2 Corinthians 10 Cross References - Goodspeed

¹ I appeal to you personally, by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ—the Paul who is so humble when face to face with you, but so bold in dealing with you when he is far away! ² I beg you not to make me take as bold an attitude when I come, as I count on taking toward some people who suspect me of acting from worldly motives. ³ For though I do live an earthly life, I am not carrying on an earthly war, ⁴ for the weapons I use are not earthly ones, but divinely strong for destroying fortresses. ⁵ I destroy arguments and every obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God, and I take captive every thought and make it obey Christ, ⁶ and am prepared to punish any trace of disobedience when you have made your obedience perfectly clear. ⁷ You look at things externally. If anyone is sure he belongs to Christ, let him think again and understand that I belong to Christ just as much as he. ⁸ For suppose I do boast a little too much of my authority—which the Lord gave me to build you up, not to pull you down—I will not have to blush for it. ⁹ I do not want to seem to scare you with my letters. ¹⁰ For they say, "His letters are impressive and telling, but his personal appearance is insignificant and as a speaker he amounts to nothing." ¹¹ Such people had better understand that when I arrive and take action I will do just as I say I will in my letters when I am far away. ¹² I do not indeed venture to class or compare myself with certain individuals who approve of themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense. ¹³ But my boasting will not be extravagant, nor exceed the limits God has allowed me, which reach all the way to you. ¹⁴ It is no strain for me to do this, as it might be for people who had never got so far, for I was the first to come all the way to you with the good news of the Christ. ¹⁵ I do not indulge in extravagant boasts over work done by others, but I do hope that as your faith increases, my influence may be immensely enlarged through you, ¹⁶ and I may preach the gospel in the lands beyond you without having to boast over work already done in another's field. ¹⁷ But let the man who boasts, boast about the Lord. ¹⁸ For it is not the man who approves of himself who is really approved; it is the man of whom the Lord approves.

²⁹ Let my yoke be put upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-minded, and your hearts will find rest,

²⁹ Let my yoke be put upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble-minded, and your hearts will find rest, ³⁰ for the yoke I offer you is a kindly one, and the load I ask you to bear is light."

¹⁹ He will not wrangle or make an outcry, And no one will hear his voice in the streets; ²⁰ He will not break off a bent reed, And he will not put out a smoldering wick, Until he carries his judgment to success.

¹⁹ For out of the heart come wicked designs, murder, adultery, immorality, stealing, false witness, impious speech.

⁵ "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Here is your king coming to you, Gentle, and riding on an ass, And on the foal of a beast of burden.' "

⁵ They do everything they do to have men see it. They wear wide Scripture texts as charms, and they wear large tassels,

¹⁵ He gave one five thousand dollars, and another two thousand, and another one thousand; to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

²⁰ And the man who had received the five thousand dollars came up bringing him five thousand more, and said, 'Sir, you put five thousand dollars in my hands; here I have made five thousand more.' ²¹ His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come, share your master's enjoyment!' ²² And the man who had received the two thousand came up and said, 'Sir, you put two thousand dollars into my hands; here I have made two thousand more.' ²³ His master said to him, 'Well done, my excellent, faithful slave! you have been faithful about a small amount; I will put a large one into your hands. Come! share your master's enjoyment.'

¹ The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.

⁵¹ "He has done mighty deeds with his arm, He has routed the proud-minded,

¹⁵ And he said to them, "You are the men who parade your uprightness before people, but God knows your hearts. For what men consider great is detestable in the sight of God.

¹⁰ "Two men went up to the Temple to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector.

¹¹ The Pharisee stood up and uttered this prayer to himself: 'O God, I thank you that I am not like other men, greedy, dishonest, or adulterous, like that tax-collector. ¹² I fast two days in the week; I pay tithes on everything I get.' ¹³ But the tax-collector stood at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but struck his breast, and said, 'O God, have mercy on a sinner like me!' ¹⁴ I tell you, it was he who went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted."

⁴² but I know well that you have not the love of God in your hearts. ⁴³ I have come in my Father's name, and you refuse to accept me. If someone else comes in his own name you will accept him. ⁴⁴ Yet how can you believe in me, when you accept honor from one another, instead of seeking the honor that comes from the one God?

²⁴ You must not judge so externally; you must judge justly!"

⁴³ for they cared more for the approval of men than for the approval of God.

²² "Men of Israel, listen to what I say. Jesus of Nazareth, as you know, was a man whom God commended to you by the wonders, portents, and signs that God did right among you through him.

²⁵ and who said through the holy Spirit by the lips of our forefather David, your slave, " 'Why did the heathen rage, And the peoples form vain designs? ²⁶ The kings of the earth stood by, And the rulers assembled Against the Lord and against his Christ.'

³ And Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan taken such possession of your heart that you should lie to the holy Spirit, by appropriating part of the price of your land? ⁴ As long as it was unsold was it not yours, and after it was sold was not the money under your control? How could you think of doing such a thing? You did not lie to men but to God!" ⁵ When Ananias heard these words he fell down and expired, and everyone who heard them spoken was appalled. ⁶ The younger men got up and wrapping his body up carried it out and buried it. ⁷ About three hours later, his wife came in, without having learned what had happened. ⁸ Peter said to her, "Tell me, did you sell the land for such and such a sum?" "Yes," she said, "that was it." ⁹ Peter said to her, "How could you two agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? There at the door are the footsteps of the men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out also." ¹⁰ She instantly fell down at his feet and expired. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And the whole church and all who heard this were appalled.

¹³ None of the others dared to associate with them, but the people made much of them,

²² So Moses was educated in all the Egyptian culture; he was strong in speech and action.

³² This was the passage of Scripture that he was reading: "Like a sheep he was led away to be slaughtered, And just as a lamb is dumb before its shearer, He does not open his mouth.

⁴ and he fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?" ⁵ "Who are you, sir?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," said the voice. ⁶ "But get up and go into the city, and there you will be told what you ought to do."

¹⁰ and said, "You monster of underhandedness and cunning! You son of the devil! You enemy of all that is right! Will you never stop trying to make the Lord's straight paths crooked? ¹¹ The Lord's hand is right upon you, and you will be blind and unable even to see the sun for a time." Instantly a mist of darkness fell upon him, and he groped about for someone to lead him by the hand.

²¹ After these events, Paul, under the Spirit's guidance, resolved to go to Jerusalem, and to revisit Macedonia and Greece on the way. "After I have gone there," he said, "I must see Rome also."

²⁴ But my life does not matter, if I can only finish my race and do the service intrusted to me by the Lord Jesus, of declaring the good news of God's favor.

⁵ through whom we have received God's favor and been commissioned in his name to urge obedience and faith upon all the heathen,

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the good news, for it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who has faith, of the Jew first and then of the Greek.

²¹ for, though they knew God, they have not honored him as God or given thanks to him, but they have indulged in futile speculations, until their stupid minds have become dark.

¹⁶ on that Day when, as the good news I preach teaches, God through Christ Jesus judges what men have kept secret,

²⁸ For the real Jew is not the man who is one outwardly, and the real circumcision is not something physical and external. ²⁹ The real Jew is the man who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, a spiritual, not a literal, thing. Such a man receives his praise not from men, but from God.

²⁹ The real Jew is the man who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, a spiritual, not a literal, thing. Such a man receives his praise not from men, but from God.

¹¹ More than that, we actually glory in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we owe our reconciliation.

¹³ and you must not offer the parts of your bodies to sin as the instruments of wrong, but offer yourselves to God as men brought back from death to life, and offer the parts of your bodies to him as instruments of uprightness.

²³ but all through my body I see another principle in conflict with the law of my reason, which makes me a prisoner to that law of sin that runs through my body.

¹ So there is no condemnation any more for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

⁵ People who are controlled by the physical think of what is physical, and people who are controlled by the spiritual think of what is spiritual.

¹³ for if you live under the control of the physical you will die, but if, by means of the Spirit, you put the body's doings to death, you will live.

¹⁸ But I ask, had they no opportunity to hear it? On the contrary, "Their voices have gone all over the earth, And their words to the ends of the world."

²⁰ Then Isaiah broke out boldly and said, "I have been found by men who were not looking for me, I have shown myself to men who were not asking what my will was."

¹ I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by this mercy of God, to offer your bodies in a living sacrifice that will be holy and acceptable to God; that is your rational worship.

³ By the favor that God has shown me, I would tell every one of you not to think too highly of himself, but to think reasonably, judging himself by the degree of faith God has allowed him.

⁶ We have gifts that differ with the favor that God has shown us, whether it is that of preaching, differing with the measure of our faith,

¹² The night is nearly over; the day is at hand. So let us throw aside the deeds of darkness, and put on the armor of light.

¹⁸ Whoever serves Christ in that way pleases God and gains the approval of men.

¹⁵ But, just to refresh your memories, I have written you pretty boldly on some points, because of the favor God has shown me

¹⁸ For I will venture to speak only of what Christ has accomplished through me in winning the heathen to obedience, by word and action,

¹⁸ For I will venture to speak only of what Christ has accomplished through me in winning the heathen to obedience, by word and action, ¹⁹ by the force of signs and marvels, and by the power of the holy Spirit, with the result that I have completed the preaching of the good news of Christ all the way from Jerusalem around to Illyricum. ²⁰ In all this it has been my ambition to preach the good news only where Christ's name was unknown, so as not to build on foundations other men had laid.

²⁴ when I go to Spain I hope to see you on my way there, and to have you see me off on my journey, after I have enjoyed being with you for a while. ²⁵ Just now I am starting for Jerusalem, to take help to God's people. ²⁶ For Macedonia and Greece have determined to make a contribution for the poor among God's people in Jerusalem. ²⁷ They determined to do it, and they really are indebted to them, for if the heathen have shared their spiritual blessings, they ought to do them a service in material ways. ²⁸ So when I have finished this matter, and seen this contribution safely into their possession, I will start for Spain, and come to you on the way,

¹⁰ Remember me to that veteran Christian, Apelles. Remember me to those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

²⁵ To him who can make you strong by the good news I bring and the preaching about Jesus Christ, through the disclosure of the secret kept back for long ages but now revealed, ²⁶ and at the command of the eternal God made known through the writings of the prophets to all the heathen, to lead them to obedience and faith—

¹² What I mean is this, that one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," another, "And I, of Apollos," another, "And I, of Cephas," and another, "And I, of Christ!"

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the good news—but not with fine language, or the cross of Christ might seem an empty thing. ¹⁸ For to those who are on the way to destruction, the story of the cross is nonsense, but to us who are to be saved, it means all the power of God. ¹⁹ For the Scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And I will thwart the shrewdness of the shrewd!"

¹⁹ For the Scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And I will thwart the shrewdness of the shrewd!" ²⁰ Where now is your philosopher? Your scribe? Your reasoner of today? Has not God made a fool of the world's wisdom? ²¹ For since in God's providence the world with all its wisdom did not come to know God, God chose, through the folly of the gospel message, to save those who had faith in him.

²¹ For since in God's providence the world with all its wisdom did not come to know God, God chose, through the folly of the gospel message, to save those who had faith in him. ²² For Jews insist upon miracles, and Greeks demand philosophy, ²³ but we proclaim a Christ who was crucified—an idea that is revolting to Jews and absurd to the heathen, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, whether they are Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is God's power and God's wisdom.

²⁷ But it was what the world calls foolish that God chose to put the wise to shame with, and it was what the world calls weak that God chose to shame its strength with, ²⁸ and it was what the world calls low and insignificant and unreal that God chose to nullify its realities, ²⁹ so that in his presence no human being might have anything to boast of.

²⁹ so that in his presence no human being might have anything to boast of.

³¹ so that, as the Scripture says, "Let him who would boast, boast of the Lord!"

¹ So when I came to you, brothers, I did not come and tell you the secret purpose of God in superior, philosophical language, ² for I resolved, while I was with you, to forget everything but Jesus Christ and his crucifixion. ³ For my part, I came among you in weakness and with a great deal of fear and trembling,

³ For my part, I came among you in weakness and with a great deal of fear and trembling, ⁴ and my teaching and message were not put in plausible, philosophical language, but they were attended with convincing spiritual power, ⁵ so that your faith might rest, not on human philosophy, but on the power of God.

¹⁰ For God revealed them to us through his Spirit, for the Spirit fathoms everything, even the depths of God himself.

⁵ What is Apollos? Or what is Paul? Just servants through whom you came to have faith, as the Lord gave each of us opportunity. ⁶ I did the planting, Apollos the watering, but it was God who made the plants grow.

¹⁰ Like an expert builder, I laid a foundation, as God commissioned me to do, and now someone else is building upon it. But let everyone be careful how he does so.

¹⁹ For this world's wisdom is foolishness to God. For the Scripture says, "He who catches the wise with their own cunning,"

²³ But you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

⁵ Do not form any premature judgments, therefore, but wait until the Lord comes back. For he will light up the darkness that now hides things and show what the motives in people's minds are, and then everyone will get from God the praise he deserves.

¹⁰ We are made fools of, for the sake of Christ, while you are men of sense, through being united with him. We are weak, you are strong. You are distinguished, we are despised.

¹⁵ For no matter how many guides you may have in the Christian life, you will not have many fathers; for in this matter of union with Christ, I became your father, through preaching the good news to you.

¹⁸ Some of you seem to think that I am not coming to visit you, and are putting on airs about it. ¹⁹ But I am coming very soon to see you, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out, not what these conceited people have to say, but what they can actually do.

¹⁹ But I am coming very soon to see you, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out, not what these conceited people have to say, but what they can actually do. ²⁰ For the reign of God is not a matter of words but of power.

²⁰ For the reign of God is not a matter of words but of power. ²¹ Which will you have? Shall I come to you with a stick, or in a loving and gentle spirit?

²¹ Which will you have? Shall I come to you with a stick, or in a loving and gentle spirit?

³ For my part, though I have been absent from you in person, I have been present with you in spirit, and as thus present I have already passed judgment upon the man who has done this, ⁴ and meeting with you, in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, by the authority of our Lord Jesus ⁵ I have handed the man over to Satan, for his physical destruction, in order that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the product of my work in the Lord's service?

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the product of my work in the Lord's service? ² If I am not an apostle to other people, I certainly am one to you, for you yourselves, in your relation to the Lord, are the certificate of my apostleship.

⁷ What soldier ever pays his expenses out of his own pay? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of the grapes? Who tends a flock and does not get any of the milk?

¹⁹ Doubtless there must be parties among you, if those who are right are to be recognized among you.

¹¹ These are all produced by one and the same Spirit, and apportioned to each of us just as the Spirit chooses.

³⁷ If anyone claims to be inspired to preach, or to have any other spiritual endowment, let him understand that what I am now writing you is a command from the Lord.

²³ But each in his own turn; Christ first, and then at Christ's coming those who belong to him.

²¹ This farewell I, Paul, add in my own hand. ²² A curse upon anyone who has no love for the Lord. Lord, come quickly!

²⁴ Not that we are the masters of you and your faith; we are working with you to make you happy, for in your faith you stand firm enough.

⁹ For that is why I wrote you—to find out how you would stand the test, and see if you would obey me absolutely.

¹² When I went to Troas to preach the good news of the Christ there, I found a good opening for the Lord's work,

¹ Am I falling into self-recommendation again? Do I, like some people, need letters of recommendation to you or from you?

¹ Am I falling into self-recommendation again? Do I, like some people, need letters of recommendation to you or from you? ² You are my recommendations, written on my heart, for everybody to read and understand. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by me, written not in ink, but in the Spirit of the living God, and not on tablets of stone, but on the human heart.

⁵ Not that I am of myself qualified to claim anything as originating with me. My qualification is from God,

¹² So since I have such a hope, I speak with great frankness,

⁴ In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.

⁷ But I have this treasure in a mere ear then jar, to show that its amazing power belongs to God and not to me.

¹² I am not trying to recommend myself to you again. I am giving you cause to be proud of me, to use in answering men who pride themselves on external advantages and not on sincerity of heart.

²⁰ It is for Christ, therefore, that I am an envoy, seeing that God makes his appeal through me. On Christ's behalf I beg you to be reconciled to God.

¹ As God's fellow-worker, I appeal to you, too, not to accept the favor of God and then waste it.

⁴ On the contrary, as a servant of God I try in every way to commend myself to them, through my great endurance in troubles, difficulties, hardships,

⁷ the truth of my teaching, and the power of God; with the weapons of uprightness for the right hand and the left,

⁴ I have the greatest confidence in you. I take the greatest pride in you. I am fully comforted. After all my trouble, I am overjoyed.

¹⁴ If I did express some pride in you to him, I have had no reason to be ashamed of it, but just as all I said to you was true, my boasting before Titus has also proved true. ¹⁵ His heart goes out all the more to you, as he recalls how you all obeyed him, and with what reverence and trembling you received him.

¹³ The way you stand the test of this service must do honor to God, through your fidelity to what you profess as to the good news of Christ, and through the liberality of your contributions for them and for all others;

¹ I appeal to you personally, by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ—the Paul who is so humble when face to face with you, but so bold in dealing with you when he is far away! ² I beg you not to make me take as bold an attitude when I come, as I count on taking toward some people who suspect me of acting from worldly motives.

⁴ for the weapons I use are not earthly ones, but divinely strong for destroying fortresses.

⁷ You look at things externally. If anyone is sure he belongs to Christ, let him think again and understand that I belong to Christ just as much as he.

¹⁰ For they say, "His letters are impressive and telling, but his personal appearance is insignificant and as a speaker he amounts to nothing."

¹² I do not indeed venture to class or compare myself with certain individuals who approve of themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they do not show good sense. ¹³ But my boasting will not be extravagant, nor exceed the limits God has allowed me, which reach all the way to you. ¹⁴ It is no strain for me to do this, as it might be for people who had never got so far, for I was the first to come all the way to you with the good news of the Christ. ¹⁵ I do not indulge in extravagant boasts over work done by others, but I do hope that as your faith increases, my influence may be immensely enlarged through you,

¹⁸ For it is not the man who approves of himself who is really approved; it is the man of whom the Lord approves.

⁴ For when somebody comes along and preaches another Jesus than the one I preached, or you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough!

⁶ Even if I have no particular gifts in speaking, I am not wanting in knowledge. Why, I have always made that perfectly clear in my dealings with you.

⁹ And when I was with you and wanted money, I did not burden any of you, for when the brothers came from Macedonia they supplied what I needed. So I kept myself, as I shall always do, from being a burden to you in any way. ¹⁰ By the truth of Christ that is in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced anywhere in Greece. ¹¹ And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do. ¹² And I shall go on doing as I do, so as to cut the ground from under those who want to make out that in their boasted apostleship they work on the same terms that I do. ¹³ Such men are sham apostles, dishonest workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

¹⁸ Since many are so human as to boast, I will do it also.

²¹ To my shame I must admit that I was too weak for that sort of thing. But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am playing the part of a fool—I will dare to boast of too.

²³ If they are Christian workers—I am talking like a madman!—I am a better one! with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, vastly worse beatings, and in frequent danger of death.

³⁰ If there must be boasting, I will boast of the things that show my weakness!

⁵ On this man's account I am ready to boast, but about myself I will boast only of my weaknesses.

⁵ On this man's account I am ready to boast, but about myself I will boast only of my weaknesses. ⁶ Though if I do choose to boast, I will not be such a fool, for I will only be telling the truth. But I will refrain from it, for I do not want anyone to be influenced by the wonderful character of these revelations to think more of me than is justified by my words or conduct.

⁶ Though if I do choose to boast, I will not be such a fool, for I will only be telling the truth. But I will refrain from it, for I do not want anyone to be influenced by the wonderful character of these revelations to think more of me than is justified by my words or conduct. ⁷ So to keep me from being too much elated a bitter physical affliction was sent to me, a very messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too much elated. ⁸ Three times I have prayed to the Lord about this, begging that it might leave me, ⁹ and he said to me, "My favor is enough for you, for only where there is weakness is perfect strength developed." So I am perfectly willing to boast of all my weakness, so that the strength of Christ may shelter me.

¹¹ I have been making a fool of myself, but you forced me to do it, when you ought to have been expressing your approval of me. For I am not a bit inferior to your superfine apostles, even if I am nobody!

¹³ For what is there in which the other churches had the better of you, except in the fact that I would not permit myself to be a burden to you? You must forgive me that wrong! ¹⁴ Here it is the third time that I have been ready to come to see you, and I do not intend to be a burden to you now; for it is not your money but yourselves that I want; for children are not expected to lay up money for their parents, but parents for their children. ¹⁵ And I will be glad to spend all I have and all I am for your sake. Are you going to love me the less for loving you so intensely? ¹⁶ But granting that I did not burden you myself, I was clever about it, you say, and took you in by a trick. ¹⁷ Yet did I make anything out of you by anybody that I sent to you? ¹⁸ I asked Titus to go and I sent his brother with him. Did Titus make anything out of you? Did not he and I act in the same spirit, and take the very same steps? ¹⁹ Have you been supposing all along that it is before you I have been defending myself? It is in the sight of God and as a follower of Christ that I have been speaking. But it is all to do you good, dear friends, ²⁰ for I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. I am afraid that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, bad feeling, rivalry, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder,

²⁰ for I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I want to find you, and that you may find me not as you want to find me. I am afraid that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, bad feeling, rivalry, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder,

² Those who have kept on in their old sins and all the rest I have warned, and I warn them now while I am still away, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will spare nobody—

² Those who have kept on in their old sins and all the rest I have warned, and I warn them now while I am still away, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will spare nobody—

² Those who have kept on in their old sins and all the rest I have warned, and I warn them now while I am still away, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will spare nobody— ³ since you demand proof that Christ really speaks through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. On the contrary, right among you he exhibits his power.

³ since you demand proof that Christ really speaks through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. On the contrary, right among you he exhibits his power.

³ since you demand proof that Christ really speaks through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. On the contrary, right among you he exhibits his power. ⁴ Even if he was crucified through weakness, by the power of God he is alive. For we are weak as he was, but you will find that by the power of God we will be alive as he is.

⁷ But I pray to God that you may not do wrong—not to prove me equal to the test, but that you should do right even if I fail to stand it. ⁸ For I cannot do anything against the truth, but only for it.

¹⁰ That is why I write this while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be harsh in my use of the authority the Lord has given me, for it was to build you up, not to pull you down.

¹ Paul, an apostle not from men nor sent by any man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead—

⁶ I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the mercy of Christ, to some different good news— ⁷ not that there is any other, only that there are some people who are trying to unsettle you and want to turn the good news of the Christ around. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven preach to you good news that contradicts the good news we have preached to you, a curse upon him!

¹¹ For I tell you plainly, brothers, that the good news that I preached is not a human affair. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ You have heard of my former conduct when I was attached to the Jewish religion—how furiously I used to persecute the church of God and ravage it,

⁵ But we did not submit to them for a moment, in order that the truth of the good news might remain yours. ⁶ Those who were regarded as the leaders—what they once were makes no difference to me; God takes no account of external differences—the leaders contributed nothing new to me. ⁷ On the contrary, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the good news for the heathen, just as Peter had been intrusted with it for the Jews— ⁸ for he who actuated Peter to be an apostle to the Jews also actuated me to be one to the heathen— ⁹ and when they recognized the favor God had shown me, James, Cephas, and John, who were regarded as pillars of the church, pledged Barnabas and me their co-operation, with the understanding that we should work among the heathen and they among the Jews.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me. The life I am now living in the body I am living by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

²⁹ And if you belong to Christ, then you are true descendants of Abraham and his heirs under the promise.

¹³ though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time;

¹³ though you know that it was because of an illness that I preached the good news to you that first time; ¹⁴ and yet what must have tried you in my physical condition, you did not scorn and despise, but you welcomed me like an angel of God, like Christ Jesus himself.

² Why, I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ can do nothing for you.

¹⁶ I mean this: Live by the Spirit, and then you will not indulge your physical cravings. ¹⁷ For the physical cravings are against the Spirit, and the cravings of the Spirit are against the physical; the two are in opposition, so that you cannot do anything you please. ¹⁸ But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not subject to law. ¹⁹ The things our physical nature does are clear enough—immorality, impurity, licentiousness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party-spirit, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you as I did before that people who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God. ²² But what the Spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. There is no law against such things! ²⁴ Those who belong to Jesus the Christ have crucified the physical nature with its propensities and cravings. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit.

¹³ Why, even those who let themselves be circumcised do not observe the Law themselves! But they want you to let yourselves be circumcised so that they can boast of that physical fact about you! ¹⁴ But I never want to boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, on which the world has been crucified to me and I have been to the world.

² in the midst of which you once lived under the control of the present age of the world, and the master-spirit of the air, who is still at work among the disobedient. ³ We all lived among them once, indulging our physical cravings and obeying the impulses of our lower nature and its thoughts, and by nature we were doomed to God's wrath like other men.

¹ So I, the prisoner for the Lord's sake, appeal to you to live lives worthy of the summons you have received;

⁷ But each one of us has been given mercy in Christ's generous measure.

¹³ So you must take God's armor, so that when the evil day comes you will be able to make a stand, and when it is all over to hold your ground. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, then, with the belt of truth around your waist, and put on uprightness as your coat of mail, ¹⁵ and on your feet put the readiness the good news of peace brings. ¹⁶ Besides all these, take faith for your shield, for with it you will be able to put out all the flaming missiles of the evil one, ¹⁷ and take salvation for your helmet, and for your sword the Spirit, which is the voice of God. ¹⁸ Use every kind of prayer and entreaty, and at every opportunity pray in the Spirit. Be on the alert about it; devote yourselves constantly to prayer for all God's people

³ We are the true circumcision, who worship God by his Spirit, priding ourselves only on Christ Jesus, and not relying on physical advantages, ⁴ though I at least am entitled to rely on them. If anyone thinks he can rely on his physical advantages, still more can I! ⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a descendant of Israel. I belong to the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and the son of Hebrews. As to the Law, I was a Pharisee; ⁶ as to my zeal, I was a persecutor of the church; and by the Law's standard of uprightness, no fault could be found with me. ⁷ But for the sake of Christ I have come to count my former gains as loss. ⁸ Why, I count everything as loss compared with the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost everything, and think it rubbish, in order to gain Christ ⁹ and be known to be united to him, with any uprightness I may have not based on law but coming through faith in Christ—the uprightness that comes from God through faith.

⁵ and for the hope of what is stored up for you in heaven. You first heard of it long ago when the true message of the gospel

⁸ but we who belong to the day must be composed, wearing faith and love for a coat of mail, and helmeted with the hope of salvation.

³ We always have to thank God for you, brothers, as it is right that we should, because your faith is growing so wonderfully and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

⁴ the adversary of every being that is called a god or an object of worship, and so overbearing toward them as to enter God's sanctuary and take his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God—

⁸ Then the embodiment of disobedience will make his appearance, and the Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth and annihilate him by his appearance and arrival.

¹⁷ This greeting is in my own hand, Paul's; it is the mark in every letter of mine. This is the way I write.

¹¹ as set forth in the glorious good news of the blessed God with which I have been intrusted.

¹⁸ These are the instructions that I intrust to you, my son Timothy, and they are in accordance with the predictions made long ago about you. Fight the good fight with their aid,

²⁰ like Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I turned over to Satan, to be taught not to blaspheme.

¹² This is why I am suffering as I am, but I am not ashamed of it, for I know whom I have trusted and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have intrusted to him for that Day.

³ Share my hardships like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

³ Share my hardships like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴ Anyone who is in the army keeps from being involved in business affairs, so as to please the officer who enlisted him.

¹⁵ Do your best to win God's approval as a workman who has nothing to be ashamed of, but rightly shapes the message of truth.

⁷ I have had a part in the great contest, I have run my race, I have preserved my faith.

⁹ I prefer to appeal to you in the name of love, simply as what I am—Paul, no less an envoy of Christ Jesus, though now a prisoner for him

¹² For the message of God is a living and active force, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing through soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and keen in judging the thoughts and purposes of the mind.

⁹ and when he was fully qualified, he became a source of unending salvation for all who obey him,

³⁰ Faith made the walls of Jericho fall, after they had marched around them each day for seven days.

³² And why should I go on? For my time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, ³³ who by their faith conquered kingdoms, attained uprightness, received new promises, shut the mouths of lions,

¹ Therefore, let us too, with such a crowd of witnesses about us, throw off every impediment and the entanglement of sin, and run with determination the race for which we are entered,

⁹ A brother of low position ought to be proud of his eminence, ¹⁰ but one who is rich ought to rejoice at being reduced in circumstances, for the rich will disappear like the wild flowers.

² whom God the Father has chosen and predestined by the consecration of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ, and to be sprinkled with his blood; God bless you and give you perfect peace.

⁷ they are to show that your faith when tested is found to be more precious than gold, which though it is perishable is tested with fire, and they will bring you praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

¹⁴ Like obedient children, do not adapt yourselves to the cravings you used to follow when you were ignorant, ¹⁵ but like the holy Being who has called you, you must also prove holy in all your conduct,

²² Now that by obeying the truth you have purified your souls for sincere love of the brotherhood, you must love one another intensely and heartily,

¹¹ Dear friends, I beg you, as aliens and exiles here, not to indulge the physical cravings that are at war with the soul.

²² He committed no sin, and deceit was never on his lips. ²³ He was abused but he did not retort. He suffered but he did not threaten, but committed his case to him who judges justly.

¹ Since Christ therefore has suffered in our physical nature, you must also arm yourselves with the same resolve. For he who suffers in his physical nature has done with sin, ² and no longer lives by what men desire, but for the rest of his earthly life by what God wills.

¹⁰ Whatever the endowment God has given you, use it in service to one another, like good dispensers of God's varied mercy.

⁶ We are God's children. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not a child of God will not listen to us. In this way we can tell what is inspired by truth from what is inspired by error.

¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up the things that he is doing, and how he is maliciously accusing me. Not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers himself, and he is interfering with those who want to do so, and has them put out of the church.

⁹ I, John, your brother and companion in the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance that Jesus brings, found myself on the island called Patmos, for uttering God's message and testifying to Jesus.