The Gabriel Version
The Testimony of Yeshua
2 CORINTHIANS (Gabriel Version)
Introduction
2 Corinthians 1: From Paul, an envoy of Yeshua the Messiah by the will of Yehovah and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of Aloha in Corinth, and to all the faithful everywhere in Achaia.
2 May loving kindness be to you, and peace, from Yehovah our Father and from our Master Yeshua the Messiah.
3 Praise Yehovah, the Father of our Master Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of mercies, and the Aloha of all encouragement,
4 who encourages us in all our afflictions, so that we’re also able to encourage those who are being oppressed, with the kind of encouragement that we ourselves are encouraged with by Yehovah.
5 As the sufferings of the Messiah overflows in us, our encouragement also overflows thru the Messiah.
6 Even tho we’re oppressed, it is for your encouragement and for your eternal Life that we’re oppressed, and when we’re encouraged, it is so that you’ll be encouraged and so that you’ll be energized and able to endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
7 Our hope for you is certain, because we know that if you are partners in the sufferings, you’ll also share in our comfort.
8 Friends, we want you to know about the tribulation we had in Asia minor, because we were oppressed beyond description, beyond our strength, and had given up all hope of life itself.
9 We had resigned ourselves to death, so that our confidence wouldnt be in ourselves, but in Yehovah who raises the dead,
10 who rescued us from imminent death, and we hope that He’ll Rescue us again,
11 by the help of your prayers on our behalf, so that His gift to us would be a favor done for many people, and many would praise Him on our behalf.
12 Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that is by honesty and purity, and by the compassion of Yehovah, and not due to the wisdom of mortals. This is how we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially towards you.
13 We are writing nothing to you that differs from what you can read and are thoroly acquainted with in the Scriptures. And I trust that you’ll remain thoroly acquainted with them to the very end.
14 As you are somewhat aware, we are your cause for celebration, as you are ours, on the Day of our Master Yeshua the Messiah.
15 Confident of this, I wanted to come to you so that you could receive twice as much compassion.
16 My plans had been to pass your way into Macedonia, and come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on to Judea.
17 So when I was deliberating on this, was I perchance being fickle or was my deliberation mortal minded, so that coming from me you would hear “Yes, yes” but then “No, no”?
18 Just as Yehovah is faithful, our word to you was not both “Yes” and “No”.
19 Yehovah’s Son, Yeshua the Messiah, who was heralded to you by us, namely by me, by Sylvanus and by Timothy was not Yes and No, but with Him it was “Yes”.
20 All the promises of Yehovah in Him, the Messiah, are “Yes”, so that we, thru Him, give our truthfulness to the magnificence of Yehovah.
21 Now it is Yehovah who establishes us with you in the Messiah, and has anointed us,
22 and has set His seal on us, and has given us the downpayment of His spirit in our minds.
23 I call on Yehovah as a witness for myself, that I didnt come to Corinth in order to spare you.
24 Not that we dominate your spiritual convictions, but we’re companions of your joy, because it is by your spiritual convictions that you are established.
2 Corinthians 2: I determined by myself that I wouldnt return to you in sadness.
2 If I were to make you sad, who would make me joyful other than those I had made sad?
3 I wrote this very thing to you, fearing that when I came, the people who I should bring joy to would make me sad, but I’m convinced that my joy is the same joy as yours.
4 I wrote those things to you in much distress and mental turmoil and many tears, not that you would be sorrowful, but so that you could know the great love I have for you.
5 If anyone has caused grief, they’ve not grieved me only, but to a degree all of you, so I wont be overly burdensome to you.
6 The punishment coming from many of you is enough for him.
7 On the other hand, you should disregard his offenses and encourage him, because such a person might be consumed with overwhelming grief.
8 So I encourage you to confirm your love for him.
9 This is why I previously wrote to you, so that I could determine by a trial whether you would be obedient in everything.
10 Anyone you pardon I’ll also pardon, because anything that I pardon someone of, is pardoned for your sakes in the presence of the Messiah,
11 otherwise Satan could take advantage of us, because we know his tactics.
12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas proclaiming the Good News of the Messiah, and a door was opened to me by the Master,
13 there was no relief in my spirit because I didnt find my brother Titus, so I said goodbye and went to Macedonia.
14 But we thank Yehovah, who always allows us to triumph in the Messiah and dispenses the fragrance of His knowledge everywhere.
15 Those of us who live, and in those of us who die, are a sweet fragrance to Yehovah, because of the Messiah.
16 To some we are the smell of death leading to death, and for others the fragrance of life leading to Life. Who is worthy of these things?
17 We arent like the hucksters who profit by diluting the Words of Aloha, but are truthfully from Yehovah, and we speak in the Messiah in the presence of Yehovah.
2 Corinthians 3: Should we introduce ourselves again? Do we, as others, need diplomas to present to you? Or do we need for you to issue diplomas for us?
2 You are our documentation, engraved in our minds, known and read by everyone.
3 You are the documentation of the Messiah that we attend to, not written with ink, but by the spirit of the living Aloha, not on tablets of stone but on the mortal tablets of the mind.
4 This is the kind of confidence that we have in the Messiah towards Yehovah.
5 Not that we have sufficient ability to think anything of ourselves, but our competency is from Yehovah
6 who has made us fit to be ministers of the New Covenant [1], not in the letter, but in the Spirit, because the letter kills, but the spirit produces Life.
7 Now if the ministry of death that was engraved on stones was so brilliant that the descendants of Israel couldnt look at Moses’ face [Exodus 34:29] because of the brilliance of his face that went away,
8 then wont [Gr: future tense] the ministry of the spirit be even more brilliant?
9 If there is brilliance in the ministry of condemnation, how much more will the ministry of justification exceed it in brilliance?
10 For what was adorned in luster had no luster in this regard in comparison with this that excels in brightness.
11 If what is being inactivated [condemnation, v.11] is brilliant, how much more brilliant must redemption be that lasts forever?
12 So because we have this hope, we speak even more boldly,
13 We arent like Moses who threw a veil over his face so that the descendants of Israel couldnt gaze at the remnant of the glow that ended.
14 But they’ve been blinded in their understanding to this very day, when the ancient covenant [“old covenant”] [2] is read, because their veil hasnt been lifted, nor is it apparent to them that the veil was severed [Matthew 27:51] by the Messiah.
15 To this day when Moses is read [Torah: the first 5 books], the veil is still standing in their minds.
16 Yet when one of them returns to the Master, the veil that completely surrounds them is taken away.
17 Now the Master Himself is the spirit. And where the spirit of the Master is there is liberty.
18 All of us with unveiled faces, reflecting like mirrors the brightness of the Master are undergoing a metamorphosis [metamorphoo] [3] into His likeness, from our brightness to His brightness, just as the Master’s spirit.
[1] In the Kingdom, when our “metamorphosis” (v.18) is complete, we will minister the New Covenant to those who survive the end of the age, whose minds are presently completely “veiled” (v.15). In the “fine print” of the New Covenant contract (Jeremiah 30-31), in the verse immediately following the promise to Israel and Judah of a “new heart” (31:33), it promises that no ones minds will be confused (veiled) about Yehovah “because they will all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them”. [2] The “Ancient (Old) Covenant” is found in Exodus 20-23. In chapter 24:3, “Ancient Israel” accepted it. [3] This is like a worm being changed into a butterfly. When the process is finished we will literally be born anew!
2 Corinthians 4: Because of this, we dont become exhausted by the ministry we have received, because of the mercy we have experienced.
2 We have spoken out against the confusion of the shameful hidden mysteries, and we dont live by false knowledge [1], nor do we corrupt the Words of Aloha to ensnare people. But we’re revealing previously unknown truths [root word], bringing the truth itself all together and proving it to the advantage of everyone’s conscience, in the presence of Yehovah.
3 So if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 those whose minds the aloha of this age [or world] has blinded so that they dont believe, otherwise the radiance of the Good News of the Messiah (who is the likeness of Yehovah) would dawn on them.
5 We arent heralding about ourselves, but the Messiah Yeshua, our Master, and as for ourselves, we’re your servants for Yeshua’s sake.
6 Yehovah, who told the light to shine from darkness has personally shone in our minds so that we would be illuminated with the knowledge of the splendor of Yehovah in the presence of Yeshua the Messiah.
7 We have this treasure in an earthen vessel, so that the excellency of the power would be from Yehovah, not from us.
8 We are pressured in every way but not abandoned, we’re harassed but not condemned.
9 We’re being persecuted but not forsaken, we’re being thrown down but not being killed.
10 We continually bear in our bodies the death of Yeshua, so that the Life of Yeshua will also be apparent in our bodies.
11 If those of us who are alive are handed over to death for Yeshua’s sake, then Yeshua’s Life also becomes apparent in our mortal bodies.
12 So death works for us, but Life works for you.
13 So having the same spirit of faith, (as the Scriptures say, “I believed, so I have spoken”), we also believe, and so we speak.
14 We know that the One who raised our Master Yeshua will also raise us by Yeshua, and will stand beside us with you.
15 Everything is for your benefit so that compassion reaches more and more people to the magnificence of Yehovah.
16 Because of this we wont become exhausted, because altho our outer self is perishing, our inner self is renewed daily.
17 The distress of the present time, tho very small and light [2], is preparing us for magnificence, for eternity.
18 We dont contemplate the things that are visible, but those that are invisible, because the things we can see are temporary, but the things we cant see are eternal.
[1] This is a condemnation of both the mystery religions and gnosticism. [2] The Greek says “for a moment” instead of “tho very small and light”.
2 Corinthians 5: We know that if our earthly home, our human body, is destroyed, we will still have a building made by Yehovah, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.
2 Because of this we sigh, longing to be clothed with our new dwelling place from the Heavens.
3 When so clothed we wont be found naked.
4 While we’re here in this human body, we sigh under its burden, yet we dont want to throw off our mortal clothing, but want to be better clothed so that our mortality will be immersed in real Life.
5 Yehovah is the One who prepares us for this very thing, who has given us the downpayment of His spirit.
6 So we’re confident, knowing that as long as our home is in this body, we are on a pilgrimage away from our Master,
7 because we live by faith rather than by outward appearances.
8 This is why we’re confident and would prefer to leave this body and live in our own country with our Master.
9 We earnestly strive, whether we’re “living abroad” or whether in our own country, to please Him,
10 because we will all stand before the Messiah’s judgment seat, so that each of us will receive compensation for what we have done while in the body, whether honorable or wicked.
11
So because we know that our Master strikes terror, we persuade people to believe. We are “an open book” to Yehovah, and I also hope that we’re an open book in your minds.
12 We arent building our own credibility for you, on the other hand we’re giving you a base of operations to commend us to those who appear to be commendable but arent really spiritual.
13 If we appear to be amazing, it is for Yehovah, and if we appear of more moderate passions, it is for you.
14 The love of the Messiah limits us to to one determination: if One died for everyone, then everyone died.
15 He died for everyone so that those who live wouldnt live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and rose again.
16 So we dont pay attention to mortal humanity, and tho we have known the Messiah in mortal form, yet we no longer know Him that way.
17 So whoever is in the Messiah is a new creation, the original only lasts for a while.
18 Everything has been made new [1] by Yehovah who has restored [2] us to Himself by the Messiah and has given us the the job of serving others for their restoration.
19 Yehovah was in the Messiah reconciling the world to Himself by His majesty, so He hasnt taken our sins into account, but He has placed in us the Word of reconciliation.
20 Now we’re ambassadors for the Messiah, and it is as if Yehovah was calling you aside thru us. So on behalf of the Messiah, we long for you to be reconciled to Yehovah.
21 Because of you, He has made the One who knew no sin to become sin, so that because of Him we could become righteous due to Yehovah in Him.
[1] The Greek lacks “made new”. [2] We all begin life with a clean slate, that is everyone is born with their name written in the Book of Life! Names arent added to the book! Yet sin can jeopardize your fate and eventually cause your name to be erased.
2 Corinthians 6: As we work with you, we encourage you, so that the compassion of Yehovah that you have taken in hand wont become empty handed.
2 He has said, “In an acceptable time [1] I have heard you, and in a day of Life I have helped you”. Now is an acceptable time! Now is a day of life!
3 Dont set out any obstacles for anyone in any way, so there wont be any fault finding with our service.
4 In every way, we would present ourselves to be the servants of Yehovah, in patient enduring, in afflictions, in calamities, in distresses,
5 in scourgings, in imprisonment, in chaos, in troublesome work, in sleeplessness, and in hunger,
6 by purity, by knowledge, by perseverance, by integrity, by the dedicated spirit, by sincere love,
7 by speaking the truth, by the power of Yehovah, by the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 amid honor and dishonor, amid praise and defamation, as deceivers, yet true,
9 as unknown, yet we’re well known, as dying, but look we’re alive, as scourged but not killed,
10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as destitute yet enriching many, as possessing nothing yet having everything.
11
O you Corinthians, we have spoken openly to you and we embrace you in love.
12 We arent restricting you, but you are restricted by your own love [2].
13 I speak as if you were my children, asking in return that you open up your love towards me.
14 Dont be unequally yoked with the unbelievers. What does righteousness have in common with breaking the Torah. What association does light have with darkness?
15 What agreement does the the Messiah have with Satan? What commonality does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement does the Temple of Yehovah have with demons? You are the Temple of the living Aloha, as it is said, “I’ll live with them and walk with them and be their Aloha and they’ll be My people”.
17 So escape from among them, separate yourselves from them, says Yehovah, and dont cling to anyone unclean, and I’ll treat you favorably,
18 and be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Master Almighty.
[1] An “acceptable time” is a synonym for Jubilee Year. Yeshua apparently began His earthly mission on a Jubilee year (Luke 4:19, 27 AD), and His next earthly mission will be on a Jubilee year! This quote is from Isaiah 49:8, a chapter that describes Jubilee years—forgotten dress rehearsals for the restoration of the earth! [2] See why “love” is better than “bowels”. Keyword bowels.
2 Corinthians 7: Beloved, seeing that we have these promises, let’s cleanse ourselves from every defilement of our bodies and spirits, and let’s perfect our purity in the fear of Yehovah.
2 Friends, be patient with us. We havent treated anyone unjustly, we havent corrupted anyone, we havent taken advantage of anyone.
3 I dont say this to condemn you because as I said before, we treasure you. We’ll die together and live together.
4 I speak very boldly regarding you and have great pride in you, and I’m filled with encouragement. Great joy abounds in me in all of our persecutions.
5 Since we came to Macedonia, there has been no rest for our bodies, but we were troubled by everything, on the outside there was warfare, and inside there was terror.
6 But Yehovah who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
7 not merely by his arrival, but also by the encouragement that he received from you. Because he told us of your love toward us and your grief and your zeal on our behalf. When I heard about it I was overjoyed!
8 Altho I saddened you with my letter, I no longer regret it, tho I did regret it, because I see that that letter, tho it briefly saddened you,
9 brought me joy, not because you were sorry, but because your sorrow resulted in a changed mind, because your sorrow was a pure sorrow and you sustained no harm from us in any way.
10 Sorrow regarding Yehovah leads to a changed mind, and that leads to eternal Life, with no regrets, but sorrow over worldly things results in death.
11 Look at the very thing that you were distressed about for the sake of Yehovah, the diligence it produced in you, the reasoned arguments, the righteous indignation, the reverence, the love, the zeal, the earnest desire! And in every way you have shown that you are now pure in that matter.
12 Even tho I wrote to you, it wasnt for the sake of the one who acted unjustly, or for the sake of the one who was treated unjustly, but that you would understand our earnestness toward you before Yehovah.
13 So we were comforted, and with our encouragement we were even more joyful because of Titus’ joy because you refreshed his spirit.
14 So I was not ashamed of the praises that I told him of concerning you, but in every way we told you the truth, and the praises told to Titus also proved to be true.
15 His affection for you has increased when he considers the submission you showed for his council and how you welcomed him with hospitality, with reverence and anxiety.
16 So I rejoice that I have full confidence in you in everything.
2 Corinthians 8: Friends, we want you to know about the compassion that Yehovah gave to the assemblies in Macedonia.
2 During great trial and persecution there was an abundance of joy, and the depth of their poverty was only exceeded by the richness of their generosity.
3 I can attest that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they willingly volunteered,
4 they persuasively urged us to share in the bounty and contribution of the faithful.
5 Not only as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Master and then to us by the will of Yehovah.
6 So we encouraged Titus, since he had begun, to finish with you in the same compassion.
7 As you abound in everything, in faith, in doctrine, in knowledge, in perseverance, and in our love towards you, you should also abound in compassion.
8 I’m not demanding this of you, but by the prompting of others, I want to prove the sincerity of your love.
9 You know the compassion of our Master Yeshua the Messiah, that tho He was rich, yet for your sakes He became destitute so that by His being destitute you could become rich.
I urgently advise you, that it would be mutually beneficial for you to help, since you intended to a year ago, not just to intend to, but ere already doing it.
11 So do what you intended to do, so that what you eagerly wanted to do will be accomplished, according to your ability.
12 If there is a willingness, a person is acceptable according to what he has, and not according to what he doesnt have.
13 I definitely dont mean for others to be relieved, and you burdened,
14 but so that there will be equality, at this time, your abundance will supply their needs, and their abundance will also supply your needs, bringing about equality.
15 As the Scriptures say, “He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little didnt do without”.
16 Thankfully, Yehovah put into Titus’ mind this same diligence for you.
17 He accepted our admonition, and because he was very anxious, he willingly set out to visit you.
18 We also sent with him our Friend whose commendation is in the Good News in all the assemblies.
19 Not only that, but he had also been expressly elected by the assemblies to accompany me with the same compassion that we serve—to the magnificence of Yehovah and the declaration of your zeal.
20 We are careful to see that no one will find fault with us in regard to the bountiful collection that we’re distributing.
21 We give forethought to maintaining an honorable reputation, not only in the presence of Yehovah but also in public.
22 We also sent with them our Friend who has consistently proved to be diligent in many things, and is now particularly diligent because of the great confidence he has in you.
23 So if Titus is inquired about, he is my associate and assistant among you. Concerning our other Friends, they are envoys of the assemblies to the Messiah’s splendor.
24 So show them, in the presence of all the assemblies, a demonstration of your love and of our pride in you.
2 Corinthians 9: Concerning our serving the faithful, it is unnecessary for me to write to you,
2 because I know the willingness of your minds, and I spoke well of you to the Macedonians, and Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred many.
3 Yet I sent the Friends to prevent the praises that we spoke about you in regard to this matter from proving useless, and also so that you, as I said, would be prepared.
4 In the event that some Macedonians were to come with me, and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you) would be put to shame for our substantial praises of you.
5 So I thought it was necessary to encourage these Friends to come to you ahead of me, so that they could prepare the blessing that you were advised about long before to have ready, as truly being a matter of blessing, and not a matter of greediness.
6 Remember this: anyone who sows sparingly will also harvest sparingly, and anyone who sows commendably will also harvest commendably [1].
7 Everyone should contribute what they themselves choose, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because Yehovah loves a cheerful giver.
8 Yehovah is capable of causing His compassion to overflow toward you, so that you’ll always have enough for every situation, and it will overflow into all of your good works.
9 As the Scriptures say, “He has scattered everywhere and given to the poor, and His righteousness will continue forever”.
Now the One who supplies seed to the sower and bread for your food, will greatly proliferate the seed you sow, and cause the fruit of your righteousness to grow,
11 so that you’ll be enriched by everyone who is not self seeking, resulting in our thankfulness to Yehovah.
12 When we supply others at our own expense, this not only supplements the needs of the faithful but it completes our thanksgiving to Yehovah.
13 While our character is tried by our distribution of charity, they praise Yehovah because you “practice what you preach” concerning the Good News of the Messiah, because you generously share with them and with everyone else,
14 and because they pray for you with much love, due to the transcending compassion of Yehovah in you.
15 Thank Yehovah for His indescribable gift!
[1] While other translations say “bountifully” or “generously”, because that would seemingly make more sense in the sentence, “eulogia” means eulogy, that is praise for a person—particularly after they’ve died. That is exactly what will happen on Judgment Day. Yehovah will praise those who had spread plenty of good “seed” in this life.
2 Corinthians 10: Now I, Paul, implore you, by the meekness and gentleness of the Messiah, even tho I keep a low profile in person, and seem quite bold towards you when absent,
2 nevertheless I beg you to understand that when I come, I wont appear cheerful. I’m confident that I wont keep a low profile with the people who think that we live our lives like sensuous mortals.
3 Even tho we exist in mortal form, our warfare isnt against mortal beings.
4 Our armaments for warfare arent those of mortals, but those of the power of Yehovah, so that we can destroy fortified strongholds.
5 We refute imaginary suppositions, the towering structures that would rise up [1] against the knowledge of Yehovah, and we captivate our every thought into obedience to the Messiah.
6 We are prepared to punish anyone who disobeys, as long as you are fully compliant.
7 Are your perceptions superficial? When someone is persuaded that they are of the Messiah, they should also consider that they are the Messiah’s, as well as us.
8 Even if I were to boast somewhat more about the judicial authority that our Master has given to us, I shouldnt be ashamed, because He gave it to us to build you up, not to tear you down.
9 Yet I hesitate, because I dont want to frighten you away by my letters,
10 because some of you say, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but when he appears in person [parousia], he is weak, and his articulation is dreadful”.
11 Those who say these things should consider this—that what we say in our letters when absent, is what we do when present.
12 We wouldnt dare consider ourselves to be an elite class, or side with the decisions [see root words] of those who band together. They set their own standards. And because they are “group thinkers” [2], their unanimous opinions count for nothing.
13 We wont pretentiously boast about things that we cant prove. Instead, we’ll limit our comments to what Yehovah has given to us—to a standard that should even reach as far away as you.
14 It isnt as tho we were overstepping our limits when we came to you, because we reached all the way to you in Corinth with the Good News of the Messiah.
15 We arent being vainglorious about the work of others, but we do hope that as your faith grows, you’ll come to appreciate that we’re within the limits of our sphere of influence,
16 and we will be encouraged, as we spread the Good News in the regions far beyond you, without bragging about things already accomplished by someone else.
17 The person who is exuberant should be exuberant in Yehovah.
18 It isnt the person who highly recommends himself, but the person who the Master highly recommends.
[1] When translated this way it appears that the Tower of Babel was implied. [2] “The symptoms of Groupthink are clear. The ‘illusion of invulnerability’ happens when a group thinks that they cant go wrong. Confidence among the members of the group is remarkably high and is reflected in the decisions that they make (Keil 1). A ‘belief in inherent morality of the group’ occurs when the group thinks tremendously of their morality.”
2 Corinthians 11: I want you to be patient with me a little, so that I can talk simplistically, but nevertheless, bear with me.
2 You see, I have a burning zeal for you—a pure zeal. I have promised you in marriage to a husband as a chaste virgin. I want to give you away to the Messiah myself.
3 But I’m afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve with his chicanery, in a similar way your minds could be corrupted from the simplicity of the Messiah.
4 Suppose that the person who came to you had heralded to you another Yeshua—one we havent heralded, or suppose you had received a spirit that differed from the one you have accepted, or a different Good News than what you have accepted, you just might have endured it!
5 I dont believe that I’m inferior to the envoys who are considered the greatest.
6 Yet I’m an untrained speaker, but not an unknowledgeable one, nevertheless, you have thoroly understood us.
7 Did I actually commit an offense by humbling myself so that you could be elevated, because of my proclaiming the Good News of Yehovah to you freely?
8 I decided to strip other assemblies by taking wages from them to serve you.
9 When I came to you and was needy, I wasnt a burden to any of you because the Friends who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. In every way I refrained from being a burden to you, and I’ll continue to do so.
10 As long as I have the truth of the Messiah, my exuberant profession will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.
11 Why? Because I dont love you? Yehovah knows.
12 I’ll continue to do what I do so that I can thwart the tactics of those who are plotting an opportunity to be considered our equals in the things that they boast about.
13 They are false envoys, crafty hirelings impersonating envoys of the Messiah.
14 It’s no wonder because if Satan impersonates a Messenger of light,
15 it is no great surprise if his “deacons” impersonate servants of righteousness, whose end state is a consequence of their works.
16 Again I say, no one should think of me as a fool. But at the very least, accept me as a fool so that I can rejoice a little.
17 What I’m saying now, I dont say as being from our Master, but as in folly in this matter of rejoicing.
18 Because many revere physical matters, so I’ll also “revere” them:
19 You gladly put up with fools, considering them to be wise!
20 You tolerate someone who would enslave you, someone who would devour you, someone who would kidnap you, someone who lords it over you, and someone who slaps your face.
21 I’m talking about a disgraceful mindset: I’m talking as if we were feeble minded. So speaking rashly, whatever others speak boldly about, I’ll also speak boldly about.
22 If they are Hebrews, so am I, or if they are Israelites, so am I. If they are the descendants of Abraham, so am I.
23 If they are servants of the Messiah, (again speaking rashly) I’m superior to them: in work, far more than they, in stripes more than they, in bonds more than they, facing death many times.
24 I was scourged by the Jews five times, each time with forty stripes minus one.
25 I was beaten with rods three times. Once I was stoned. I was shipwrecked three times. I spent a day and a night in the sea with no ship in sight.
26 Frequently traveling, endangered by rivers, endangered by robbers, endangered by my countrymen, endangered by heathen. I have been endangered in cities, I have been endangered in the desert, endangered in the sea, endangered by false brothers,
27 in intensely troublesome work, in sleeplessness, in hunger and thirst, frequently fasting, cold and naked.
28 In addition to these things, and many people coming to me every day, is my anxiety for all of the assemblies.
29 Who is weak without me being weak? Who is offended without me being burned?
30 If I must boast, I’ll boast about my infirmities.
31 May Yehovah, the Father of our Master Yeshua the Messiah be blessed forever and ever. He knows that I’m not lying.
32 In Damascus, the commander of the army of Aretas the king patrolled the city of the Damascenes trying to catch me.
33 They let me down the wall from a window, in a basket, and I escaped from his hands.
2 Corinthians 12: It is no doubt unprofitable for me to exult myself, so I continue with the visions and revelations of our Master.
2 I knew a man in the Messiah fourteen years ago, (but whether bodily, or whether out of his body, I dont know, Yehovah knows), who was suddenly carried to the third Heaven.
3 I know that this man, (whether in his body or out of his body I dont know, Yehovah knows),
4 was caught up to the upper regions of the Heavens and heard words too pure for anyone to repeat.
5 I’ll exalt Him, but I wont exalt myself, except about my infirmities.
6 Tho I might want to tell stories, and they wouldnt be without reasons, because I tell the truth. But I’ll refrain out of concern that some might think of me above and beyond what they actually see and hear from me.
7 To insure that I wouldnt exalt myself because of the superiority of the revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, the messenger [angelos] from Satan, to repeatedly strike me so that I wouldnt become arrogant.
8 I asked my Master three times to make my problem disappear.
9 He told to me, “My compassion is sufficient for you because My power is perfected in weakness”. So I’ll gladly venerate Him with my weakened body, so that the power of the Messiah can reside in me.
10 So I prefer to be weakened and impaired and distressed and persecuted, even in dire calamity for the Messiah’s sake, because when I’m weak, then I’m strong.
11
Look, I appear to the public as foolish in my worship because you compelled me. You should have been commending me, because I was in no way inferior to the envoys who excel the most, altho I’m no one.
12 The miracles of the envoys were done among you, with all perseverance, miraculous wonders, and powerful works.
13 In what respect were you inferior to the rest of the assemblies, except that I didnt bother you for help? Pardon me for this wrong [1].
14 Now I’m ready to visit you for a third time, and I wont be a burden to you, because I dont want your things, but I want you! Children shouldnt have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children.
15 I’ll cheerfully spend both my money and myself for you. Do you love me less because I love you so much?
16 Tho I didnt bother you for help, yet perhaps by being cunning, I snared you by deceit?
17 Or perhaps it was by someone I sent to you, that I took advantage of you?
18 I asked for Titus, and with him I sent some other Friends. Did Titus take anything from you? Didnt we conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Didnt we follow the same path?
19 Again, do you think that we should give a full accounting to you? Everything that we say is before Yehovah, and by the Messiah. Beloved, everything that we do is for the sake of building you up.
20 I’m very afraid that when I arrive, I wont find you in a desirable condition, and I’m afraid that you wont find me to your liking. I’m afraid that there will be strife, contention, anger, self-promoting partisans seeking control, defamation, secret slandering, arrogance, and instability.
21 Perhaps when I come to you, my Aloha will humble me, and I’ll have to lament over the many who have sinned and havent repented of their profligate living, their sexual perversions, and the immortality that they have practiced.
[1] It appears that the meaning of this verse is that the Corinthian assembly would have been more blessed had Paul “burdened” them by allowing them to assist him in his endeavors.
2 Corinthians 13: This is the third time that I have prepared to come to you. By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word will be established.
2 I have told you before, and I’ll tell you in advance, as if I were with you for a second time, even tho I’m absent, I’m writing to those who have sinned as well as the others, that if I come again, I’ll not hold back.
3 Since you demand proof that the Messiah speaks thru me, someone who hasnt been weak among you, but powerful among you.
4 Tho He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the dynamic power [dunamis] of Yehovah. We also are weak with Him, yet we will live with Him by the power of Yehovah that is among you.
5 Decide for yourselves whether you are in the faith. Prove your own authenticity [dokimazo]. Dont you recognize by yourselves that Yeshua the Messiah is in you? And if He is not, you are counterfeits [adokimos].
6 But I trust that you’ll discern that we’re not counterfeits.
7 I pray to Yehovah that there wont be any evil in you, not so that we’ll be proven to be genuine, but so that you’ll be doing good things even if we were proven to be counterfeits!
8 We can do nothing against the truth, we are for the truth.
9 We are glad when we’re weak and you are strong. We also pray that you’ll strive for perfection.
10 I’m writing these things while away, because if I were present I might seem too abrasive. I want to use the authority that my Master has given me to strengthen you, not to tear you down.
11
Finally Friends, goodbye. Be perfected and encouraged. May harmony and peace be with you, and the Aloha of love and of peace will be with you.
12 Greet each other with a kiss “of Friendship”.
13 All the faithful welcome you.
14 May the peace of our Master Yeshua the Messiah, and the love of Yehovah, and the participation of the devout spirit be with you all. Aw-mane’.
End of the second letter to the Corinthians, that was written in Philippi of Macedonia, and sent by Titus.
GALATIANS is next.
Compare the 2010, Second Edition of the Gabriel Version’s 2 Corinthians with the 1851 Murdock Translation of 2 Corinthians, or compare it with the 1849 Etheridge.
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