Third Millennium Bible TMB
New International Version NIV
12 and we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it;
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We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
13 being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
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when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.
14 I write these things not to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved sons.
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I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.
15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet ye have not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.
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Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
16 Therefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.
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Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
17 For this cause I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.
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For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.
18 Now some are puffed up as though I would not come to you.
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Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and will know, not the speech of those who are puffed up, but the power.
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But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.
20 For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.
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For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
21 What will ye have? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and in the spirit of meekness?
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What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.