Matthew 18:7

18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It 1  is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.

Isaiah 8:14

8:14 He will become a sanctuary, 2 

but a stone that makes a person trip,

and a rock that makes one stumble –

to the two houses of Israel. 3 

He will become 4  a trap and a snare

to the residents of Jerusalem. 5 

Romans 14:13

Exhortation for the Strong not to Destroy the Weak

14:13 Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister. 6 

Romans 14:21

14:21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 7 

1 tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

2 tn Because the metaphor of protection (“sanctuary”) does not fit the negative mood that follows in vv. 14b-15, some contend that מִקְדָּשׁ (miqdash, “sanctuary”) is probably a corruption of an original מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), a word that appears in the next line (cf. NAB and H. Wildberger, Isaiah, 1:355-56). If the MT reading is retained (as in the above translation), the fact that Yahweh is a sanctuary wraps up the point of v. 13 and stands in contrast to God’s treatment of those who rebel against him (the rest of v. 14).

3 sn The two “houses” of Israel (= the patriarch Jacob) are the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

4 tn These words are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. וְהָיָה (vÿhayah, “and he will be”) does double duty in the parallel structure of the verse.

5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

6 tn Grk “brother.”

7 tc A large number of mss, some of them quite important (Ì46vid א2 B D F G Ψ 0209 33 1881 Ï lat sa), read “or to be offended or to be made weak” after “to stumble.” The shorter reading “to stumble” is found only in Alexandrian mss (א* A C 048 81 945 1506 1739 pc bo). Although external evidence favors inclusion, internal evidence points to a scribal expansion, perhaps reminiscent of 1 Cor 8:11-13. The shorter reading is therefore preferred.