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OET (OET-LV) For/Because if anyone may_see you the one having knowledge in an_idol_shrine reclining, not the conscience of_him weak being, will_be_being_built, in_order that the idol_sacrificed things to_be_eating?
OET (OET-RV) Yes, if someone with a weaker conscience sees you eating at a place with an idol, they might be encouraged to eat food that’s offered to idols against their conscience,
In this section Paul wrote about something else the Corinthians had asked him in their earlier letter. They had asked him whether it was acceptable for them to eat the meat of an animal that had been sacrificed to an idol. The primary context for eating such meat was at an idol’s temple. Sometimes an animal would be offered to a false god in connection with a celebration such as a birthday or wedding to seek the god’s blessing and presence at the celebration. The animal would be butchered by a priest and a portion of the meat would be burned on an altar as an offering to the false god. Some of the remaining meat would be returned to the person who offered it and could be eaten together with family or other invited guests at a private banquet room at the temple. (Some of the remaining meat might be sent to the meat market to be sold, a situation that Paul addresses in 10:25–26.)
There were two opinions in the Corinthian church about whether this meat could be eaten by a believer in Christ. Some of the Corinthian believers, including those who wrote the letter, understood that idols were only things that people have made or imagined. They were hoping Paul would agree with them that it was acceptable to eat this meat. However, some other believers thought that it was wrong to enter a temple and eat such meat. They still believed the false gods were real and believed that eating meat offered to them in sacrifice was an act of worship or fellowship with these gods.
Paul agreed in this chapter that the idols worshiped at these temples were not real gods. But he did not give permission to eat this meat at their temple. Doing so might influence other believers to also eat the meat, even though they believed it was wrong. Paul asked the Corinthians believers to act in love toward these brothers rather than selfishly demanding the right to eat this meat.
In chapter 10, Paul will continue to answer the question about eating meat sacrificed to idols. He says that a believer can have no part in the worship of idols and also that demons are active in the sacrifices to idols. He also addresses the separate situations of buying and eating meat sold in the meat market and what to do when someone invites you to eat meat in their home. Before this, in chapter 9, he uses himself as an illustration of the principle he set down at the end of chapter 8 of giving up your rights in love. He had the right to be paid for his work as an apostle, but he gave up his right so that the good news of Jesus would be better accepted.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
Paul gave instructions about eating meat of/from animals that had been sacrificed to false gods
Believers should not eat anything that causes other believers to sin
In this paragraph Paul discussed a problem related to the knowledge that an idol is nothing. The problem is that not all believers have this knowledge. When those without this knowledge eat food sacrificed to idols, they think they are participating in rites to real gods. They know this is wrong, but being weak they are easily influenced to do it anyway. So believers who know that idols are nothing should not think only about what they have freedom to do, but rather should think about how what they do may influence other believers toward idolatry. They should not do anything that would cause another believer to do something he thinks is wrong.
This verse is made up of a conditional clause (8:10a) followed by a rhetorical question (8:10b). The conditional clause states something that could possibly happen: someone sees you eating at an idol’s temple. The rhetorical question suggests what the probable result would be: the person who sees you would be emboldened to also eat meat sacrificed to an idol there. It may be more natural in your language to change the form of the conditional clause or the rhetorical question to a statement.
Ways to translate the conditional clause include:
if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple (NIV)
For example, suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you, who have this knowledge, eating in the temple of a false god. (GW)
someone who is weak in faith might see you eating there (NCV)
The rhetorical question implies the answer “Yes.” Paul used this question to suggest what was likely to happen if 8:10a were true. Ways to translate this include:
as a rhetorical question:
will not his conscience be emboldened to eat meat consecrated to the heathen deity? (REB)
as a question and supply the implied answer “yes”:
Will the person be encouraged to do what they think is wrong? Yes, he will.
as a positive statement with a high degree of certainty. For example:
someone with a weak conscience will surely be encouraged to eat meat sacrificed to idols while thinking it wrong to do so
For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple,
For suppose a believer with a weak conscience sees you(sing) who know about idols while you(sing) are eating idol food in an idol’s temple.
Perhaps one of you(plur) who understands that idols are not real may go to an idol’s place and eat food there. Then another believer who finds it hard do what is right may see you(sing) eating there.
For: The Greek word that the BSB translates as For here introduces Paul’s reasons for warning the knowledgeable believers to be very careful about how they make use of their rights and freedoms. You should connect 8:10 to 8:9 in a way that is natural in your language.
someone with a weak conscience: The Greek subject here is literally “someone/anyone.” The BSB has supplied the words with a weak conscience from the Greek of 8:10b.
you who are well informed: The Greek pronoun meaning you is singular. Paul uses the singular pronouns “someone” and you because he wants the Corinthians to think about an imaginary situation involving one believer with a weak conscience and one believer who believes it is permitted to eat meat offered to idols. The phrase you who are well informed here means “each one of you believers who knows that an idol is nothing.”
an idol’s temple: The Greek word that the BSB translates as an idol’s temple refers to a building that contains something (often a statue) that people think represents a god. In Paul’s time people used to gather at an idol’s temple in order to honor the god by sacrificing animals and then eating the meat of those animals. Some ways of translating an idol’s temple are
a house sacred/dedicated to an idol
a place where people go to worship one of their gods
will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols?
Don’t you(sing) think he will be encouraged to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?
That will surely give him false confidence to do what he sees you(sing) doing. He will eat meat that has been offered/given to an idol even though he thinks it is wrong.
will he not be encouraged: The English verb phrase will he not be encouraged means “will he not be made bold?” The Greek word that the BSB translates as be encouraged literally means “to be made strong to do something.” It is the same word that is used in 8:1d, where it is translated as “builds up.” Here however it is used in a bad sense. The weak believer feels strong to do something that he should not do. It is a passive verb. There are two ways to translate it:
using a passive verb. For example:
won’t he be emboldened…? (NIV)
using an active verb. For example:
will not this encourage him…? (GNT)
food sacrificed to idols: The Greek word here is the same as in 8:1a. See the note there on food sacrificed to idols and translate it here in the same way.
In some languages it may be natural to break this long sentence up into two or more sentences. For example:
10aFor example, suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you, who have this knowledge, eating in the temple of a false god. 10bWon’t you be encouraging that person to eat food offered to a false god? (GW)
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-condition-fact
ἐὰν & τις ἴδῃ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
Paul is speaking as if this were a hypothetical possibility, but he means that it will happen at some point. If your language does not state something as a condition if it will happen, and if your readers might think that what Paul is saying might not happen, then you can introduce the clause by using a word such as “when” or “after”. Alternate translation: [whenever someone might see] or [after someone sees]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
γνῶσιν
knowledge
Here Paul does not specify what the knowledge is about. However, it is clear from [8:4–6](../08/04.md) that Paul is speaking about knowledge about other gods, specifically knowing that there is only one God and that other gods do not really exist. If you must specify what the knowledge is about, you could clarify that it is about the idols or the topic of things sacrificed to idols. Alternate translation: [knowledge about idols] or [knowledge about this issue]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τὸν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea behind knowledge, you can express the idea by using a verb such as “know.” Alternate translation: [the person who knows]
Note 4 topic: translate-unknown
κατακείμενον
reclining
In Paul’s culture, people ate lying down on their side (reclining). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express reclining to eat with a word or phrase that describes the normal position for eating in your culture or indicate that the person is about to eat. Alternate translation: [about to eat]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται, εἰς τὸ τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
Paul does not ask this question because he is looking for information. Rather, he asks it to involve the Corinthians in what he is arguing. The question assumes that the answer is “yes, it will be built up.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind this question with a strong affirmation. Alternate translation: [his conscience, being weak, will surely be built up so as to eat the things sacrificed to idols.]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_him
Here, his is written in masculine form, but it refers to anyone, no matter what their gender might be. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind hisby using a word that does not have gender, or you could use both genders. Alternate translation: [his or her]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οἰκοδομηθήσεται
˓will_be_being˒_built
Here Paul speaks as if his conscience were a structure that could be built up. By speaking in this way, he means that the conscience becomes more confident or stronger, just a like a structure is stronger after it is built up. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this figure of speech with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [will … become stronger]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
οὐχὶ ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on those who are not built up rather than focusing on whatever does not “build them up.” If you must state who does the action, Paul implies that seeing the person with knowledge eating in an idol’s temple does it. Alternate translation: [will this not build up his conscience, which is weak,]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος
weak being
Here, being weak identifies a conscience that easily leads a person to feel guilty. A weak conscience condemns some things that are probably acceptable before God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express being weak with a comparable metaphor or express the idea plainly. Alternate translation: [being sensitive] or [which often condemns him]
Note 10 topic: translate-unknown
τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
Here, the things sacrificed to idols refers to meat that has been offered to an idol. Translate this phrase the same way you did in [8:1](../08/01.md). Alternate translation: [meat from animals sacrificed to idols]
Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
τὰ εἰδωλόθυτα
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐάν Γάρ τὶς ἴδῃ σέ τόν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν ἐν εἰδωλείῳ κατακείμενον οὐχί ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ ἀσθενοῦς ὄντος οἰκοδομηθήσεται εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Paul uses the passive form here to focus on what is sacrificed rather than focusing on the person doing the “sacrificing.” If you must state who does the action, you can use a vague or indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [the things that people have sacrificed to idols]
OET (OET-LV) For/Because if anyone may_see you the one having knowledge in an_idol_shrine reclining, not the conscience of_him weak being, will_be_being_built, in_order that the idol_sacrificed things to_be_eating?
OET (OET-RV) Yes, if someone with a weaker conscience sees you eating at a place with an idol, they might be encouraged to eat food that’s offered to idols against their conscience,
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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