New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain,
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For you yourselves, brothers, are conscious that our coming among you was not without effect:
2 but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition.
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But after we had first undergone much pain and been cruelly attacked as you saw, at Philippi, by the help of God we gave you the good news without fear, though everything was against us.
3 For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery,
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For our witness does not come from error or from an unclean heart or from deceit:
4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts.
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But even as the good news was given to us by the approval of God, so we give it out; not as pleasing men, but God by whom our hearts are tested.
5 As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed;
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For it is common knowledge among you that we never made use of smooth-sounding false words, and God is witness that at no time were we secretly desiring profit for ourselves,
6 nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others,
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Or looking for glory from men, from you or from others, when we might have made ourselves a care to you as Apostles of Christ.
7 though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children.
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But we were gentle among you, like a woman caring for her little ones:
8 So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
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Even so, being full of loving desire for you, we took delight in giving you not only God's good news, but even our lives, because you were dear to us.
9 You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
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For you have the memory, my brothers, of our trouble and care; how, working night and day, so that we might not be a trouble to any of you, we gave you the good news of God.
10 You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers.
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You are witnesses, with God, how holy and upright and free from all evil was our way of life among you who have faith;
11 As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children,
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Even as you saw how, like a father with his children, we were teaching and comforting you all, and giving witness,
12 urging and encouraging you and pleading that you lead a life worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
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So that your lives might be pleasing to God, who has given you a part in his kingdom and his glory.
13 We also constantly give thanks to God for this, that when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you believers.
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And for this cause we still give praise to God, that, when the word came to your ears through us, you took it, not as the word of man, but, as it truly is, the word of God, which has living power in you who have faith.
14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews,
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For you, my brothers, took as your examples the churches of God which are in Judaea in Christ Jesus; because you underwent the same things from your countrymen as they did from the Jews;
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out; they displease God and oppose everyone
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Who put to death the Lord Jesus and the prophets, violently driving us out; who are unpleasing to God and against all men;
16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they have constantly been filling up the measure of their sins; but God's wrath has overtaken them at last.
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Who, to make the measure of their sins complete, kept us from giving the word of salvation to the Gentiles: but the wrath of God is about to come on them in the fullest degree.
17 As for us, brothers and sisters, when, for a short time, we were made orphans by being separated from you—in person, not in heart—we longed with great eagerness to see you face to face.
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But we, my brothers, being away from you for a short time, in body but not in heart, had all the more desire to see your face;
18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, wanted to again and again—but Satan blocked our way.
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For which reason we made attempts to come to you, even I, Paul, once and again; but Satan kept us from coming.
19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
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For what is our hope or joy or crown of glory? Are not even you, before our Lord Jesus, at his coming?
20 Yes, you are our glory and joy!
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For you are our glory and our joy.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.