Weymouth New Testament WNT
New International Version NIV
12 Homes we have none. Wearily we toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it patiently;
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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 when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.
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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 am not writing all this to shame you, but I am offering you advice as my dearly-loved children.
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I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children.
15 For even if you were to have ten thousand spiritual instructors--for all that you could not have several fathers. It is I who in Christ Jesus became your father through the Good News.
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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 I entreat you therefore to become like me.
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Therefore I urge you to imitate me.
17 For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. Spiritually he is my dearly-loved and faithful child. He will remind you of my habits as a Christian teacher--the manner in which I teach 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 But some of you have been puffed up through getting the idea that I am not coming to Corinth.
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Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
19 But, if the Lord is willing, I shall come to you without delay; and then I shall know not the fine speeches of these conceited people, but their 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 Apostolic authority is not a thing of words, but of power.
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For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.
21 Which shall it be? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in a loving and tender spirit?
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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?
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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.