14:1Go after love; still desiring to have the things which the Spirit gives, but most of all that you may have the prophet's power. 14:2For he who makes use of tongues is not talking to men but to God; because no one has the sense of what he is saying; but in the Spirit he is talking of secret things. 14:3But the word of the prophet gives men knowledge and comfort and strength. 14:4He who makes use of tongues may do good to himself; but he who gives the prophet's word does good to the church. 14:5Now though it is my desire for you all to have the power of tongues, it would give me more pleasure to be hearing the prophet's word from you; for this is a greater thing than using tongues, if the sense is not given at the same time, for the good of the church. 14:6But, now, my brothers, if I come to you using tongues, what profit will it be to you, if I do not give you a revelation, or knowledge, or the word of the prophet, or teaching? 14:7Even things without life, having a voice, such as a music-pipe or other instrument, if they do not give out different sounds, who may be certain what is being played? 14:8For if the war-horn gives out an uncertain note, who will get ready for the fight? 14:9So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air. 14:10There are, it may be, a number of different voices in the world, and no voice is without sense. 14:11But if the sense of the voice is not clear to me, I am like a man from a strange country to him who is talking, and he will be the same to me. 14:12So if you are desiring the things which the Spirit gives, let your minds be turned first to the things which are for the good of the church. 14:13For this reason, let the man who has the power of using tongues make request that he may, at the same time, be able to give the sense. 14:14For if I make use of tongues in my prayers, my spirit makes the prayer, but not my mind. 14:15What then? let my prayer be from the spirit, and equally from the mind; let my song be from the spirit, and equally from mind. 14:16For if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the man who has no knowledge say, So be it, after your prayer, seeing that he has not taken in what you are saying? 14:17For your giving of the blessing is certainly well done, but of no profit to the man without knowledge. 14:18I give praise to God that I am able to make use of tongues more than you all: 14:19But in the church it would be better for me to make use of five words of which the sense was clear, so that others might have profit, than ten thousand words in a strange tongue. 14:20My brothers, do not be children in mind: in evil be as little children, but in mind be of full growth. 14:21In the law it is said, By men of other tongues and by strange lips will my words come to this people; and not even so will they give ear to me, says the Lord. 14:22For this reason tongues are for a sign, not to those who have faith, but to those who have not: but the prophet's word is for those who have faith, and not for the rest who have not. 14:23If, then, the church has come together, and all are using tongues, and there come in men without knowledge or faith, will they not say that you are unbalanced? 14:24But if all are teaching as prophets, and a man without faith or knowledge comes in, he is tested by all, he is judged by all; 14:25The secrets of his heart are made clear; and he will go down on his face and give worship to God, saying that God is truly among you. 14:26What is it then, my brothers? when you come together everyone has a holy song, or a revelation, or a tongue, or is giving the sense of it. Let everything be done for the common good. 14:27If any man makes use of a tongue, let it not be more than two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let someone give the sense: 14:28But if there is no one to give the sense, let him keep quiet in the church; and let his words be to himself and to God. 14:29And let the prophets give their words, but not more than two or three, and let the others be judges of what they say. 14:30But if a revelation is given to another who is seated near, let the first be quiet. 14:31For you may all be prophets in turn so that all may get knowledge and comfort; 14:32And the spirits of the prophets are controlled by the prophets; 14:33For God is not a God whose ways are without order, but a God of peace; as in all the churches of the saints. 14:34Let women keep quiet in the churches: for it is not right for them to be talking; but let them be under control, as it says in the law. 14:35And if they have a desire for knowledge about anything, let them put questions to their husbands privately: for talking in the church puts shame on a woman. 14:36What? was it from you that the word of God went out? or did it only come in to you? 14:37If any man seems to himself to be a prophet or to have the Spirit, let him take note of the things which I am writing to you, as being the word of the Lord. 14:38But if any man is without knowledge, let him be so. 14:39So then, my brothers, let it be your chief desire to be prophets; but let no one be stopped from using tongues. 14:40Let all things be done in the right and ordered way.
15:1Now I am going to make clear to you, my brothers, what the good news was which I gave to you, and which you took, and on which your faith is based, 15:2By which you have salvation; that is to say, the form in which it was given to you, if it is fixed in your minds, and if your faith in it is not without effect. 15:3For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings; 15:4And he was put in the place of the dead; and on the third day he came back from the dead, as it says in the Writings; 15:5And he was seen by Cephas; then by the twelve; 15:6Then by more than five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, but some are sleeping; 15:7Then he was seen by James; then by all the Apostles. 15:8And last of all, as by one whose birth was out of the right time, he was seen by me. 15:9For I am the least of the Apostles, having no right to be named an Apostle, because of my cruel attacks on the church of God. 15:10But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 15:11If then it is I who am the preacher, or they, this is our word, and to this you have given your faith. 15:12Now if the good news says that Christ came back from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no coming back from the dead? 15:13But if there is no coming back from the dead, then Christ has not come back from the dead: 15:14And if Christ did not come again from the dead, then our good news and your faith in it are of no effect. 15:15Yes, and we are seen to be false witnesses of God; because we gave witness of God that by his power Christ came again from the dead: which is not true if there is no coming back from the dead. 15:16For if it is not possible for the dead to come to life again, then Christ has not come to life again: 15:17And if that is so, your faith is of no effect; you are still in your sins. 15:18And, in addition, the dead in Christ have gone to destruction. 15:19If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy. 15:20But now Christ has truly come back from the dead, the first-fruits of those who are sleeping. 15:21For as by man came death, so by man there is a coming back from the dead. 15:22For as in Adam death comes to all, so in Christ will all come back to life. 15:23But every man in his right order: Christ the first-fruits; then those who are Christ's at his coming. 15:24Then comes the end, when he will give up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have put an end to all rule and to all authority and power. 15:25For his rule will go on till he has put all those who are against him under his feet. 15:26The last power to come to an end is death. 15:27For, as it says, He has put all things under his feet. But when he says, All things are put under him, it is clear that it is not said about him who put all things under him. 15:28And when all things have been put under him, then will the Son himself be under him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all. 15:29Again, what will they do who are given baptism for the dead? if the dead do not come back at all, why are people given baptism for them? 15:30And why are we in danger every hour? 15:31Yes, truly, by your pride in me, my brothers in Christ Jesus our Lord, my life is one long death. 15:32If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end. 15:33Do not be tricked by false words: evil company does damage to good behaviour. 15:34Be awake to righteousness and keep yourselves from sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I say this to put you to shame. 15:35But someone will say, How do the dead come back? and with what sort of body do they come? 15:36Foolish man, it is necessary for the seed which you put into the earth to undergo death in order that it may come to life again: 15:37And when you put it into the earth, you do not put in the body which it will be, but only the seed, of grain or some other sort of plant; 15:38But God gives it a body, as it is pleasing to him, and to every seed its special body. 15:39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, and another of fishes. 15:40And there are bodies of heaven and bodies of earth, but the glory of the one is different from that of the other. 15:41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for the glory of one star is different from that of another. 15:42So is it with the coming back from the dead. It is planted in death; it comes again in life: 15:43It is planted in shame; it comes again in glory: feeble when it is planted, it comes again in power: 15:44It is planted a natural body; it comes again as a body of the spirit. If there is a natural body, there is equally a body of the spirit. 15:45And so it is said, The first man Adam was a living soul. The last Adam is a life-giving spirit. 15:46But that which is natural comes before that which is of the spirit. 15:47The first man is from the earth, and of the earth: the second man is from heaven. 15:48Those who are of the earth are like the man who was from the earth: and those who are of heaven are like the one from heaven. 15:49And in the same way as we have taken on us the image of the man from the earth, so we will take on us the image of the one from heaven. 15:50Now I say this, my brothers, that it is not possible for flesh and blood to have a part in the kingdom of God; and death may not have a part in life. 15:51See, I am giving you the revelation of a secret: we will not all come to the sleep of death, but we will all be changed. 15:52In a second, in the shutting of an eye, at the sound of the last horn: for at that sound the dead will come again, free for ever from the power of death, and we will be changed. 15:53For this body which comes to destruction will be made free from the power of death, and the man who is under the power of death will put on eternal life. 15:54But when this has taken place, then that which was said in the Writings will come true, Death is overcome by life. 15:55O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? 15:56The pain of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 15:57But praise be to God who gives us strength to overcome through our Lord Jesus Christ. 15:58For this cause, my dear brothers, be strong in purpose and unmoved, ever giving yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you are certain that your work is not without effect in the Lord.
16:1Now about the giving of money for the saints, as I gave orders to the churches of Galatia, so do you. 16:2On the first day of the week, let every one of you put by him in store, in measure as he has done well in business, so that it may not be necessary to get money together when I come. 16:3And when I come, I will send the men of your selection with letters to take the money you have got together to Jerusalem. 16:4And if it is possible for me to go there, they will go with me. 16:5But I will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for that is my purpose; 16:6But I may be with you for a time, or even for the winter, so that you may see me on my way, wherever I go. 16:7For it is not my desire to see you now, on my way; because it is my hope to be with you for some time, if that is the Lord's pleasure. 16:8But I will be at Ephesus till Pentecost; 16:9For a great and important door there is open to me, and there are a number of people against me. 16:10Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear; because he is doing the Lord's work, even as I am: 16:11See then that he has the honour which is right. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me: for I am looking for him with the brothers. 16:12But as for Apollos, the brother, I had a great desire for him to come to you with the brothers, but it was not his pleasure to come now; but he will come when he has a chance. 16:13Be on the watch, unmoved in the faith, and be strong like men. 16:14Let all you do be done in love. 16:15Now I make my request to you, my brothers, for you have knowledge that the house of Stephanas is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have made themselves the servants of the saints, 16:16That you put yourselves under such, and under everyone who is helping the Lord's work. 16:17And I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for they have done what was needed to make your work complete. 16:18For they gave comfort to my spirit and to yours: for which cause give respect to such people. 16:19The churches of Asia send their love to you. So do Aquila and Prisca, with the church which is in their house. 16:20All the brothers send their love to you. Give one another a holy kiss. 16:21I, Paul, send you these words of love in my writing. 16:22If any man has not love for the Lord, let him be cursed. Maran atha (our Lord comes). 16:23The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 16:24My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. So be it.
2 Corinthians
1:1Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the purpose of God, and Timothy the brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: 1:2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1:3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; 1:4Who gives us comfort in all our troubles, so that we may be able to give comfort to others who are in trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1:5For as we undergo more of the pain which Christ underwent, so through Christ does our comfort become greater. 1:6But if we are troubled, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which takes effect through your quiet undergoing of the same troubles which we undergo: 1:7And our hope for you is certain; in the knowledge that as you take part in the troubles, so you will take part in the comfort. 1:8For it is our desire that you may not be without knowledge of our trouble which came on us in Asia, that the weight of it was very great, more than our power, so that it seemed that we had no hope even of life: 1:9Yes, we ourselves have had the answer of death in ourselves, so that our hope might not be in ourselves, but in God who is able to give life to the dead: 1:10Who gave us salvation from so great a death: on whom we have put our hope that he will still go on to give us salvation; 1:11You at the same time helping together by your prayer for us; so that for what has been given to us through a number of persons, praise may go up to God for us from all of them. 1:12For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God. 1:13For in our letters we say no other things to you, but those which you are reading, and to which you give agreement, and, it is my hope, will go on doing so to the end: 1:14Even as you have been ready, in part, to say that we are your glory, in the same way that you are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1:15And being certain of this, it was my purpose to come to you before, so that you might have a second grace; 1:16And by way of Corinth to go into Macedonia, and from there to come back again to you, so that you might send me on my way to Judaea. 1:17If then I had such a purpose, did I seem to be changing suddenly? or am I guided in my purposes by the flesh, saying, Yes, today, and, No, tomorrow? 1:18As God is true, our word to you is not Yes and No. 1:19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching among you, even I and Silvanus and Timothy, was not Yes and No, but in him is Yes. 1:20For he is the Yes to all the undertakings of God: and by him all the words of God are made certain and put into effect, to the glory of God through us. 1:21Now he who makes our faith strong together with you, in Christ, and has given us of his grace, is God; 1:22And it is he who has put his stamp on us, even the Spirit, as the sign in our hearts of the coming glory. 1:23But God is my witness that it was in pity for you that I did not come to Corinth at that time. 1:24Not that we have authority over your faith, but we are helpers of your joy: for it is faith which is your support.
2:1But it was my decision for myself, not to come again to you with sorrow. 2:2For if I give you sorrow, who then will make me glad, but he who is made sad by me? 2:3And I said this very thing in my letter, for fear that when I came I might have sorrow from those from whom it was right for me to have joy; being certain of this, that my joy is the joy of you all. 2:4For out of much trouble and pain of heart and much weeping I sent my letter to you; not to give you sorrow, but so that you might see how great is the love which I have to you. 2:5But if anyone has been a cause of sorrow, he has been so, not to me only, but in some measure to all of you (I say this that I may not be over-hard on you). 2:6Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him; 2:7So that now, on the other hand, it is right for him to have forgiveness and comfort from you, for fear that his sorrow may be over-great. 2:8For which cause my desire is that you will make your love to him clear by your acts. 2:9And for the same reason I sent you a letter so that I might be certain of your desire to do my orders in all things. 2:10But if you give forgiveness to anyone, I do the same: for if I have given forgiveness for anything, I have done it because of you, in the person of Christ; 2:11So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs. 2:12Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord, 2:13I had no rest in my spirit because Titus my brother was not there: so I went away from them, and came into Macedonia. 2:14But praise be to God who makes us strong to overcome in Christ, and makes clear through us in every place the value of the knowledge of him. 2:15For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those who are getting salvation and in those who are going to destruction; 2:16To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things? 2:17For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.
3:1Do we seem to be again attempting to put ourselves in the right? or have we need, as some have, of letters of approval to you or from you? 3:2You yourselves are our letter, whose writing is in our heart, open for every man's reading and knowledge; 3:3For you are clearly a letter of Christ, the fruit of our work, recorded not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in stone, but in hearts of flesh. 3:4And this is the certain faith which we have in God through Christ: 3:5Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God; 3:6Who has made us able to be servants of a new agreement; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter gives death, but the Spirit gives life. 3:7For if the operation of the law, giving death, recorded in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the eyes of the children of Israel had to be turned away from the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory which was only for a time: 3:8Will not the operation of the Spirit have a much greater glory? 3:9For if the operation of the law, producing punishment, had its glory, how much greater will be the operation of the Spirit causing righteousness? 3:10For the glory of the first no longer seems to be glory, because of the greater glory of that which comes after. 3:11For if the order which was for a time had its glory, much more will the eternal order have its glory. 3:12Having then such a hope, we keep nothing back, 3:13And are not like Moses, who put a veil on his face, so that the children of Israel might not see clearly to the end of the present order of things: 3:14But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old agreement the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ. 3:15But to this day, at the reading of the law of Moses, a veil is over their heart. 3:16But when it is turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. 3:17Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free. 3:18But we all, with unveiled face giving back as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord who is the Spirit.
4:1For this reason, because we have been made servants of this new order, through the mercy given to us, we are strong: 4:2And we have given up the secret things of shame, not walking in false ways, and not making use of the word of God with deceit; but by the revelation of what is true, as before God, we have the approval of every man's sense of right and wrong. 4:3But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction: 4:4Because the god of this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them. 4:5For our preaching is not about ourselves, but about Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants through Jesus. 4:6Seeing that it is God who said, Let light be shining out of the dark, who has put in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 4:7But we have this wealth in vessels of earth, so that it may be seen that the power comes not from us but from God; 4:8Troubles are round us on every side, but we are not shut in; things are hard for us, but we see a way out of them; 4:9We are cruelly attacked, but not without hope; we are made low, but we are not without help; 4:10In our bodies there is ever the mark of the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be seen in our bodies. 4:11For, while living, we are still being given up to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be seen in our flesh, though it is under the power of death. 4:12So then, death is working in us, but life in you. 4:13But having the same spirit of faith, as it is said in the Writings, The words of my mouth came from the faith in my heart; in the same way, our words are the outcome of our faith; 4:14Because we are certain that he who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead, will do the same for us, and will give us a place in his glory with you. 4:15For we go through all things on account of you, because the greater the number to whom the grace is given, the greater is the praise to the glory of God. 4:16For which cause we do not give way to weariness; but though our outer man is getting feebler, our inner man is made new day by day. 4:17For our present trouble, which is only for a short time, is working out for us a much greater weight of glory; 4:18While our minds are not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are for a time; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
5:1For we are conscious that if this our tent of flesh is taken down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in heaven. 5:2For in this we are crying in weariness, greatly desiring to be clothed with our house from heaven: 5:3So that our spirits may not be unclothed. 5:4For truly, we who are in this tent do give out cries of weariness, for the weight of care which is on us; not because we are desiring to be free from the body, but so that we may have our new body, and death may be overcome by life. 5:5Now he who has made us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a witness of what is to come. 5:6So, then, we are ever without fear, and though conscious that while we are in the body we are away from the Lord, 5:7(For we are walking by faith, not by seeing,) 5:8We are without fear, desiring to be free from the body, and to be with the Lord. 5:9For this reason we make it our purpose, in the body or away from it, to be well-pleasing to him. 5:10For we all have to come before Christ to be judged; so that every one of us may get his reward for the things done in the body, good or bad. 5:11Having in mind, then, the fear of the Lord, we put these things before men, but God sees our hearts; and it is my hope that we may seem right in your eyes. 5:12We are not again requesting your approval, but we are giving you the chance of taking pride in us, so that you may be able to give an answer to those whose glory is in seeming, and not in the heart. 5:13For if we are foolish, it is to God; or if we are serious, it is for you. 5:14For it is the love of Christ which is moving us; because we are of the opinion that if one was put to death for all, then all have undergone death; 5:15And that he underwent death for all, so that the living might no longer be living to themselves, but to him who underwent death for them and came back from the dead. 5:16For this reason, from this time forward we have knowledge of no man after the flesh: even if we have had knowledge of Christ after the flesh, we have no longer any such knowledge. 5:17So if any man is in Christ, he is in a new world: the old things have come to an end; they have truly become new. 5:18But all things are of God, who has made us at peace with himself through Christ, and has given to us the work of making peace; 5:19That is, that God was in Christ making peace between the world and himself, not putting their sins to their account, and having given to us the preaching of this news of peace. 5:20So we are the representatives of Christ, as if God was making a request to you through us: we make our request to you, in the name of Christ, be at peace with God. 5:21For him who had no knowledge of sin God made to be sin for us; so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
6:1We then, working together with God, make our request to you not to take the grace of God to no purpose. 6:2(For he says, I have given ear to you at a good time, and I have been your helper in a day of salvation: see, now is the good time; now is the day of salvation): 6:3Giving no cause for trouble in anything, so that no one may be able to say anything against our work; 6:4But in everything making it clear that we are the servants of God, in quiet strength, in troubles, in need, in sorrow, 6:5In blows, in prisons, in attacks, in hard work, in watchings, in going without food; 6:6In a clean heart, in knowledge, in long waiting, in being kind, in the Holy Spirit, in true love, 6:7In the true word, in the power of God; with the arms of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 6:8By glory and by shame, by an evil name and a good name; as untrue, and still true; 6:9Unnoted, but still kept fully in mind; as near to death, but still living; as undergoing punishment, but not put to death; 6:10As full of sorrow, but ever glad; as poor, but giving wealth to others; as having nothing, but still having all things. 6:11Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians, our heart is wide. 6:12It is not our feelings to you which are narrow, but yours to us. 6:13Now to give me back payment of the same sort (I am talking as to my children), let your hearts be wide open to me. 6:14Do not keep company with those who have not faith: for what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark? 6:15And what agreement is there between Christ and the Evil One? or what part has one who has faith with one who has not? 6:16And what agreement has the house of God with images? for we are a house of the living God; even as God has said, I will be living among them, and walking with them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. 6:17For which cause, Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and let no unclean thing come near you; and I will take you for myself, 6:18And will be a Father to you; and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord, the Ruler of all.
7:1Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become completely holy in the fear of God. 7:2Let your hearts be open to us: we have done no man wrong, no man has been damaged by us, we have made no profit out of any man, 7:3It is not with the purpose of judging you that I say this: for I have said before that you are in our hearts for life and death together. 7:4My words to you are without fear, I am full of pride on account of you: I have great comfort and joy in all our troubles. 7:5For even when we had come into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; there were fightings outside and fears inside. 7:6But God who gives comfort to the poor in spirit gave us comfort by the coming of Titus; 7:7And not by his coming only, but by the comfort which he had in you, while he gave us word of your desire, your sorrow, your care for me; so that I was still more glad. 7:8For though my letter gave you pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the letter gave you pain, but only for a time. 7:9Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything. 7:10For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death. 7:11For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business. 7:12So though I sent you a letter, it was not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear in the eyes of God. 7:13So we have been comforted: and we had the greater joy in our comfort because of the joy of Titus, for his spirit had been made glad by you all. 7:14For I was not put to shame in anything in which I may have made clear to him my pride in you; but as we said nothing to you but what was true, so the good things which I said to Titus about you were seen by him to be true. 7:15And his love to you is the more increased by his memory of you all, how you gave way to his authority, and how you took him to your hearts with fear and honour. 7:16It gives me great joy to see you answering to my good opinion of you in every way.
8:1And now we give you news, brothers, about the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia; 8:2How while they were undergoing every sort of trouble, and were in the greatest need, they took all the greater joy in being able to give freely to the needs of others. 8:3For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts, 8:4Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints: 8:5And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God. 8:6So that we made a request to Titus that, as he had made a start before, so he might make this grace complete in you. 8:7And that as you are full of every good thing, of faith, of the word, of knowledge, of a ready mind, and of love to us, so you may be full of this grace in the same way. 8:8I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love. 8:9For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth. 8:10And in this I give my opinion: for it is to your profit, who were the first to make a start a year before, not only to do this, but to make clear that your minds were more than ready to do it. 8:11Then make the doing of it complete; so that as you had a ready mind, you may give effect to it as you are able. 8:12For if there is a ready mind, a man will have God's approval in the measure of what he has, and not of what he has not. 8:13And I am not saying this so that others may get off free, while the weight comes on you: 8:14But so that things may be equal; that from those things of which you have more than enough at the present time their need may be helped, and that if you are in any need they may be a help to you in the same way, making things equal. 8:15As it says in the Writings, He who had taken up much had nothing over and he who had little had enough. 8:16But praise be to God, who puts the same care for you into the heart of Titus. 8:17For while he gladly gave ear to our request, he was interested enough to go to you from the impulse of his heart. 8:18And with him we have sent a brother whose praise in the good news has gone through all the churches; 8:19And not only so, but he was marked out by the churches to go with us in the grace of this giving which we have undertaken to the glory of the Lord and to make clear that our mind was ready: 8:20And so that no man might be able to say anything against us in the business of this giving which has been put into our hands: 8:21For the business has been so ordered by us as to have the approval, not only of the Lord, but of men. 8:22And we have sent with them our brother, whose ready spirit has been made clear to us at times and in ways without number, but it is now all the more so because of the certain faith which he has in you. 8:23If any question comes up about Titus, he is my brother-worker, working with me for you; or about the others, they are the representatives of the churches to the glory of Christ. 8:24Make clear then to them, as representatives of the churches, the quality of your love, and that the things which we have said about you are true.
9:1But there is no need for me to say anything in my letter about the giving to the saints: 9:2For I have before made clear to those of Macedonia my pride in your ready mind, saying to them that Achaia has been ready for a year back; and a great number have been moved to do the same by your example. 9:3But I have sent the brothers, so that the good things we said about you may be seen to be true, and that, as I said, you may be ready: 9:4For fear that, if any from Macedonia come with me, and you are not ready, we (not to say, you) might be put to shame in this thing. 9:5So it seemed to me wise for the brothers to go before, and see that the amount which you had undertaken to give was ready, so that it might be a cause for praise, and not as if we were making profit out of you. 9:6But in the Writings it says, He who puts in only a small number of seeds, will get in the same; and he who puts them in from a full hand, will have produce in full measure from them. 9:7Let every man do after the purpose of his heart; not giving with grief, or by force: for God takes pleasure in a ready giver. 9:8And God is able to give you all grace in full measure; so that ever having enough of all things, you may be full of every good work: 9:9As it is said in the Writings, He has sent out far and wide, he has given to the poor; his righteousness is for ever. 9:10And he who gives seed for putting into the field and bread for food, will take care of the growth of your seed, at the same time increasing the fruits of your righteousness; 9:11Your wealth being increased in everything, with a simple mind, causing praise to God through us. 9:12For this work of giving not only takes care of the needs of the saints, but is the cause of much praise to God; 9:13For when, through this work of giving, they see what you are, they give glory to God for the way in which you have given yourselves to the good news of Christ, and for the wealth of your giving to them and to all; 9:14While their hearts go out to you in love and in prayer for you, because of the great grace of God which is in you. 9:15Praise be to God for what he has given, which words have no power to say.
10:1Now I, Paul, myself make request to you by the quiet and gentle behaviour of Christ, I who am poor in spirit when with you, but who say what is in my mind to you without fear when I am away from you: 10:2Yes, I make my request to you, so that when I am with you I may not have to make use of the authority which may be needed against some to whom we seem to be walking after the flesh. 10:3For though we may be living in the flesh, we are not fighting after the way of the flesh 10:4(For the arms with which we are fighting are not those of the flesh, but are strong before God for the destruction of high places); 10:5Putting an end to reasonings, and every high thing which is lifted up against the knowledge of God, and causing every thought to come under the authority of Christ; 10:6Being ready to give punishment to whatever is against his authority, after you have made it clear that you are completely under his control. 10:7Give attention to the things which are before you. If any man seems to himself to be Christ's, let him keep in mind that we are as much Christ's as he is. 10:8For though I might take pride in our authority (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for your destruction), it will not be a cause of shame to me: 10:9That I may not seem to have the desire of causing you fear by my letters. 10:10For his letters, they say, have weight and are strong; but in body he is feeble, and his way of talking has little force. 10:11Let those who say this keep in mind that, what we are in word by letters when we are away, so will we be in act when we are present. 10:12For we will not make comparison of ourselves with some of those who say good things about themselves: but these, measuring themselves by themselves, and making comparison of themselves with themselves, are not wise. 10:13We will not give glory to ourselves in over-great measure, but after the measure of the rule which God has given us, a measure which comes even to you. 10:14For we have no need to make ourselves seem more than we are, as if our authority did not come as far as to you: for we came even as far as you with the good news of Christ: 10:15Not taking credit to ourselves for what is not our business, that is, for the work of others; but having hope that, with the growth of your faith, we may get the credit for an increase which is the effect of our work, 10:16So that we may be able to go on and take the good news to countries still farther away than you are, and not take credit for another man's work in making things ready to our hand. 10:17But whoever has a desire for glory, let his glory be in the Lord. 10:18For the Lord's approval of a man is not dependent on his opinion of himself, but on the Lord's opinion of him.
11:1Put up with me if I am a little foolish: but, truly, you do put up with me. 11:2For I have a very great care for you: because you have been married by me to one husband, and it is my desire to give you completely holy to Christ. 11:3But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ. 11:4For if anyone comes preaching another Jesus from the one whose preachers we are, or if you have got a different spirit, or a different sort of good news from those which came to you, how well you put up with these things. 11:5For in my opinion, I am in no way less than the most important of the Apostles. 11:6But though I am rough in my way of talking, I am not so in knowledge, as we have made clear to all by our acts among you. 11:7Or did I do wrong in making myself low so that you might be lifted up, because I gave you the good news of God without reward? 11:8I took money from other churches as payment for my work, so that I might be your servant; 11:9And when I was present with you, and was in need, I let no man be responsible for me; for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, gave me whatever was needed; and in everything I kept myself from being a trouble to you, and I will go on doing so. 11:10As the true word of Christ is in me, I will let no man take from me this my cause of pride in the country of Achaia. 11:11Why? because I have no love for you? let God be judge. 11:12But what I do, that I will go on doing, so that I may give no chance to those who are looking for one; so that, in the cause of their pride, they may be seen to be the same as we are. 11:13For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ. 11:14And it is no wonder; for even Satan himself is able to take the form of an angel of light. 11:15So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works. 11:16I say again, Let me not seem foolish to anyone; but if I do, put up with me as such, so that I may take a little glory to myself. 11:17What I am now saying is not by the order of the Lord, but as a foolish person, taking credit to myself, as it seems. 11:18Seeing that there are those who take credit to themselves after the flesh, I will do the same. 11:19For you put up with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves. 11:20You put up with a man if he makes servants of you, if he makes profit out of you, if he makes you prisoners, if he puts himself in a high place, if he gives you blows on the face. 11:21I say this by way of shaming ourselves, as if we had been feeble. But if anyone puts himself forward (I am talking like a foolish person), I will do the same. 11:22Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they of Israel? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 11:23Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death. 11:24Five times the Jews gave me forty blows but one. 11:25Three times I was whipped with rods, once I was stoned, three times the ship I was in came to destruction at sea, a night and a day I have been in the water; 11:26In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; 11:27In hard work and weariness, in frequent watchings, going without food and drink, cold and in need of clothing. 11:28In addition to all the other things, there is that which comes on me every day, the care of all the churches. 11:29Who is feeble and I am not feeble? who is in danger of falling, and I am not angry? 11:30If I have to take credit to myself, I will do so in the things in which I am feeble. 11:31The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise for ever, is witness that the things which I say are true. 11:32In Damascus, the ruler under Aretas the king kept watch over the town of the people of Damascus, in order to take me: 11:33And being let down in a basket from the wall through a window, I got free from his hands.
12:1As it is necessary for me to take glory to myself, though it is not a good thing, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 12:2I have knowledge of a man in Christ, fourteen years back (if he was in the body, or out of the body, I am not able to say, but God only), who was taken up to the third heaven. 12:3And I have knowledge of such a man (if he was in the body, or out of the body, I am not able to say, but God only), 12:4How he was taken up into Paradise, and words came to his ears which may not be said, and which man is not able to say. 12:5On account of such a one I will have glory: for myself I will take no glory, but only in my feeble body. 12:6For if I had a desire to take credit to myself, it would not be foolish, for I would be saying what is true: but I will not, for fear that I might seem to any man more than he sees me to be, or has word from me that I am. 12:7And because the revelations were so very great, in order that I might not be overmuch lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, one sent from Satan to give me pain. 12:8And about this thing I made request to the Lord three times that it might be taken away from me. 12:9And he said to me, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble. Most gladly, then, will I take pride in my feeble body, so that the power of Christ may be on me. 12:10So I take pleasure in being feeble, in unkind words, in needs, in cruel attacks, in troubles, on account of Christ: for when I am feeble, then am I strong. 12:11I have been forced by you to become foolish, though it was right for my praise to have come from you: for in no way was I less than the chief of the Apostles, though I am nothing. 12:12Truly the signs of an Apostle were done among you in quiet strength, with wonders and acts of power. 12:13For what is there in which you were made less than the other churches, but in the one thing that I was not a trouble to you? Let me have forgiveness for this wrong. 12:14This is now the third time that I am ready to come to you; and I will not be a trouble to you: my desire is for you, not for your property: for it is not the children's business to make store for their fathers, but the fathers for the children. 12:15And I will gladly give all I have for your souls. If I have the more love for you, am I to be loved the less? 12:16But let it be so, that I was not a trouble to you myself; but (someone may say) being false, I took you with deceit. 12:17Did I make a profit out of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 12:18I gave orders to Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus make any profit out of you? were we not guided by the same Spirit, in the same ways? 12:19It may seem to you that all this time we have been attempting to put ourselves in the right; but we are saying these things before God in Christ. For all things, dear brothers, are for your profit. 12:20For I have a fear that, when I come, you may not be answering to my desire, and that I may not be answering to yours; that there may be fighting, hate, angry feeling, divisions, evil talk about others, secrets, thoughts of pride, outbursts against authority; 12:21And that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.
13:1This is the third time that I am coming to you. From the mouth of two or three witnesses will every word be made certain. 13:2I said before, and still say it before I come, as being present for the second time, though I am still away from you, to those who have done wrong before, and to all the others, that if I come again I will not have pity; 13:3Seeing that you are looking for a sign of Christ giving out his word in me; who is not feeble in relation to you, but is strong in you: 13:4For he was feeble in that he was put to death on the cross, but he is living by the power of God. And we are feeble in him, but we will be living with him through the power of God in relation to you. 13:5Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's? 13:6But it is my hope that you will have no doubt that we are truly Christ's. 13:7Now our prayer to God is that you may do no evil; not in order that it may be put to our credit, but so that you may do what is right, whatever we may seem. 13:8Because we are able to do nothing against what is true, but only for it. 13:9For we are glad when we are feeble and you are strong: and this is our prayer, even that you may be made complete. 13:10For this cause I am writing these things while I am away, so that there may be need for me, when I am present, to make use of sharp measures, by the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for destruction. 13:11Let this be my last word, brothers; be glad; be complete; be comforted; be of the same mind; be at peace with one another: and the God of love and peace will be with you. 13:12Give one another a holy kiss. 13:13All the saints send their love to you. 13:14The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the harmony of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Galatians
1:1Paul, an Apostle (not from men, and not through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who made him come back from the dead), 1:2And all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 1:3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 1:4Who gave himself for our sins, so that he might make us free from this present evil world, after the purpose of our God and Father: 1:5To whom be the glory for ever and ever. So be it. 1:6I am surprised that you are being so quickly turned away from him whose word came to you in the grace of Christ, to good news of a different sort; 1:7Which is not another sort: only there are some who give you trouble, desiring to make changes in the good news of Christ. 1:8But even if we, or an angel from heaven, were to be a preacher to you of good news other than that which we have given you, let there be a curse on him. 1:9As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man is a preacher to you of any good news other than that which has been given to you, let there be a curse on him. 1:10Am I now using arguments to men, or God? or is it my desire to give men pleasure? if I was still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 1:11Because I say to you, my brothers, that the good news of which I was the preacher is not man's. 1:12For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. 1:13For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it: 1:14And I went farther in the Jews' religion than a number of my generation among my countrymen, having a more burning interest in the beliefs handed down from my fathers. 1:15But when it was the good pleasure of God, by whom I was marked out even from my mother's body, through his grace, 1:16To give the revelation of his Son in me, so that I might give the news of him to the Gentiles; then I did not take the opinion of flesh and blood, 1:17And I went not up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me; but I went away into Arabia, and again I came back to Damascus. 1:18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Cephas, and was there with him fifteen days. 1:19But of the other Apostles I saw only James, the Lord's brother. 1:20Now God is witness that the things which I am writing to you are true. 1:21Then I came to the parts of Syria and Cilicia. 1:22And the churches of Judaea which were in Christ still had no knowledge of my face or person: 1:23Only it came to their ears that he who at one time was cruel to us is now preaching the faith which before had been attacked by him; 1:24And they gave glory to God in me.
2:1Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. 2:2And I went up by revelation; and I put before them the good news which I was preaching among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were of good name, so that the work which I was or had been doing might not be without effect. 2:3But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was made to undergo circumcision: 2:4And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us; 2:5To whom we gave way not even for an hour; so that the true words of the good news might still be with you. 2:6But from those who seemed to be important (whatever they were has no weight with me: God does not take man's person into account): those who seemed to be important gave nothing new to me; 2:7But, quite the opposite, when they saw that I had been made responsible for preaching the good news to those without circumcision, even as Peter had been for those of the circumcision 2:8(Because he who was working in Peter as the Apostle of the circumcision was working no less in me among the Gentiles); 2:9When they saw the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who had the name of being pillars, gave to me and Barnabas their right hands as friends so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision; 2:10Only it was their desire that we would give thought to the poor; which very thing I had much in mind to do. 2:11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I made a protest against him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 2:12For before certain men came from James, he did take food with the Gentiles: but when they came, he went back and made himself separate, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 2:13And the rest of the Jews went after him, so that even Barnabas was overcome by their false ways. 2:14But when I saw that they were not living uprightly in agreement with the true words of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, are living like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how will you make the Gentiles do the same as the Jews? 2:15We being Jews by birth, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 2:16Being conscious that a man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get righteousness by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness. 2:17But if, while we were desiring to get righteousness through Christ, we ourselves were seen to be sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? In no way! 2:18For if I put up again those things which I gave to destruction, I am seen to be a wrongdoer. 2:19For I, through the law, have become dead to the law, so that I might be living to God. 2:20I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, gave himself up for me. 2:21I do not make the grace of God of no effect: because if righteousness is through the law, then Christ was put to death for nothing.