• Romans 14:4
    The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures

    • 4 σὺ You τίς who εἶ are ὁ the (one) κρίνων judging ἀλλότριον another’s οἰκέτην; house servant? τῷ To the ἰδίῳ own κυρίῳ lord στήκει he is standing ἢ or πίπτει· he is falling; σταθήσεται he will stand δέ, but, δυνατεῖ is powerful γὰρ for ὁ the κύριος Lord στῆσαι to make stand αὐτόν. him.

  • Romans 14:4
    King James Version

    • 4 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.

  • Romans 14:4
    American Standard Version

    • 4 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.

  • Romans 14:4
    The Bible in Living English

    • 4 Who are you that are passing judgment on somebody else’s servant? it is to his own master he stands or falls. And he will be kept standing, for God is powerful to keep him standing.

  • Romans Study Notes—Chapter 14
    New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)

    • 14:4

      Who are you to judge the servant of another?: In this passage (Ro 14:1-12), Paul makes it clear that Christians are not to judge one another in matters of conscience. Christians in the Rome congregation came from a variety of cultural backgrounds, and some were judging their fellow believers for decisions and actions that did not violate Bible principles. The preceding verse (Ro 14:3) states that “God has welcomed” both “the one eating” and “the one not eating.” Paul’s question here in verse 4 reminded his fellow believers to recognize that Jehovah was supporting the person they were judging. Paul uses an illustration of a household servant and his master. The master had the exclusive right to establish rules for and restrictions on his servant, to assign him duties, to retain or discharge him. Anyone else assuming this responsibility on his own would be considered presumptuous, and the master could rightfully say to him: ‘Who do you think you are?’ In a similar way, each Christian is responsible before God, his Master, in matters of conscience. No Christian has the right to judge his brother because that brother belongs exclusively to God.

      Jehovah: Available Greek manuscripts use the term “the Lord” (Greek, ho Kyʹri·os) here. However, as explained in App. C, there are good reasons to believe that the divine name was originally used in this verse and later replaced by the title Lord. The context shows that reference is made to Jehovah God. In this account at Ro 14:1-12, Paul discusses the importance of not judging one another in matters of conscience. At Ro 14:10, he mentions that each one will “stand before the judgment seat of God.” To support his argument, Paul at Ro 14:11 quotes from Isa 45:23, where the context shows that Jehovah God is the one speaking (Isa 45:18-22), and from Isa 49:18, where the divine name appears. (See study note on Ro 14:11.) At Ro 14:12, Paul concludes by saying: “So, then, each of us will render an account for himself to God.” Therefore, both the context and the Hebrew Scripture background support the use of the name Jehovah in the main text.​—See App. C3 introduction; Ro 14:4.

      make him stand: That is, make him succeed and retain the approval of his master. The term “stand” is used in a similar sense at Lu 21:36.