ROM 14:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Who are you to judge someone else’s house servants? Their own master will judge if they stand or fall, and they’ll stand because the master is able to help them.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Who are you, the one judging a household slave belonging to another? To his own master he stands or falls. But he will be made to stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

UST You should not judge your fellow believer, who is like a slave belonging to another master. He either pleases or does not please his master, according to how the master judges. Yet God will make him pleasing to himself because the Lord can do so.

BLB Who are you, judging another's servant? To the own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to uphold him.

AICNT Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master they stand or fall; and they will stand, for {the Lord}[fn] is able to make them stand.

14:4, the Lord: 𝔓46 ℵ(01) A(02) B(03) C(04) NA28 SBLGNT THGNT ‖ Some manuscripts read “God.” D(05) BYZ TR

OEB Who are you, that you should pass judgment on the servant of another? Their standing or falling concerns their own master. And stand they will, for their Master can enable them to stand.

WEBBE Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Who are you to pass judgment on another’s servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

LSV You—who are you that are judging another’s domestic [affairs]? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

FBV What right do you have to judge someone else's servant? It's their own master who decides whether they are right or wrong. With the Lord's help they will be able to take their stand for right.

TCNT Who are yoʋ to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will be made to stand, for [fn]God is able to make him stand.

14:4 God ¦ the Lord CT

T4T God is the master of us all, so ◄he is the one who will decide whether those people have done wrong!/who are you to decide whether they have done wrong?► [RHQ] Therefore, you have no right [RHQ] to condemn those who eat everything, because they are also God’s servants! And just like it is the servants’ own master who accepts or condemns [MTY] his servants, it is God who accepts or condemns us. And believers will be accepted by the Lord {the Lord will accept believers} regardless of whether they eat meat or not, because he is able to keep them trusting in him.

LEB Who are you, who passes judgment on the domestic slave belonging to someone else? To his own master he stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

BBE Who are you to make yourself a judge of another man's servant? it is to his master that he is responsible for good or bad. Yes, his place will be safe, because the Lord is able to keep him from falling.

Moff Who are you to criticize the servant of Another? It is for his Master to say whether he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Master has power to make him stand.

Wymth Who are you that you should find fault with the servant of another? Whether he stands or falls is a matter which concerns his own master. But stand he will; for the Master can give him power to stand.

ASV Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand.

DRA Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own lord he standeth or falleth. And he shall stand: for God is able to make him stand.

YLT Thou — who art thou that art judging another's domestic? to his own master he doth stand or fall; and he shall be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

Drby Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own master he stands or falls. And he shall be made to stand; for the Lord is able to make him stand.

RV Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath power to make him stand.
(Who art thou/you that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord he standeth/stands or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord hath/has power to make him stand. )

SLT Who art thou judging another’s servant? to his own lord he stands or falls. And he shall be made to stand: for God is powerful to make him stand.

Wbstr Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth: and he shall be held up: for God is able to make him stand.

KJB-1769 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
(Who art thou/you that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth/stands or falleth. Yea, he shall be held up: for God is able to make him stand. )

KJB-1611 Who art thou that iudgest an other mans seruant? to his owne master he standeth or falleth; Yea he shall bee holden vp: for God is able to make him stand.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps What art thou that iudgest another mans seruaunt? To his owne maister he standeth or falleth: Yea, he shalbe holden vp. For god is able to make him stande.
(What art thou/you that judgest another mans servant? To his own master he standeth/stands or falleth: Yea, he shall be held up. For god is able to make him stande.)

Gnva Who art thou that condemnest another mans seruant? hee standeth or falleth to his owne master: yea, he shalbe established: for God is able to make him stand.
(Who art thou/you that condemnest another mans servant? he standeth/stands or falleth to his own master: yea, he shall be established: for God is able to make him stand. )

Cvdl Who art thou, that iudgest another mans seruaut? He stondeth or falleth vnto his LORDE: Yee he maye well stode, for God is able to make hi stode.
(Who art thou/you, that judgest another mans servant? He standeth/stands or falleth unto his LORD: Ye/You_all he may well stood, for God is able to make hi stood.)

TNT What arte thou that iudgest another manes servaut? Whether he stonde or faule that pertayneth vnto his master: ye he shall stonde. For God is able to make him stonde.
(What art thou/you that judgest another manes servant? Whether he stand or fall that pertaineth/pertains unto his master: ye/you_all he shall stand. For God is able to make him stand. )

Wycl Who art thou, that demest anothris seruaunt? To his lord he stondith, or fallith fro hym. But he schal stonde; for the Lord is myyti to make hym parfit.
(Who art thou/you, that demest anothris servant? To his lord he standeth/stands, or fallith from him. But he shall stand; for the Lord is mighty to make him parfit.)

Luth Wer bist du, daß du einen fremden Knecht richtest? Er stehet oder fället seinem Herrn. Er mag aber wohl aufgerichtet werden; denn GOtt kann ihn Wohl aufrichten.
(Who are you(sg), that you(sg) a strangers servant/farmhand judge(v)st? He stands or falls his Lord. He likes but probably/well erected become; because/than God can him/it Probably erect/straighten.)

ClVg Tu quis es, qui judicas alienum servum? domino suo stat, aut cadit: stabit autem: potens est enim Deus statuere illum.[fn]
(You(sg) who/any you_are, who/which judges foreign a_servant? domino his_own stands, or falls: will_stand however: powerful it_is because God statuere him. )

14.4 Domino suo stat. De incognito corde alieni servi tu non habes judicare, sed suus Dominus ad cujus honorem stat, qui stat; ad quem pertinet et casus cadentis, qui potest erigere vel judicare. Stat, aut cadit, ideo dicit: quia ambiguum est, forsan stat, qui putatur cadere. Stat aut cadit. Per hoc ostendit se nescire quo animo ille se agat in dubiis. Stabit autem. Hic innuit, quod ambigua debemus in meliorem partem vertere, et plus salutem quam mortem reorum optare, et in futuro spem boni habere, etsi aliter sit in præsenti. Stabit autem. Quia neque si edit, reus est; neque si non edit, si tamen devotione hoc agit.

14.4 Master his_own stands. From/About incognito heart strangers slaves you(sg) not/no you_have to_judge, but it's Master to whose honour stands, who/which stands; to which belongs and casus they_will_fallis, who/which can erigere or to_judge. Stat, or falls, therefore/for_that_reason he_says: because ambiguum it_is, perhaps/possibly stands, who/which thinksur to_fall. Stat or falls. Per this he_showed himself nescire where in_mind he/that_one himself act in/into/on dubiis. Stabit however. Here/This hints, that ambigua we_must in/into/on better part vertere, and plus health how death reorum optare, and in/into/on future hope good to_have, even_though otherwise be in/into/on present. Stabit however. Because nor when/but_if edit, guilty/criminal it_is; nor when/but_if not/no edit, when/but_if nevertheless devotion this acts.

UGNT σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην? τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει. σταθήσεται δέ, δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν.
(su tis ei, ho krinōn allotrion oiketaʸn? tōi idiōi kuriōi staʸkei aʸ piptei. stathaʸsetai de, dunatei gar ho Kurios staʸsai auton.)

SBL-GNT σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει· σταθήσεται δέ, ⸂δυνατεῖ γὰρ⸃ ὁ ⸀κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν.
(su tis ei ho krinōn allotrion oiketaʸn; tōi idiōi kuriōi staʸkei aʸ piptei; stathaʸsetai de, ⸂dunatei gar⸃ ho ⸀kurios staʸsai auton.)

RP-GNT Σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; Τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει. Σταθήσεται δέ· δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς στῆσαι αὐτόν.
(Su tis ei ho krinōn allotrion oiketaʸn; Tōi idiōi kuriōi staʸkei aʸ piptei. Stathaʸsetai de; dunatos gar estin ho theos staʸsai auton.)

TC-GNT Σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; Τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει. Σταθήσεται δέ· [fn]δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ [fn]Θεὸς στῆσαι αὐτόν.
(Su tis ei ho krinōn allotrion oiketaʸn; Tōi idiōi kuriōi staʸkei aʸ piptei. Stathaʸsetai de; dunatos gar estin ho Theos staʸsai auton. )

14:4 δυνατος γαρ εστιν 92.5% ¦ δυνατος γαρ MSS 5.9% ¦ δυνατει γαρ CT 1.3%

14:4 θεος ¦ κυριος CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 14:1–12: Do not judge/criticize fellow believers and do not despise them

In this section, Paul told his readers that they must accept other believers who are not strong in their faith. These other believers do things that are not based in their faith, hence they are “weak” in their faith. One example that Paul gave of this “weak” faith is someone who avoids meat because it has been devoted to the Roman gods.

Paul also told his readers to not argue over differences of opinion (14:1). In 14:5, he gave an example of this: some believers hold the holy days as something special but other believers do not. Paul reminded his readers that they all belong to the Lord Jesus.

Paul told his readers that they must not judge other believers to be bad people or despise them. He reminded them that they all will stand before God as their judge, and give an account of their deeds.

Here are other possible headings for this section:

Do not consider other believers to be bad people

Do not look down on other believers

14:4a

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?

Who do you^(sing) think you are to condemn someone else’s servant?
It is not right for any of you^(plur) to think that somebody else’s worker is a bad person.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?: This is a rhetorical question. It rebukes any believer who considers another believer to be bad because that believer does something that this believer does not do. It implies that the person this question is addressed to does not have the authority to judge the other believer. Here are some other ways to translate this:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why do you think that you are someone with the authority to judge someone else’s servant?
What right do you have to consider someone else’s servant as a bad person?
As a statement. For example:
You do not have the authority to judge someone else’s servant!
You have no right to consider someone else’s servant as a bad person.
As a command. For example:
Do not think that you have the authority to judge someone else’s servant!
Do not think that you have a right to consider someone else’s servant as a bad person.

you: This word is emphatic in the Greek. It emphasizes that the person does not have that right, only God does. For example:

As for you, who are you…

to judge: See how you translated this phrase in 14:3b.

someone else’s servant: It was well known that only the master had any authority over a servant. Here someone else refers to the Lord (14:4). A fellow believer is the Lord’s servant. If that is not clear in a literal translation, you may want to explain this in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

Here the phrase “someone else” refers to the Lord (14:4).

servant: The Greek word here refers to a servant whom the master considers to be one of the household. A slave was not usually considered one of the household. Your language may have a word for this special kind of servant.

14:4b

To his own master he stands or falls.

To his own lord/leader he stands or falls.
His own boss is the one who says he has done right or not.

To his own master he stands or falls: The phrase To his own master is emphasized by being first in the clause. Some languages can emphasize this phrase in the same way as the Greek. For example:

before his own master he stands or falls

But some languages cannot move this phrase to the front of the clause. If that is true in your language, if possible, emphasize the clause in a natural way. For example:

If he stands or falls, it is to his own master

he stands or falls indeed only to his own master

master: The Greek word here is usually translated “lord.” It refers to someone who has authority over someone else, like a ruler or the leader of the family living in that house.

Paul here was referring generally to masters and servants. He explained in particular who he was referring to in 14:4d, so you should not need to explain it here.

he stands or falls: Here the word stands is a figure of speech that refers to the master saying the servant has done right. Here the word falls is a figure of speech that refers to the master saying the servant has done wrong.Moo (page 857) and Schreiner (page 718).

In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

Translate the meaning without the figures of speech. For example:
he is told he has done right or not
his master says that he has done right or he has done wrong
Translate literally and explain it in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
Here the word “stands” refers to the master saying that the servant has done right and the word “falls” refers to the master saying that the servant has done wrong.

14:4c

And he will stand,

And he will be considered to have stood,
And his own boss, the Lord, will say to him that he is approved/accepted,

And he will stand: In Greek, this clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

his master will uphold him

the Lord will uphold him

will: It is not clear when in the future the Lord would uphold his servant. It could be at some time in the life of the servant on earth, or it could be when God judges believers in the great judgment. Use the grammar in your language that indicates generally a future time.

stand: Here this phrase refers to indicating that someone is accepted or approved. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

what he is doing will of course be approved as rightKankanaey Back Translation on TW.

be established as approved

14:4d

for the Lord is able to make him stand.

for the Lord can make him stand.
because the Lord Jesus has the ability/power to help him so that he is approved/accepted.

the Lord: There is a textual issue in 14:4d: (1) Some Greek manuscripts have the word Lord (BSB, RSV, NIV, GNT, NJB, NASB, NABRE, ESV, REB, NLT, GW, NET, NCV). (2) Some later Greek manuscripts have the word God (KJV only). It is recommended that you follow option (1). See how you translated the word Lord in 1:4 or 13:14. It is not clear whether it refers to God or Jesus here. It probably refers to Jesus, since God is mentioned in 14:3 using the Greek word for God.

to make him stand: The Greek word that the BSB translates as to make…stand is the same word that the BSB translates as “stand” in 14:4c. You should translate it similarly to how you translated it there. For example:

to approve as right what he is doing

to establish as approved

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Σύ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην Τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἤ πίπτει σταθήσεται Δέ δυνατεῖ γάρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν)

Paul is using a question to emphasize that Christians should not judge each other. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: [You have no right to judge a household slave belonging to another!]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / youcrowd

σὺ

Even though Paul is writing to a group of people, you here is singular. If the singular form would not be natural in your language for someone who was speaking to a group of people, you could use the plural form of you in your translation.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην

another’s house_servant

Paul speaks of any Christian as if he were a household slave who belongs to another. He means that all Christians belong to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [someone who belongs to God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ

Paul speaks of God as if he were a master who owns slaves. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [To God, who is his master,]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει σταθήσεται δέ, δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν

This could mean: (1) stands and stand refer to pleasing God, and falls refers to not pleasing God. Alternate translation: [He pleases or does not please his own master. But he will be made to please God, for the Lord is able to make him be pleasing] (2) stands and stand refer to being accepted by God at the final judgment, and falls refers to being condemned by God at the final judgment. Alternate translation: [He will either be approved or condemned by his own master. But he will be approved by God, for the Lord is able to approve him]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

σταθήσεται

˱he˲_˓will_be_being˒_stood

If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you can state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [God will make him stand]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

σταθήσεται δέ, δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν

˱he˲_˓will_be_being˒_stood (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Σύ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην Τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἤ πίπτει σταθήσεται Δέ δυνατεῖ γάρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν)

You can translate this in an active form. Alternate translation: [But the Lord will accept him because he is able to make the servant acceptable]

Parallel ROM 14:4

Section 14:1–12: Do not judge/criticize fellow believers and do not despise them

14:4a

14:4b

14:4c

14:4d