| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. | 1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. |
| 2For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, | 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. |
| 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. | 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. |
| 4So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. | 4While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. |
| 5And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come. | 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. |
| 6Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. | 6So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. |
| 7For we walk by faith, not by sight. | 7For we live by believing and not by seeing. |
| 8We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. | 8Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. |
| 9So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. | 9So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. |
| 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. | 10For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. We Are God’s Ambassadors |
| 11Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well. | 11Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. |
| 12We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart. | 12Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. |
| 13If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. | 13If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. |
| 14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. | 14Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. |
| 15And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again. | 15He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. |
| 16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. | 16So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! |
| 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! | 17This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! |
| 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: | 18And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. |
| 19that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. | 19For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. |
| 20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. | 20So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” |
| 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. | 21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. |
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