2 Corinthians 5-9 (New American Standard Bible)

2 Corinthians 5

The Temporal and Eternal

 ¹For we know that if the ^(A)earthly ^(B)tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house ^(C)not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

 ²For indeed in this house we ^(D)groan, longing to be ^(E)clothed with our dwelling from heaven,

 ³inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.

 ⁴For indeed while we are in this tent, we ^(F)groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be ^(G)clothed, so that what is ^(H)mortal will be swallowed up by life.

 ⁵Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who ^(I)gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

 ⁶Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that ^(J)while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--

 ⁷for ^(K)we walk by faith, not by sight--

 ⁸we are of good courage, I say, and ^(L)prefer rather to be absent from the body and ^(M)to be at home with the Lord.

 ⁹Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be ^(N)pleasing to Him.

 ¹⁰For we must all appear before ^(O)the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 ¹¹Therefore, knowing the ^(P)fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are ^(Q)made manifest also in your consciences.

 ¹²We are not ^(R)again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an ^(S)occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

 ¹³For if we are ^(T)beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

 ¹⁴For the love of Christ ^(U)controls us, having concluded this, that ^(V)one died for all, therefore all died;

 ¹⁵and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer ^(W)live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

 ¹⁶Therefore from now on we recognize no one ^(X)according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

 ¹⁷Therefore if anyone is ^(Y)in Christ, he is ^(Z)a new creature; ^(AA)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

 ¹⁸Now ^(AB)all these things are from God, ^(AC)who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ^(AD)ministry of reconciliation,

 ¹⁹namely, that ^(AE)God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, ^(AF)not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

 ²⁰Therefore, we are ^(AG)ambassadors for Christ, ^(AH)as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be ^(AI)reconciled to God.

 ²¹He made Him who ^(AJ)knew no sin to be ^(AK)sin on our behalf, so that we might become the ^(AL)righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 6

Their Ministry Commended

 ¹And ^(AM)working together with Him, ^(AN)we also urge you not to receive ^(AO)the grace of God in vain--

 ²for He says,
         "^(AP)AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,
         AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU."
         Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"--

 ^3(AQ)giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,

 ⁴but in everything ^(AR)commending ourselves as ^(AS)servants of God, ^(AT)in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,

 ⁵in ^(AU)beatings, in imprisonments, in ^(AV)tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^(AW)hunger,

 ⁶in purity, in ^(AX)knowledge, in ^(AY)patience, in kindness, in the ^(AZ)Holy Spirit, in ^(BA)genuine love,

 ⁷in ^(BB)the word of truth, in ^(BC)the power of God; by ^(BD)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,

 ⁸by glory and ^(BE)dishonor, by ^(BF)evil report and good report; regarded as ^(BG)deceivers and yet ^(BH)true;

 ⁹as unknown yet well-known, as ^(BI)dying yet behold, ^(BJ)we live; as punished yet not put to death,

 ¹⁰as ^(BK)sorrowful yet always ^(BL)rejoicing, as ^(BM)poor yet making many rich, as ^(BN)having nothing yet possessing ^(BO)all things.

 ^11(BP)Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our ^(BQ)heart is opened wide.

 ¹²You are not restrained by us, but ^(BR)you are restrained in your own affections.

 ¹³Now in a like ^(BS)exchange--I speak as to ^(BT)children--open wide to us also.

 ^14(BU)Do not be bound together with ^(BV)unbelievers; for what ^(BW)partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?

 ¹⁵Or what ^(BX)harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a ^(BY)believer in common with an ^(BZ)unbeliever?

 ¹⁶Or ^(CA)what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are ^(CB)the temple of ^(CC)the living God; just as God said,
         "^(CD)I WILL ^(CE)DWELL IN THEM AND ^(CF)WALK AMONG THEM;
         AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
    ¹⁷"^(CG)Therefore, ^(CH)COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord.
         "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
         And I will welcome you.
    ¹⁸"^(CI)And I will be a father to you,
         And you shall be ^(CJ)sons and daughters to Me,"
         Says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 7

Paul Reveals His Heart

 ¹Therefore, having these promises, ^(CK)beloved, ^(CL)let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

 ^2(CM)Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.

 ³I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said ^(CN)before that you are ^(CO)in our hearts to die together and to live together.

 ⁴Great is my ^(CP)confidence in you; great is my ^(CQ)boasting on your behalf I am filled with ^(CR)comfort; I am overflowing with ^(CS)joy in all our affliction.

 ⁵For even when we came into ^(CT)Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were ^(CU)afflicted on every side: ^(CV)conflicts without, fears within.

 ⁶But ^(CW)God, who comforts the depressed, ^(CX)comforted us by the coming of ^(CY)Titus;

 ⁷and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

 ⁸For though I ^(CZ)caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--

 ⁹I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.

 ¹⁰For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a ^(DA)repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

 ¹¹For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what ^(DB)longing, what zeal, what ^(DC)avenging of wrong! In everything you ^(DD)demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

 ¹²So although ^(DE)I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of ^(DF)the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.

 ¹³For this reason we have been ^(DG)comforted And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of ^(DH)Titus, because his ^(DI)spirit has been refreshed by you all.

 ¹⁴For if in anything I have ^(DJ)boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before ^(DK)Titus proved to be the truth.

 ¹⁵His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the ^(DL)obedience of you all, how you received him with ^(DM)fear and trembling.

 ¹⁶I rejoice that in everything ^(DN)I have confidence in you.

2 Corinthians 8

Great Generosity

 ¹Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been ^(DO)given in the churches of ^(DP)Macedonia,

 ²that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^(DQ)wealth of their liberality.

 ³For I testify that ^(DR)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,

 ⁴begging us with much urging for the ^(DS)favor of participation in the ^(DT)support of the saints,

 ⁵and this, not as we had expected, but they first ^(DU)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^(DV)the will of God.

 ⁶So we ^(DW)urged ^(DX)Titus that as he had previously ^(DY)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^(DZ)this gracious work as well.

 ⁷But just as you ^(EA)abound ^(EB)in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the ^[a]love we inspired in you, see that you ^(EC)abound in this gracious work also.

 ⁸I ^(ED)am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.

 ⁹For you know ^(EE)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(EF)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

 ¹⁰I ^(EG)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin ^(EH)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.

 ¹¹But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the ^(EI)readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.

 ¹²For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable ^(EJ)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

 ¹³For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality--

 ¹⁴at this present time your abundance being a supply for ^(EK)their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for ^(EL)your need, that there may be equality;

 ¹⁵as it is written, "^(EM)HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK."

 ¹⁶But ^(EN)thanks be to God who ^(EO)puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of ^(EP)Titus.

 ¹⁷For he not only accepted our ^(EQ)appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.

 ¹⁸We have sent along with him ^(ER)the brother whose fame in the things of the ^(ES)gospel has spread through ^(ET)all the churches;

 ^19(EU)and not only this, but he has also been ^(EV)appointed by the churches to travel with us in ^(EW)this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our ^(EX)readiness,

 ²⁰taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift;

 ²¹for we ^(EY)have regard for what is honorable, not only in ^(EZ)the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

 ²²We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.

 ²³As for ^(FA)Titus, he is my ^(FB)partner and fellow worker among you; as for our ^(FC)brethren, they are ^(FD)messengers of the churches, ^(FE)a glory to Christ.

 ²⁴Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our ^(FF)reason for boasting about you.

2 Corinthians 9

God Gives Most

 ¹For ^(FG)it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ^(FH)ministry to the saints;

 ²for I know your readiness, of which I ^(FI)boast about you to the ^(FJ)Macedonians, namely, that ^(FK)Achaia has been prepared since ^(FL)last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

 ³But I have sent the brethren, in order that our ^(FM)boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, ^(FN)as I was saying, you may be prepared;

 ⁴otherwise if any ^(FO)Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to speak of you--will be put to shame by this confidence.

 ⁵So I thought it necessary to urge the ^(FP)brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised ^(FQ)bountiful gift, so that the same would be ready as a ^(FR)bountiful gift and not ^(FS)affected by covetousness.

 ⁶Now this I say, ^(FT)he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

 ⁷Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not ^(FU)grudgingly or under compulsion, for ^(FV)God loves a cheerful giver.

 ⁸And ^(FW)God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

 ⁹as it is written,
         "^(FX)HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR,
         HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER."

 ¹⁰Now He who supplies ^(FY)seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and ^(FZ)increase the harvest of your righteousness;

 ¹¹you will be ^(GA)enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing ^(GB)thanksgiving to God.

 ¹²For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying ^(GC)the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing ^(GD)through many thanksgivings to God.

 ¹³Because of the proof given by this ^(GE)ministry, they will ^(GF)glorify God for your obedience to your ^(GG)confession of the ^(GH)gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,

 ¹⁴while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

 ^15(GI)Thanks be to God for His indescribable ^(GJ)gift!