| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; | 1Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. |
| 2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending 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. |
| 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: | 3If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. |
| 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. | 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 preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves 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 commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give 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. |
| 7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of 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 troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are 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; cast down, but not destroyed; | 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. |
| 10Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest 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 which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. | 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 worketh in us, but life in you. | 12So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. |
| 13We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we 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 he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. | 14We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. |
| 15For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound 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. |
| 16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is 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 affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; | 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! |
| 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. | 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. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | 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. |
|
