Galatians 3

1 O senseless Galatians, who has so fascinated you that you would not obey the truth, even though Jesus Christ has been presented before your eyes, crucified among you?

2 I wish to know only this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are you so foolish that, though you began with the Spirit, you would now end with the flesh?

4 Have you been suffering so much without a reason? If so, then it is in vain.

5 Therefore, does he who distributes the Spirit to you, and who works miracles among you, act by the works of the law, or by the hearing of the faith?

6 It is just as it was written: “Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice.”

7 Therefore, know that those who are of faith, these are the sons of Abraham.

8 Thus Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, foretold to Abraham: “All nations shall be blessed in you.”

9 And so, those who are of faith shall be blessed with faithful Abraham.

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it has been written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the things that have been written in the book of the Law, so as to do them.”

11 And, since in the law no one is justified with God, this is manifest: “For the just man lives by faith.”

12 But the law is not of faith; instead, “he who does these things shall live by them.”

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, since he became a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is anyone who hangs from a tree.”

14 This was so that the blessing of Abraham might reach the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, in order that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

15 Brothers (I speak according to man), if a man’s testament has been confirmed, no one would reject it or add to it.

16 The promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. He did not say, “and to descendents,” as if to many, but instead, as if to one, he said, “and to your offspring,” who is Christ.

17 But I say this: the testament confirmed by God, which, after four hundred and thirty years became the Law, does not nullify, so as to make the promise empty.

18 For if the inheritance is of the law, then it is no longer of the promise. But God bestowed it to Abraham through the promise.

19 Why, then, was there a law? It was established because of transgressions, until the offspring would arrive, to whom he made the promise, ordained by Angels through the hand of a mediator.

20 Now a mediator is not of one, yet God is one.

21 So then, was the law contrary to the promises of God? Let it not be so! For if a law had been given, which was able to give life, truly justice would be of the law.

22 But Scripture has enclosed everything under sin, so that the promise, by the faith of Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

23 But before the faith arrived, we were preserved by being enclosed under the law, unto that faith which was to be revealed.

24 And so the law was our guardian in Christ, in order that we might be justified by faith.

25 But now that faith has arrived, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 For you are all sons of God, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have become clothed with Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither servant nor free; there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if you are Christ’s, then are you the offspring of Abraham, heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 4

1 But I say that, during the time an heir is a child, he is no different from a servant, even though he is the owner of everything.

2 For he is under tutors and caretakers, until the time which was predetermined by the father.

3 So also we, when we were children, were subservient to the influences of the world.

4 But when the fullness of time arrived, God sent his Son, formed from a woman, formed under the law,

5 so that he might redeem those who were under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption of sons.

6 Therefore, because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying out: “Abba, Father.”

7 And so now he is not a servant, but a son. But if he is a son, then he is also an heir, through God.

8 But then, certainly, while ignorant of God, you served those who, by nature, are not gods.

9 But now, since you have known God, or rather, since you have been known by God: how can you turn away again, to weak and destitute influences, which you desire to serve anew?

10 You serve the days, and months, and times, and years.

11 I am afraid for you, lest perhaps I may have labored in vain among you.

12 Brothers, I beg you. Be as I am. For I, too, am like you. You have not injured me at all.

13 But you know that, in the weakness of the flesh, I have preached the Gospel to you for a long time, and that your trials are in my flesh.

14 You did not despise or reject me. But instead, you accepted me like an Angel of God, even like Christ Jesus.

15 Therefore, where is your happiness? For I offer to you testimony that, if it could be done, you would have plucked out your own eyes and would have given them to me.

16 So then, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?

17 They are not imitating you well. And they are willing to exclude you, so that you might imitate them.

18 But be imitators of what is good, always in a good way, and not only when I am present with you.

19 My little sons, I am giving birth to you again, until Christ is formed in you.

20 And I would willingly be present with you, even now. But I would alter my voice: for I am ashamed of you.

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, have you not read the law?

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: one by a servant woman, and one by a free woman.

23 And he who was of the servant was born according to the flesh. But he who was of the free woman was born by the promise.

24 These things are said through an allegory. For these represent the two testaments. Certainly the one, on Mount Sinai, gives birth unto servitude, which is Hagar.

25 For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which is related to the Jerusalem of the present time, and it serves with her sons.

26 But that Jerusalem which is above is free; the same is our mother.

27 For it was written: “Rejoice, O barren one, though you do not conceive. Burst forth and cry out, though you do not give birth. For many are the children of the desolate, even more than of her who has a husband.”

28 Now we, brothers, like Isaac, are sons of the promise.

29 But just as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.

30 And what does Scripture say? “Cast out the woman servant and her son. For the son of a servant women shall not be an heir with the son of a free woman.”

31 And so, brothers, we are not the sons of the servant woman, but rather of the free woman. And this is the freedom with which Christ has set us free.

Galatians 5

1 Stand firm, and do not be willing to be again held by the yoke of servitude.

2 Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you have been circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

3 For I again testify, about every man circumcising himself, that he is obligated to act according to the entire law.

4 You are being emptied of Christ, you who are being justified by the law. You have fallen from grace.

5 For in spirit, by faith, we await the hope of justice.

6 For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails over anything, but only faith which works through charity.

7 You have run well. So what has impeded you, that you would not obey the truth?

8 This kind of influence is not from him who is calling you.

9 A little leaven corrupts the whole mass.

10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will accept nothing of the kind. However, he who disturbs you shall bear the judgment, whomever he may be.

11 And as for me, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still suffering persecution? For then the scandal of the Cross would be made empty.

12 And I wish that those who disturb you would be torn away.

13 For you, brothers, have been called to liberty. Only you must not make liberty into an occasion for the flesh, but instead, serve one another through the charity of the Spirit.

14 For the entire law is fulfilled by one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not consumed by one another!

16 So then, I say: Walk in the spirit, and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

17 For the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And since these are against one another, you may not do whatever you want.

18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence,

20 the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions,

21 envy, murder, inebriation, carousing, and similar things. About these things, I continue to preach to you, as I have preached to you: that those who act in this way shall not obtain the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, forbearance,

23 meekness, faith, modesty, abstinence, chastity. There is no law against such things.

24 For those who are Christ’s have crucified their flesh, along with its vices and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, we should also walk by the Spirit.

26 Let us not become desirous of empty glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 6

1 And, brothers, if a man has been overtaken by any offense, you who are spiritual should instruct someone like this with a spirit of leniency, considering that you yourselves might also be tempted.

2 Carry one another’s burdens, and so shall you fulfill the law of Christ.

3 For if anyone considers himself to be something, though he may be nothing, he deceives himself.

4 So let each one prove his own work. And in this way, he shall have glory in himself only, and not in another.

5 For each one shall carry his own burden.

6 And let him who is being taught the Word discuss it with him who is teaching it to him, in every good way.

7 Do not choose to wander astray. God is not to be ridiculed.

8 For whatever a man will have sown, that also shall he reap. For whoever sows in his flesh, from the flesh he shall also reap corruption. But whoever sows in the Spirit, from the Spirit he shall reap eternal life.

9 And so, let us not be deficient in doing good. For in due time, we shall reap without fail.

10 Therefore, while we have time, we should do good works toward everyone, and most of all toward those who are of the household of the faith.

11 Consider what kind of letters I have written to you with my own hand.

12 For as many of you as they desire to please in the flesh, they compel to be circumcised, but only so that they might not suffer the persecution of the cross of Christ.

13 And yet, neither do they themselves, who are circumcised, keep the law. Instead, they want you to be circumcised, so that they may glory in your flesh.

14 But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.

15 For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision prevails in any way, but instead there is a new creature.

16 And whoever follows this rule: may peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

17 Concerning other matters, let no one trouble me. For I carry the stigmata of the Lord Jesus in my body.

18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

2 Corinthians 1

1 Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, a brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all of Achaia:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation.

4 He consoles us in all our tribulation, so that we too may be able to console those who are in any kind of distress, through the exhortation by which we also are being exhorted by God.

5 For just as the Passion of Christ abounds in us, so also, through Christ, does our consolation abound.

6 So, if we are in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation, or if we are in consolation, it is for your consolation, or if we are exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which results in the patience endurance of the same passion which we also endure.

7 So may our hope for you be made firm, knowing that, just as you are participants in the suffering, so also shall you be participants in the consolation.

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about our tribulation, which happened to us in Asia. For we were weighed down beyond measure, beyond our strength, so that we became weary, even of life itself.

9 But we had within ourselves the response to death, so that we would not have faith in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.

10 He has rescued us, and he is rescuing us, from great peril. In him, we hope that he will continue to rescue us.

11 And you are assisting, with your prayers for us, so that from many persons, by that which is a gift in us, thanks may be given through many persons, because of us.

12 For our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience, which is found in simplicity of heart and in sincerity toward God. And it is not with worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God, that we have conversed with this world, and more abundantly toward you.

13 For we write nothing else to you other than what you have read and understood. And I hope that you will continue to understand, even unto the end.

14 And just as you have acknowledged us in our role, that we are your glory, so also you are ours, unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 And with this confidence, I wanted to come to you sooner, so that you might have a second grace,

16 and through you to pass into Macedonia, and to return to you again from Macedonia, and so be led by you on my way to Judea.

17 Then, although I had intended this, did I act lightly? Or in the things that I consider, do I consider according to the flesh, so that there would be, with me, both Yes and No?

18 But God is faithful, so our word, which was set before you, was not, in him, both Yes and No.

19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you through us, through myself and Sylvanus and Timothy, was not Yes, and No; but was simply Yes in him.

20 For whatever promises are of God are, in him, Yes. For this reason, too, through him: Amen to God for our glory.

21 Now the One who confirms us with you in Christ, and who has anointed us, is God.

22 And he has sealed us, and he has placed the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.

23 But I call God as a witness to my soul, that I was lenient with you, in that I did not return to Corinth:

24 not because we have dominion over your faith, but because we are assistants of your joy. For by faith you stand.

2 Corinthians 2

1 But I determined this within myself, not to return again to you in sorrow.

2 For if I make you sorrowful, then who is it that can make me glad, except the one who is made sorrowful by me?

3 And so, I wrote this same thing to you, so that I might not, when I arrive, add sorrow to sorrow for those with whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you in all things, so that my joy may be entirely yours.

4 For with much tribulation and anguish of heart, I wrote to you with many tears: not so that you would be sorrowful, but so that you might know the charity that I have more abundantly toward you.

5 But if anyone has brought sorrow, he has not sorrowed me. Yet, for my part, this is so that I might not burden all of you.

6 Let this rebuke be sufficient for someone like this, for it has been brought by many.

7 So then, to the contrary, you should be more forgiving and consoling, lest perhaps someone like this may be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow.

8 Because of this, I beg you to confirm your charity toward him.

9 It was for this reason, also, that I wrote, so that I might know, by testing you, whether you would be obedient in all things.

10 But anyone whom you have forgiven of anything, I also forgive. And then, too, anyone I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it was done in the person of Christ for your sakes,

11 so that we would not be circumvented by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his intentions.

12 And when I had arrived at Troas, because of the Gospel of Christ, and a door had opened to me in the Lord,

13 I had no rest within my spirit, because I was not able to find Titus, my brother. So, saying goodbye to them, I set out for Macedonia.

14 But thanks be to God, who always brings triumph to us in Christ Jesus, and who manifests the fragrance of his knowledge through us in every place.

15 For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ for God, both with those who are being saved and with those who are perishing.

16 To the one, certainly, the fragrance is of death unto death. But to the other, the fragrance is of life unto life. And concerning these things, who is so suitable?

17 For we are not like many others, adulterating the Word of God. But instead, we speak with sincerity: from God, before God, and in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3

1 Must we begin again to commend ourselves? Or are we in need (as some are) of epistles of commendation for you, or from you?

2 You are our Epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men.

3 It has been made manifest that you are the Epistle of Christ, ministered by us, and written down, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart.

4 And we have such faith, through Christ, toward God.

5 It is not that we are adequate to think anything of ourselves, as if anything was from us. But our adequacy is from God.

6 And he has made us suitable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 But if the ministration of death, engraved with letters upon stones, was in glory, (so much so that the sons of Israel were not able to gaze intently upon the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance) even though this ministration was ineffective,

8 how could the ministration of the Spirit not be in greater glory?

9 For if the ministration of condemnation is with glory, so much more is the ministration of justice abundant in glory.

10 And neither was it glorified by means of an excellent glory, though it was made illustrious in its own way.

11 For if even what was temporary has its glory, then what is lasting has an even greater glory.

12 Therefore, having such a hope, we act with much confidence,

13 and not as Moses did, in placing a veil over his face, so that the sons of Israel would not gaze intently at his face. This was ineffective,

14 for their minds were obtuse. And, even until this present day, the very same veil, in the readings from the Old Testament, remains not taken away (though, in Christ, it is taken away).

15 But even until today, when Moses is read, a veil is still set over their hearts.

16 But when they will have been converted to the Lord, then the veil shall be taken away.

17 Now the Spirit is Lord. And wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

18 Yet truly, all of us, as we gaze upon the unveiled glory of the face of the Lord, are transfigured into the same image, from one glory to another. And this is done by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, and in as much as we have obtained mercy for ourselves, we are not inadequate.

2 For we renounce dishonorable and hidden acts, not walking by craftiness, nor by adulterating the Word of God. Instead, by the manifestation of truth, we commend ourselves to the conscience of each man before God.

3 But if our Gospel is in some way hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing.

4 As for them, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, would not shine in them.

5 For we are not preaching about ourselves, but about Jesus Christ our Lord. We are merely your servants through Jesus.

6 For God, who told the light to shine out of darkness, has shined a light into our hearts, to illuminate the knowledge of the splendor of God, in the person of Christ Jesus.

7 But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, so that what is sublime may be of the power of God, and not of us.

8 In all things, we endure tribulation, yet we are not in anguish. We are constrained, yet we are not destitute.

9 We suffer persecution, yet we have not been abandoned. We are thrown down, yet we do not perish.

10 We ever carry around the mortification of Jesus in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

11 For we who live are ever handed over unto death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh.

12 Therefore, death is at work in us, and life is at work in you.

13 But we have the same Spirit of faith. And just as it is written, “I believed, and for that reason I spoke,” so we also believe, and for that reason, we also speak.

14 For we know that the One who raised up Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and will place us with you.

15 Thus, all is for you, so that grace, abounding through many in thanksgiving, may abound to the glory of God.

16 For this reason, we are not insufficient. But it is as though our outer man is corrupted, while our inner man is renewed from day to day.

17 For though our tribulation is, at the present time, brief and light, it accomplishes in us the weight of a sublime eternal glory, beyond measure.

18 And we are contemplating, not the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporal, whereas the things that are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 5

1 For we know that, when our earthly house of this habitation is dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

2 And for this reason also, we groan, desiring to be clothed from above with our habitation from heaven.

3 If we are so clothed, then we will not be found to be naked.

4 Then too, we who are in this tabernacle groan under the burden, because we do not want to be stripped, but rather to be clothed from above, so that what is mortal may be absorbed by life.

5 Now the One who accomplishes this very thing in us is God, who has given us the pledge of the Spirit.

6 Therefore, we are ever confident, knowing that, while we are in the body, we are on a pilgrimage in the Lord.

7 For we walk by means of faith, and not by sight.

8 So we are confident, and we have the good will to be on a pilgrimage in the body, so as to be present to the Lord.

9 And thus we struggle, whether absent or present, to please him.

10 For it is necessary for us to be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the proper things of the body, according to his behavior, whether it was good or evil.

11 Therefore, having knowledge of the fear of the Lord, we appeal to men, but we are made manifest before God. Yet I hope, too, that we may be made manifest in your consciences.

12 We are not commending ourselves again to you, but rather we are presenting you with an opportunity to glory because of us, when you deal with those who glory in face, and not in heart.

13 For if we are excessive in mind, it is for God; but if we are sober, it is for you.

14 For the charity of Christ urges us on, in consideration of this: that if one died for all, then all have died.

15 And Christ died for all, so that even those who live might not now live for themselves, but for him who died for them and who rose again.

16 And so, from now on, we know no one according to the flesh. And though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him in this way no longer.

17 So if anyone is a new creature in Christ, what is old has passed away. Behold, all things have been made new.

18 But all is of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

19 For certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not charging them with their sins. And he has placed in us the Word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, so that God is exhorting through us. We beseech you for Christ: be reconciled to God.

21 For God made him who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the justice of God in him.

2 Corinthians 6

1 But, as a help to you, we exhort you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

2 For he says: “In a favorable time, I heeded you; and on the day of salvation, I helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

3 May we never give offense to anyone, so that our ministry may not be disparaged.

4 But in all things, let us exhibit ourselves as ministers of God with great patience: through tribulation, difficulties, and distress;

5 despite wounds, imprisonment, and rebellion; with hard work, vigilance, and fasting;

6 by chastity, knowledge, and longsuffering; in pleasantness, in the Holy Spirit, and in unfeigned charity;

7 with the Word of truth, with the power of God, and with the armor of justice to the right and to the left;

8 through honor and dishonor, despite good reports and bad, whether seen as deceivers or truth-tellers, whether ignored or acknowledged;

9 as if dying and yet truly alive; as if chastised and yet not subdued;

10 as if sorrowful and yet always rejoicing; as if needy and yet enriching many; as if having nothing and possessing everything.

11 Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged.

12 You are not narrowed by us, but it is by your own inner selves that you are narrowed.

13 But since we have the same recompense, (I am speaking as if to my own sons), you, too, should be enlarged.

14 Do not choose to bear the yoke with unbelievers. For how can justice be a participant with iniquity? Or how can the fellowship of light be a participant with darkness?

15 And how can Christ join together with Belial? Or what part do the faithful have with the unfaithful?

16 And what consensus does the temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, just as God says: “I will dwell with them, and I will walk among them. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Because of this, you must depart from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean.

18 Then I will accept you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”