Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
1 For we know that when this tent we live in - our body here on earth - is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.
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For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
2 And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from heaven should be put on over us;
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For most assuredly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven;
3 by being clothed with it we shall not be without a body.
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if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked.
4 While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life.
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For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5 God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and he gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
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Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
6 So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home.
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Being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;
7 For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.
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for we walk by faith, not by sight.
8 We are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord.
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We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.
9 More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home here or there.
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Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.
10 For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.
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For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11 We know what it means to fear the Lord, and so we try to persuade others. God knows us completely, and I hope that in your hearts you know me as well.
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Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.
12 We are not trying again to recommend ourselves to you; rather, we are trying to give you a good reason to be proud of us, so that you will be able to answer those who boast about people's appearance and not about their character.
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For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but speak as giving you occasion of boasting on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance, and not in heart.
13 Are we really insane? It is for God's sake. Or are we sane? Then it is for your sake.
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For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.
14 We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death.
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For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.
15 He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.
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He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.
16 No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so.
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Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
17 Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.
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Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, they have become new.
18 All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.
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But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.
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namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends!
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We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.
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For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.