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2 Corinthians
1 |
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Paul,
an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout
Achaia: {2} Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ. {3} Praise be to the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
{4} who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort
those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from
God. {5} For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our
lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. {6} If we
are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are
comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient
endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. {7} And our hope for
you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,
so also you share in our comfort. {8} We do not want you to be
uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of
Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so
that we despaired even of life. {9} Indeed, in our hearts we felt
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on
ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. {10} He has delivered
us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set
our hope that he will continue to deliver us, {11} as you help us
by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the
gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. {12}
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted
ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the
holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according
to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace. {13} For we do
not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that,
{14} as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand
fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day
of the Lord Jesus. {15} Because I was confident of this, I
planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. {16}
I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you
from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. {17}
When I planned this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a
worldly manner so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No,
no"? {18} But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is
not "Yes" and "No." {19} For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who
was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and
"No," but in him it has always been "Yes." {20} For no matter how
many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him
the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. {21} Now it is
God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,
{22} set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our
hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. {23} I call
God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not
return to Corinth. {24} Not that we lord it over your faith, but
we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm. |
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2 Corinthians
2 |
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So I
made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
{2} For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I
have grieved? {3} I wrote as I did so that when I came I should
not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had
confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. {4}
For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many
tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for
you. {5} If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved
me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent--not to put it too
severely. {6} The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is
sufficient for him. {7} Now instead, you ought to forgive and
comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
{8} I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. {9}
The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be
obedient in everything. {10} If you forgive anyone, I also
forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to
forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, {11}
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of
his schemes. {12} Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel
of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, {13}
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus
there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. {14}
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in
Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge
of him. {15} For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those
who are being saved and those who are perishing. {16} To the one
we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who
is equal to such a task? {17} Unlike so many, we do not peddle
the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before
God with sincerity, like men sent from God. |
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2 Corinthians 3 |
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Are
we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some
people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? {2} You
yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by
everybody. {3} You show that you are a letter from Christ, the
result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the
living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
{4} Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.
{5} Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for
ourselves, but our competence comes from God. {6} He has made us
competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the
Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. {7} Now
if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on
stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily
at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, {8}
will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? {9}
If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more
glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! {10} For what
was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.
{11} And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater
is the glory of that which lasts! {12} Therefore, since we have
such a hope, we are very bold. {13} We are not like Moses, who
would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it
while the radiance was fading away. {14} But their minds were
made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant
is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken
away. {15} Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers
their hearts. {16} But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the
veil is taken away. {17} Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. {18} And we, who
with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed
into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord,
who is the Spirit. |
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2 Corinthians 4 |
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Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not
lose heart. {2} Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful
ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the
contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to
every man's conscience in the sight of God. {3} And even if our
gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. {4}
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they
cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God. {5} For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus
Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. {6}
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light
shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Christ. {7} But we have this treasure in
jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not
from us. {8} We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not in despair; {9} persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed. {10} We always carry around in
our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
revealed in our body. {11} For we who are alive are always being
given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in
our mortal body. {12} So then, death is at work in us, but life
is at work in you. {13} It is written: "I believed; therefore I
have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and
therefore speak, {14} because we know that the one who raised the
Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us
with you in his presence. {15} All this is for your benefit, so
that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause
thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. {16} Therefore we
do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we
are being renewed day by day. {17} For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them
all. {18} So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. |
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2 Corinthians
5 |
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Now we
know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a
building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
{2} Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly
dwelling, {3} because when we are clothed, we will not be found
naked. {4} For while we are in this tent, we groan and are
burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with
our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by
life. {5} Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and
has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
{6} Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we
are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. {7} We live by
faith, not by sight. {8} We are confident, I say, and would
prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. {9} So
we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or
away from it. {10} For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things
done while in the body, whether good or bad. {11} Since, then, we
know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is
plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. {12}
We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving
you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who
take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. {13}
If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in
our right mind, it is for you. {14} For Christ's love compels us,
because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
{15} And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live
for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
{16} So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.
Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. {17}
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come! {18} All this is from God, who reconciled
us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
{19} that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message
of reconciliation. {20} We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as
though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's
behalf: Be reconciled to God. {21} God made him who had no sin to
be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. |
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2 Corinthians 6 |
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As
God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.
{2} For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the
day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's
favor, now is the day of salvation. {3} We put no stumbling block
in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. {4}
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in
great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; {5} in
beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and
hunger; {6} in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in
the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; {7} in truthful speech and
in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and
in the left; {8} through glory and dishonor, bad report and good
report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; {9} known, yet
regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not
killed; {10} sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making
many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. {11} We
have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to
you. {12} We are not withholding our affection from you, but you
are withholding yours from us. {13} As a fair exchange--I speak
as to my children--open wide your hearts also. {14} Do not be
yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and
wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with
darkness? {15} What harmony is there between Christ and Belial ?
What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? {16} What
agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the
temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and
walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
{17} "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." {18} "I will be
a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty." |
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2 Corinthians 7 |
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Since
we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from
everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of
reverence for God. {2} Make room for us in your hearts. We have
wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.
{3} I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you
have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.
{4} I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am
greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. {5}
For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but
we were harassed at every turn--conflicts on the outside, fears within.
{6} But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming
of Titus, {7} and not only by his coming but also by the comfort
you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep
sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than
ever. {8} Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not
regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but
only for a little while-- {9} yet now I am happy, not because you
were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you
became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by
us. {10} Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation
and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. {11} See
what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what
eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what
longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every
point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. {12}
So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who
did the wrong or of the injured party, but rather that before God you
could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. {13} By all
this we are encouraged. In addition to our own encouragement, we were
especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, because his spirit has
been refreshed by all of you. {14} I had boasted to him about
you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to
you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true
as well. {15} And his affection for you is all the greater when
he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and
trembling. {16} I am glad I can have complete confidence in you. |
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2 Corinthians 8 |
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And
now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given
the Macedonian churches. {2} Out of the most severe trial, their
overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
{3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even
beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, {4} they urgently
pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the
saints. {5} And they did not do as we expected, but they gave
themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
{6} So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to
bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. {7} But
just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in
complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel
in this grace of giving. {8} I am not commanding you, but I want
to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness
of others. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you
through his poverty might become rich. {10} And here is my advice
about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first
not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. {11} Now
finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched
by your completion of it, according to your means. {12} For if
the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one
has, not according to what he does not have. {13} Our desire is
not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that
there might be equality. {14} At the present time your plenty
will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply
what you need. Then there will be equality, {15} as it is
written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who
gathered little did not have too little." {16} I thank God, who
put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. {17}
For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with
much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. {18} And we are
sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches
for his service to the gospel. {19} What is more, he was chosen
by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we
administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness
to help. {20} We want to avoid any criticism of the way we
administer this liberal gift. {21} For we are taking pains to do
what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of
men. {22} In addition, we are sending with them our brother who
has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even
more so because of his great confidence in you. {23} As for
Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our
brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to
Christ. {24} Therefore show these men the proof of your love and
the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it. |
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2 Corinthians 9 |
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There
is no need for me to write to you about this service to the saints.
{2} For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting
about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in
Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them
to action. {3} But I am sending the brothers in order that our
boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you
may be ready, as I said you would be. {4} For if any Macedonians
come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to say anything about
you--would be ashamed of having been so confident. {5} So I
thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and
finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it
will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. {6}
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows generously will also reap generously. {7} Each man
should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. {8} And God is
able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all
times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
{9} As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the
poor; his righteousness endures forever." {10} Now he who
supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and
increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your
righteousness. {11} You will be made rich in every way so that
you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God. {12} This service that you
perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also
overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. {13} Because of
the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for
the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ,
and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
{14} And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you,
because of the surpassing grace God has given you. {15} Thanks be
to God for his indescribable gift! |
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2 Corinthians 10 |
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By the
meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you--I, Paul, who am
"timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away! {2} I
beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be
toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this
world. {3} For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as
the world does. {4} The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish
strongholds. {5} We demolish arguments and every pretension that
sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ. {6} And we will be ready
to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
{7} You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is
confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we
belong to Christ just as much as he. {8} For even if I boast
somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up
rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. {9} I
do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
{10} For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in
person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing." {11}
Such people should realise that what we are in our letters when we
are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. {12}
We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend
themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare
themselves with themselves, they are not wise. {13} We, however,
will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to
the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
{14} We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case
if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel
of Christ. {15} Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of
work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow,
our area of activity among you will greatly expand, {16} so that
we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want
to boast about work already done in another man's territory. {17}
But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." {18} For it is not
the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord
commends. |
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2 Corinthians 11 |
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I hope
you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already
doing that. {2} I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I
promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a
pure virgin to him. {3} But I am afraid that just as Eve was
deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray
from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. {4} For if someone
comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or
if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a
different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily
enough. {5} But I do not think I am in the least inferior to
those "super-apostles." {6} I may not be a trained speaker, but I
do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every
way. {7} Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate
you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? {8} I
robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.
{9} And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden
to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I
needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and
will continue to do so. {10} As surely as the truth of Christ is
in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine.
{11} Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! {12} And
I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from
under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in
the things they boast about. {13} For such men are false
apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. {14}
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
{15} It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as
servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
{16} I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then
receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.
{17} In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord
would, but as a fool. {18} Since many are boasting in the way the
world does, I too will boast. {19} You gladly put up with fools
since you are so wise! {20} In fact, you even put up with anyone
who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes
himself forward or slaps you in the face. {21} To my shame I
admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast
about--I am speaking as a fool--I also dare to boast about. {22}
Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they
Abraham's descendants? So am I. {23} Are they servants of Christ?
(I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much
harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and
been exposed to death again and again. {24} Five times I received
from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. {25} Three times I was
beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I
spent a night and a day in the open sea, {26} I have been
constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger
from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles;
in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and
in danger from false brothers. {27} I have laboured and toiled
and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and
have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. {28}
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all
the churches. {29} Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is
led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? {30} If I must boast, I
will boast of the things that show my weakness. {31} The God and
Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am
not lying. {32} In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had
the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. {33}
But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped
through his hands. |
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2 Corinthians 12 |
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I must
go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to
visions and revelations from the Lord. {2} I know a man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was
in the body or out of the body I do not know--God knows. {3} And
I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do
not know, but God knows-- {4} was caught up to paradise. He heard
inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. {5}
I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about
myself, except about my weaknesses. {6} Even if I should choose
to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth.
But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what
I do or say. {7} To keep me from becoming conceited because of
these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my
flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. {8} Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. {9} But he said to
me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all
the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on
me. {10} That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses,
in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I
am weak, then I am strong. {11} I have made a fool of myself, but
you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not
in the least inferior to the "super-apostles," even though I am nothing.
{12} The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and
miracles--were done among you with great perseverance. {13} How
were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a
burden to you? Forgive me this wrong! {14} Now I am ready to
visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because
what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should
not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.
{15} So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and
expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?
{16} Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty
fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! {17} Did I exploit
you through any of the men I sent you? {18} I urged Titus to go
to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did
he? Did we not act in the same spirit and follow the same course?
{19} Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending
ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in
Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.
{20} For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want
you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that
there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions,
slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. {21} I am afraid that
when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be
grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the
impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. |
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2 Corinthians 13 |
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This
will be my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the
testimony of two or three witnesses." {2} I already gave you a
warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while
absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of
the others, {3} since you are demanding proof that Christ is
speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful
among you. {4} For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet
he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's
power we will live with him to serve you. {5} Examine yourselves
to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realise
that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?
{6} And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the
test. {7} Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong.
Not that people will see that we have stood the test but that you will
do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. {8} For
we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. {9}
We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer
is for your perfection. {10} This is why I write these things
when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use
of authority--the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not
for tearing you down. {11} Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for
perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the
God of love and peace will be with you. {12} Greet one another
with a holy kiss. {13} All the saints send their greetings.
{14} May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
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