| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart. | 1Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. |
| 2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. | 2We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. |
| 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. | 3If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. |
| 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. | 4Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. |
| 5For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. | 5You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. |
| 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. | 6For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. |
| 7Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. | 7We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. |
| 8We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; | 8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. |
| 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. | 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. |
| 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. | 10Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. |
| 11For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. | 11Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. |
| 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. | 12So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. |
| 13And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, | 13But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” |
| 14knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. | 14We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. |
| 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God. | 15All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. |
| 16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. | 16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. |
| 17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. | 17For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! |
| 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. | 18So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. |
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