^9 (A)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(B)to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are ^(C)no gods.

¹⁹ and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the ^(A)work of men’s hands, wood and stone. So they have ^(B)destroyed them.

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

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

²⁰ No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they ^(A)sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.