| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1A person should consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of God's mysteries. | 1So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. |
| 2In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one of them be found faithful. | 2Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. |
| 3It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don't even evaluate myself. | 3As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. |
| 4For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified by this. The One who evaluates me is the Lord. | 4My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. |
| 5Therefore don't judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God. | 5So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. |
| 6Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying: "Nothing beyond what is written." The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another. | 6Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. |
| 7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn't receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn't received it? | 7For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? |
| 8You are already full! You are already rich! You have begun to reign as kings without us--and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you! | 8You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. |
| 9For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. | 9Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike. |
| 10We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! | 10Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. |
| 11Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; | 11Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. |
| 12we labor, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; | 12We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. |
| 13when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the world's garbage, like the dirt everyone scrapes off their sandals. | 13We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. |
| 14I'm not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children. | 14I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. |
| 15For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can't have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. | 15For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. |
| 16Therefore I urge you to imitate me. | 16So I urge you to imitate me. |
| 17This is why I have sent Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church. | 17That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go. |
| 18Now some are inflated with pride, as though I were not coming to you. | 18Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. |
| 19But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will know not the talk but the power of those who are inflated with pride. | 19But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. |
| 20For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. | 20For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. |
| 21What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? | 21Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit? |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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