Bible in 90 Days Plan

¹Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

²Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you.

³But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

⁴Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.

⁵But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.

⁶For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head.

⁷For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

⁸For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;

⁹for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.

¹⁰Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

¹²For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.

¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

¹⁴Does even nature itself not teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,

¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her as a covering.

¹⁶But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor have the churches of God.

¹⁷Now in giving this next instruction I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it.

¹⁹For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

²⁰Therefore when you come together it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper,

²¹for when you eat, each one takes his own supper first; and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

²²What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What am I to say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I do not praise you.

²³For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread;

²⁴and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

²⁵In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

²⁷Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.

²⁸But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

²⁹For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.

³⁰For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep.

³¹But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

³²But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

³⁴If anyone is hungry, have him eat at home, so that you do not come together for judgment. As to the remaining matters, I will give instructions when I come.

¹Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware.

²You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.

³Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.

⁵And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.

⁶There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

⁷But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

⁸For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;

⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

¹⁰and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.

¹¹But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

¹²For just as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.

¹³For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body is not one part, but many.

¹⁵If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁶And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body.

¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

¹⁸But now God has arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, just as He desired.

¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be?

²⁰But now there are many parts, but one body.

²¹And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

²²On the contrary, it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;

²³and those parts of the body which we consider less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable,

²⁴whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked,

²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another.

²⁶And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is honored, all the parts rejoice with it.

²⁷Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

²⁸And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, and various kinds of tongues.

²⁹All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?

³⁰All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?

³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.

¹If I speak with the tongues of mankind and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

²If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

³And if I give away all my possessions to charity, and if I surrender my body so that I may glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant.

⁵It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

⁶it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

⁷it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

⁹For we know in part and prophesy in part;

¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with.

¹¹When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

¹²For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known.

¹³But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

¹Pursue love, yet earnestly desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.

²For the one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

³But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.

⁴The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but the one who prophesies edifies the church.

⁵Now I wish that you all spoke in tongues, but rather that you would prophesy; and greater is the one who prophesies than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive edification.

⁶But now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation, or of knowledge, or of prophecy, or of teaching?

⁷Yet even lifeless instruments, whether flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp?

⁸For if the trumpet produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle?

⁹So you too, unless you produce intelligible speech by the tongue, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will just be talking to the air.

¹⁰There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of languages in the world, and none is incapable of meaning.

¹¹So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be unintelligible to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be unintelligible to me.

¹²So you too, since you are eager to possess spiritual gifts, strive to excel for the edification of the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue is to pray that he may interpret.

¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive.

¹⁵What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, but I will sing with the mind also.

¹⁶For otherwise, if you bless God in the spirit only, how will the one who occupies the place of the outsider know to say the “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you are saying?

¹⁷For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not edified.

¹⁸I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all;

¹⁹nevertheless, in church I prefer to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

²¹In the Law it is written: “BY MEN OF STRANGE TONGUES AND BY THE LIPS OF STRANGERS I WILL SPEAK TO THIS PEOPLE, AND EVEN SO THEY WILL NOT LISTEN TO ME,” says the Lord.

²²So then, tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for those who believe.

²³Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are insane?

²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all;

²⁵the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

²⁶What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. All things are to be done for edification.

²⁷If anyone speaks in a tongue, it must be by two or at the most three, and each one in turn, and one is to interpret;

²⁸but if there is no interpreter, he is to keep silent in church; and have him speak to himself and to God.

²⁹Have two or three prophets speak, and have the others pass judgment.

³⁰But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, then the first one is to keep silent.

³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;

³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;

³³for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,

³⁴the women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.

³⁵If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶Or was it from you that the word of God first went out? Or has it come to you only?

³⁷If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.

³⁸But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

³⁹Therefore, my brothers and sisters, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

⁴⁰But all things must be done properly and in an orderly way.

¹Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand,

²by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

³For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

⁴and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

⁵and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

⁶After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

⁷then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

⁸and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

⁹For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

¹²Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain.

¹⁵Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised.

¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised;

¹⁷and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

¹⁸Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

²¹For since by a man death came, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,

²⁴then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

²⁵For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

²⁶The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

²⁷For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him.

²⁸When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

²⁹For otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

³⁰Why are we also in danger every hour?

³¹I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily.

³²If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, LET’S EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE.

³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

³⁴Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

³⁶You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

³⁷and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

³⁸But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

⁴⁰There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵So also it is written: “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING PERSON.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

⁴⁷The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

⁵¹Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

⁵³For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP in victory.

⁵⁵WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR VICTORY? WHERE, O DEATH, IS YOUR STING?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law;

⁵⁷but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

¹Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you are to do as well.

²On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, so that no collections need to be made when I come.

³When I arrive, whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem;

⁴and if it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.

⁵But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia; for I am going through Macedonia,

⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go.

⁷For I do not want to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits.

⁸But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost;

⁹for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰Now if Timothy comes, see that he has no reason to be afraid while among you, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I also am.

¹¹So do not look down on him, anyone. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brothers.

¹²Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly encouraged him to come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has the opportunity.

¹³Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

¹⁴All that you do must be done in love.

¹⁵Now I urge you, brothers and sisters: you know the household of Stephanas, that they are the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to ministry to the saints;

¹⁶I urge that you also be subject to such as these and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.

¹⁷I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part.

¹⁸For they have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.

¹⁹The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

²⁰All the brothers and sisters greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹The greeting is in my own hand—that of Paul.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha!

²³The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Timothy, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

⁴who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

⁶But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;

⁷and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

⁸For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.

⁹Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

¹⁰who rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,

¹¹if you also join in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many.

¹²For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.

¹³For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end;

¹⁴just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, on the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵In this confidence I intended at first to come to you, so that you might twice receive a blessing;

¹⁶that is, to pass your way into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be helped on my journey to Judea.

¹⁷Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I decide, do I decide according to the flesh, so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time?

¹⁸But as God is faithful, our word to you is not yes and no.

¹⁹For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but has been yes in Him.

²⁰For as many as the promises of God are, in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

²¹Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,

²²who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

²³But I call God as witness to my soul, that it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth.

²⁴Not that we domineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are standing firm.

¹But I decided this for my own sake, that I would not come to you in sorrow again.

²For if I cause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

³This is the very thing I wrote you, so that when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having confidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all.

⁴For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

⁵But if anyone has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not for me, but in some degree—not to say too much—for all of you.

⁶Sufficient for such a person is this punishment which was imposed by the majority,

⁷so that on the other hand, you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a person might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

⁸Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.

⁹For to this end I also wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.

¹⁰But one whom you forgive anything, I also forgive; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did so for your sakes in the presence of Christ,

¹¹so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

¹²Now when I came to Troas for the gospel of Christ and when a door was opened for me in the Lord,

¹³I had no rest for my spirit, not finding Titus my brother; but saying goodbye to them, I went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Him in every place.

¹⁵For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:

¹⁶to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

¹⁷For we are not like the many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.

¹Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

²You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people,

³revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

⁴Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ.

⁵Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,

⁶who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,

⁸how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

⁹For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory.

¹⁰For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it.

¹¹For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

¹²Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech,

¹³and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away.

¹⁴But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.

¹⁵But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts;

¹⁶but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

¹⁸But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

¹Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,

²but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God.

³And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

⁴in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus.

⁶For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

⁷But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

⁸we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;

¹⁰always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

¹¹For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

¹²So death works in us, but life in you.

¹³But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: “I BELIEVED, THEREFORE I SPOKE,” we also believe, therefore we also speak,

¹⁴knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and will present us with you.

¹⁵For all things are for your sakes, so that grace, having spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

¹⁸while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

¹For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.

²For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,

³since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked.

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

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

⁶Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight—

⁸but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

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

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.

¹¹Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also well known in your consciences.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity 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 have lost our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

¹⁵and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

¹⁶Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

¹⁸Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

¹⁹namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

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

²¹He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

¹And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—

²for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION”—

³giving no reason for taking offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,

⁴but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties,

⁵in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,

⁶in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,

⁷in the word of truth, and in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,

⁸by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true;

⁹as unknown and yet well known, as dying and yet behold, we are alive; as punished and yet not put to death,

¹⁰as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

¹¹Our mouth has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.

¹²You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.

¹³Now in the same way in exchange—I am speaking as to children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.

¹⁴Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?

¹⁵Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever?

¹⁶Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

¹⁷Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

¹⁸And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

¹Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

²Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.

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

⁴My confidence in you is great; my boasting in your behalf is great. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

⁵For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts on the outside, fears inside.

⁶But God, who comforts the discouraged, comforted us by the arrival of Titus;

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

⁸For though I 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 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 longing, what zeal, what punishment of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

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

¹³Because of this, we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

¹⁴For if I have boasted to him about you regarding anything, I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.

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

¹⁶I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.