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. ¹ 

Malachi 2:8

2:8 You, however, have turned from the way. You have caused many to violate the law; ²  you have corrupted the covenant with Levi,” ³  says the Lord who rules over all.

Matthew 16:23

16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” ⁴ 

Matthew 18:7-10

18:7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It ⁵  is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come. 18:8 If ⁶  your hand or your foot causes you to sin, ⁷  cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have ⁸  two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than to have ⁹  two eyes and be thrown into fiery hell. ¹⁰ 

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

18:10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Luke 17:1-2

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service

17:1 Jesus ¹¹  said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe ¹²  to the one through whom they come! 17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone ¹³  tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea ¹⁴  than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ¹⁵ 

Philippians 1:10

1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

Hebrews 12:13

12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, ¹⁶  so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.

Revelation 2:14

2:14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam, ¹⁷  who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block ¹⁸  before the people ¹⁹  of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality. ²⁰ 

¹ tn Grk “brother.”

² tn The definite article embedded within בַּתּוֹרָה (battorah) may suggest that the Torah is in mind and not just “ordinary” priestly instruction, though it might refer to the instruction previously mentioned (v. 7).

³ tn Or “the Levitical covenant.”

⁴ tn Grk “people.”

⁵ tn Grk “For it.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁷ sn In Greek there is a wordplay that is difficult to reproduce in English here. The verb translated “causes…to sin” (σκανδαλίζω, skandalizw) comes from the same root as the word translated “stumbling blocks” (σκάνδαλον, skandalon) in the previous verse.

⁸ tn Grk “than having.”

⁹ tn Grk “than having.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “the Gehenna of fire.”

¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹² sn See Luke 6:24-26.

¹³ tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).

¹⁴ tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”

¹⁵ tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.

¹⁶ sn A quotation from Prov 4:26. The phrase make straight paths for your feet is figurative for “stay on God’s paths.”

¹⁷ sn See Num 22-24; 31:16.

¹⁸ tn That is, a cause for sinning. An alternate translation is “who instructed Balak to cause the people of Israel to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols…”

¹⁹ tn Grk “sons,” but the expression υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ (Juioi Israhl) is an idiom for the people of Israel as an ethnic entity (see L&N 11.58).

²⁰ tn Due to the actual events in the OT (Num 22-24; 31:16), πορνεῦσαι (porneusai) is taken to mean “sexual immorality.” BDAG 854 s.v. πορνεύω 1 states, “engage in illicit sex, to fornicate, to whore…W. φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα ‘eat meat offered to idols’ Rv 2:14, 20.”