| International Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Think of us as servants of the Messiah and as servant managers entrusted with God's secrets. | 1So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. |
| 2Now it is required of servant managers that each one should prove to be trustworthy. | 2Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. |
| 3It is a very small thing to me that I should be examined 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 my conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me. | 4My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. |
| 5Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise 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. |
| 6Brothers, I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what the Scriptures say. Then you will stop boasting about one person at the expense of 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 superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not receive 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 already have all you want! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings 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 it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display in last place, like men condemned to death. We have become a spectacle for the world, for angels, and for people to stare at. | 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 the Messiah's sake, but you are wise in the Messiah. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, 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. |
| 11We are hungry, thirsty, dressed in rags, brutally treated, and homeless, right up to the present. | 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 wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure. | 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 slandered, we answer with kind words. Even now we have become the filth of the world, the scum of the universe. | 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 make you feel ashamed, 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. |
| 15You may have 10,000 mentors who work for the Messiah, but not many fathers. For in the Messiah Jesus I became your father 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. |
| 16So I urge you to imitate me. | 16So I urge you to imitate me. |
| 17That's why I sent Timothy to you. He is my dear and dependable son in the Lord and will help you remember how I live for the Messiah Jesus 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. |
| 18Some of you have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to evaluate you. | 18Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. |
| 19But I will come to you soon if it's the Lord's will. Then I'll discover not only what these arrogant people are saying but also what power they have, | 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 isn't just talk, but also power. | 20For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. |
| 21Which do you prefer? Should I come to you with a stick, or with love and a gentle spirit? | 21Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit? |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | 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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