| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband--Christ. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5But I don't consider myself inferior in any way to these "super apostles" who teach such things. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I'm not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God's Good News to you without expecting anything in return? |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8I "robbed" other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9And when I was with you and didn't have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11Why? Because I don't love you? God knows that I do. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16Again I say, don't think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little. |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools! |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21I'm ashamed to say that we've been too "weak" to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about--I'm talking like a fool again--I dare to boast about it, too. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 29Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? |
| 30[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 30If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. |
| 31[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 31God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. |
| 32[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 32When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. |
| 33[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 33I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All Rights Reserved. |
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