1Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
Read all of Romans 14Romans 14:3 word by word
ὁ ἐσθίων τὸν μὴ ἐσθίοντα μὴ ἐξουθενείτω, ὁ δὲ μὴ ἐσθίων τὸν ἐσθίοντα μὴ κρινέτω· ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν προσελάβετο.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Letἐξουθενέωexoutheneō · to rejectG1848
- notμήmē · notG3361
- him that eatethὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- him that eatethἐσθίωesthiō · to eatG2068
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- letκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
- forγάρgar · forG1063
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- hath receivedπροσλαμβάνωproslambanō · to takeG4355
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
Cross-references for Romans 14:3
- Romans 14:10You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
- Zechariah 4:10“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
- Matthew 18:10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
- Luke 18:9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:
- 1 Corinthians 8:11So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
- Romans 14:13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
- Matthew 7:1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.
- Matthew 9:14Then John’s disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”
- Matthew 11:18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’
- 1 Corinthians 10:29I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience?
- Colossians 2:16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
- Acts 10:34Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
- Acts 15:8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
Commentaries on Romans 14:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Let not him that eateth - The Gentile, who eats flesh, despise him, the Jew, who eateth not flesh, but herbs. And let not him, the Jew, that eateth not indiscriminately, judge - condemn him, the Gentile, that eateth indiscriminately flesh or vegetables. For God hath received him - Both being sincere and upright, and acting in the fear of God, are received as heirs of eternal life, without any difference on account of these religious scruples or prejudices.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Let not him that eateth - That is, he who has no scruples about eating “meat,” etc., who is not restrained by the Law of the Jews respecting the Clean and unclean, or by the fact that meat “may” have been offered to idols. Despise him - Hold him in contempt, as being unnecessarily scrupulous, etc. The word “despise” here is happily chosen. The Gentile would be very likely to “despise” the Jew as being restrained by foolish scruples and mere distinctions…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-4belittle … judge: The “strong,” who took pride in their freedom in Christ, looked down on those they considered to be weak. The weak, in turn, believed they were following the true path of faith. Because of this, they judged the strong for being too careless in their behavior. Similar attitudes have appeared many times throughout the history of the Christian church. Christians have often argued over different practices and judged one another in the same…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Let not him that eateth despise--look down superciliously upon "him that eateth not." and let not him that eateth not judge--sit in judgment censoriously upon "him that eateth." for God hath received him--as one of His dear children, who in this matter acts not from laxity, but religious principle.Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 14:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 14
- 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
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- 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
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