2Cor.2.12

When I arrived in Troas to proclaim the Message of the Messiah, I found the place wide open: God had opened the door; all I had to do was walk through it.

2Cor.2.12

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

2Cor.2.12

Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord,

2Cor.2.12

Well, when I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me tremendous opportunities.

2Cor.2.13

But when I didn't find Titus waiting for me with news of your condition, I couldn't relax. Worried about you, I left and came on to Macedonia province looking for Titus and a reassuring word on you.

2Cor.2.13

I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.

2Cor.2.13

I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

2Cor.2.13

But I couldn't rest because my dear brother Titus hadn't yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him.

2Cor.2.14

And I got it, thank God! In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance.

2Cor.2.14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

2Cor.2.14

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

2Cor.2.14

But thanks be to God, who made us his captives and leads us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume.

2Cor.2.15

Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation--an aroma redolent with life.

2Cor.2.15

For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

2Cor.2.15

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

2Cor.2.15

Our lives are a fragrance presented by Christ to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those being saved and by those perishing.

2Cor.2.16

But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse. This is a terrific responsibility. Is anyone competent to take it on?

2Cor.2.16

To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?

2Cor.2.16

To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?

2Cor.2.16

To those who are perishing we are a fearful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

2Cor.2.17

No--but at least we don't take God's Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ's presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.

2Cor.2.17

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

2Cor.2.17

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

2Cor.2.17

You see, we are not like those hucksters--and there are many of them--who preach just to make money. We preach God's message with sincerity and with Christ's authority. And we know that the God who sent us is watching us.

2Cor.3.1

Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you.

2Cor.3.1

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

2Cor.3.1

Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?

2Cor.3.1

Are we beginning again to tell you how good we are? Some people need to bring letters of recommendation with them or ask you to write letters of recommendation for them.

2Cor.3.2

You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you.

2Cor.3.2

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.

2Cor.3.2

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

2Cor.3.2

But the only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves! Your lives are a letter written in our hearts, and everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.

2Cor.3.3

Christ himself wrote it--not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives--and we publish it.

2Cor.3.3

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2Cor.3.3

clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

2Cor.3.3

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ prepared by us. It is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on stone, but on human hearts.

2Cor.3.4

We couldn't be more sure of ourselves in this--that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation.

2Cor.3.4

Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.

2Cor.3.4

And we have such trust through Christ toward God.

2Cor.3.4

We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ.

2Cor.3.5

We wouldn't think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter.

2Cor.3.5

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

2Cor.3.5

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

2Cor.3.5

It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.

2Cor.3.6

His letter authorizes us to help carry out this new plan of action. The plan wasn't written out with ink on paper, with pages and pages of legal footnotes, killing your spirit. It's written with Spirit on spirit, his life on our lives!

2Cor.3.6

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2Cor.3.6

who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2Cor.3.6

He is the one who has enabled us to represent his new covenant. This is a covenant, not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old way ends in death; in the new way, the Holy Spirit gives life.