| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. | 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 put on our heavenly dwelling, | 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. |
| 3if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. | 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. |
| 4For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal 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. |
| 5He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. | 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. |
| 6So we are always of good courage. 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. |
| 8Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather 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 whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. | 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, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. | 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, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. | 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 but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is 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. |
| 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right 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 the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have 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 might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. | 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. |
| 16From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus 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 through Christ reconciled us to himself 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 is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting 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, God 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!” |
| 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | 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. |
|
