Give no occasion for stumbling, whether to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
Parallel Translations
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Give no occasion for stumbling, whether to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
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Se that ye geve occasion of evell nether to the Iewes nor yet to the gentyls nether to the congregacion of god:
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Giue none offence, neither to the Iewes, nor to the Grecians, nor to the Church of God:
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Corinthians 10:32 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 20:28 Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.
- 1 Corinthians 10:33 even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
- Romans 14:13 Therefore let’s not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother’s way, or an occasion for falling.
- Acts 24:16 In this I also practice always having a conscience void of offense toward God and men.
- 1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will eat no meat forever more, that I don’t cause my brother to stumble.
- 2 Corinthians 6:3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,
- 1 Corinthians 11:22 What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
- 1 Timothy 3:15 but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 3:5 (but how could someone who doesn’t know how to rule one’s own house take care of God’s assembly?)
- Philippians 1:10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 32. Be not occasions of stumbling to any This…
32. Be not occasions of stumbling to any This is the second point, which it becomes us to have an eye to — the rule of love. A desire, then, for the glory of God, holds the first place; a regard to our neighbor holds the second He makes mention of Jews and Gentiles, not merely because the Church of God consisted of those two classes, but to teach us that we are debtors to all, even to strangers, that we may, if possible, gain them. (1 Corinthians 9:20, 21.)
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor…
32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
Ver. 32. Give none offence] This is another end we should aim at, the edification of others. Finibus non officiis a vitiis discernuntur virtutes. (Augustine.) Two things make a good Christian: good actions and good aims.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain We use to say, that men are offended when…
We use to say, that men are offended when they are grieved or angered; but these offences are not here meant, (as appears by the Greek phrase, ’ Aproskopoi ginesye) but give no occasion of sin or stumbling. This care he commands us, with reference to all men; for at that time all the world fell under one of these denominations, they were either Jews, or Gentiles, ( that is, heathens), or the church of God (that is, Christians). It was always a hard matter, if not a thing impossible, for Christians to carry themselves so as not to anger those that were no Christians; but it was not impossible for them so to behave themselves, as not to be to them any just occasion of sin. Much less ought conscientious Christians to give offence to Christians, that made up the church of God, and were with them members of the same mystical body, of which Christ is the Head.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Here we have the second rule for ordering all…
Here we have the second rule for ordering all the affairs of human life: Give no offence to any, neither to the unbelieving Jew, nor to the unconverted Gentile, nor to the weak members of the church of God; particularly, give no offence to these, by eating things offered to idols at any time, or in any place, where any may be scandalized; for the Jew will consider that you are enemies to the law and the prophets.
The Gentiles will believe that your abhorrence to idols is not real, when they see you eat things offered unto idols before their faces; and the weak Christian will be tempted by your example to revolt from the Christian faith.
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Therefore do nothing that may tend to the hurt, or just offence, either of Jew, Gentile, or Christian.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Even as I please all men in all things,....…
Even as I please all men in all things,.... The apostle sets himself as an example, though he was far from being a man pleaser, in the bad sense of that phrase; nor must these all things, in which he is said to please all men, be taken in the largest sense; but are to be understood of things indifferent, which might be done or avoided, without breaking the law of or contradicting the Gospel of Christ, or any of its rules and ordinances, to all which the apostle was inviolably attached; nor did he in these things seek to please men, but in all to act the part of a faithful servant of Christ, and steward of the mysteries of grace; see Co1 9:19. Moreover, it is not to bc thought that in fact he pleased all men; it is certain he did not; but he studied to please them; he did all that in him lay; he took the most proper methods to do it, though they were sometimes ineffectual.
Not seeking my own profit; worldly profit and advantage, riches, wealth, the emoluments of life, ease, rest, and pleasure; and chiefly he means the use of liberty in things indifferent; he was willing to forego all for the good of others:
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but the profit of many, that they may be saved; he neglected his own private advantage, and the gratifying of himself in anything which was otherwise lawful, when he saw that would be an offence to others, be an hinderance of the Gospel, and deter any from embracing the Christian doctrine; that so he might be the, means of promoting the spiritual profit and edification of many souls, that they might be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; He does not say all, but many, knowing that all will not be saved, only the elect of God; and whereas he knew not who these were, nor where they lay, he behaved in this manner to all men, that he might be the instrument of the spiritual good and salvation of the chosen ones among them, by preaching the Gospel to them without offence.
Next: 1 Corinthians Chapter 11
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Give no offense - If, and as far as,…
Give no offense - If, and as far as, it is possible.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 32. Give none offence, &c.] Scrupulously avoid giving…
Verse 32. Give none offence, &c.] Scrupulously avoid giving any cause of offence either to the unconverted Jews or the unconverted Gentiles, so as to prejudice them against Christianity: nor to the Church of God, made up of converts from the above parties.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Give none offence - Be inoffensive; that is, do…
Give none offence - Be inoffensive; that is, do not act so as to lead others into sin; see the note at Rom 14:13.
Neither to the Jews ... - To no one, though they are the foes of God or strangers to him. To the Jews be inoffensive, because they think that the least approach to idol worship is to be abhorred. Do not so act as to lead them to think that you connive at or approve idol worship, and so as to prejudice them the more against the Christian religion, and lead them more and more to oppose it. In other words, do not attend the feasts in honor of idols.
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Nor to the Gentiles - Greek “Greeks.” To the pagans who are unconverted. They are attached to idol worship. They seek every way to justify themselves in it. Do not countenance them in it, and thus lead them into the sin of idolatry.
Nor to the church of God - To Christians. Many of them are weak. They may not be as fully instructed as you are. Your example would lead them into sin. Abstain, therefore, from things which, though they are in themselves strictly “lawful,” may yet be the occasion of leading others into sin, and endangering their salvation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Give none offence--in things indifferent (Co1 8:13; Rom 14:13;…
Give none offence--in things indifferent (Co1 8:13; Rom 14:13; Co2 6:3); for in all essential things affecting Christian doctrine and practice, even in the smallest detail, we must not swerve from principle, whatever offense may be the result (Co1 1:23). Giving offense is unnecessary, if our own spirit cause it; necessary, if it be caused by the truth.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 32. None offence—No scandal.
32. None offence—No scandal.
Jews—The apostle ever avoided offence to his kinsmen after the flesh.
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Gentiles—Crossing none of their prejudices where God’s law does not require it.
Church of God—Endeavouring to maintain its purity and peace by purity and peace on his own part.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 32. Give none offence] This verse and the next…
32. Give none offence] This verse and the next explain the words, ‘I am made all things to all men,’ ch. 1Co_9:22.
neither to the Jews] This question is dealt with fully in Romans 16, where the question of eating or abstaining from meats regarded by the Jews as unclean, is decided upon precisely the same principles as those laid down in this chapter.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (32) Give none offence.—A practical test of whether any…
(32) Give none offence.—A practical test of whether any course of conduct is to the glory of God. If it cause any human being to offend then it is not to God’s glory. Heretofore St. Paul had spoken only of the edification of the Christian Church, and the avoidance of any offence to a Christian brother. Here the sphere of moral obligation is enlarged. Jew and Greek, as well as the Christian Church, are to be objects of our Christian solicitude.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Give none offence. Of course St. Paul means "give…
Give none offence. Of course St. Paul means "give no offence in unimportant, indifferent matters". (comp. Rom_14:13) "Offence" means "occasion of stumbling." The word only occurs in Act_24:16; Php_1:16. Nor to the Gentiles; rather, nor to the Greeks.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 32. Give none offence. The rule just given implies…
32. Give none offence. The rule just given implies this. Do nothing that would produce a scandal, or arouse prejudice, whether they be Jews, or Gentiles, or brethren.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain 32. “Be ye without offense both to Jews and…
32. “Be ye without offense both to Jews and Greeks and to the Church of God.”
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain Give no occasion of stumbling [ Mar_9:42 ], either…
Give no occasion of stumbling [ Mar_9:42 ], either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God :
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.