14:23a

the one who has doubts is condemned: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊God⌋ has condemned whoever has doubts

doubts: This word refers to not being certain about something. A person thinks that maybe it is good but maybe it is bad. Or a person thinks that maybe it is right or maybe wrong.

is condemned: The Greek tense indicates that God has already condemned this person and that condemnation remains in effect. But the actual punishment may occur later. The present tense does not indicate that the punishment is occurring at this moment.

condemned: This word usually indicates that a judge has decided how to punish the guilty person. Here are other ways to translate this word:

determined the punishment
-or-
will give him pain/punishment

However, here it does not refer to God sending someone to hell, so your translation should not indicate that. See how you translated this word in 2:1 or 8:34.

he eats: It is implied here that this person eats food that he doubts it is right for him to eat. In some languages a literal translation would refer generally to any food. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Explain in your translation. For example:

he eats ⌊those foods he is not sure that they are clean⌋ ⌊before God⌋

• Translate the literal meaning only and explain the meaning in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

This person eats food that he thinks it is wrong for him to eat. He thinks that maybe God has forbidden him to eat it.

14:23b

his eating: This refers to the person with doubts about eating certain foods but he eats those foods anyway. Some languages cannot use the noun eating here. If that is true in your language, use a verb. For example:

when he eats ⌊like that⌋

faith: The meaning is the same as “belief” in 14:22a.

14:23c

and: The Greek word here is usually translated as and or “but.” It introduces a general principle related to what Paul wrote about in 14:23a–b. Introduce the rest of 14:23c in a way that indicates that. For example:

For (English Standard Version)
-or-
Anything that is… (God’s Word)

that is not from: The Greek is literally “(is) not out of.” If a believer does something because he doubts rather than because he believes in Jesus, then he is sinning. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:

does not come from (New International Version)
-or-
anything that is not based on faith is sin (Good News Translation)

faith: In this general principle, the word faith would refer generally to all that one believes about Jesus and God.

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