Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy {Greek: the brother.}our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be {Or, God and the Father See Romans 15:6 margin.}the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;
who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ.
But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer:
and our hope for you is stedfast; knowing that, as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the comfort.
For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
{Or, but we ourselves}yea, we ourselves have had the {Greek: answer.}sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead:
who delivered us out of so great a death, and will deliver: on whom we have {Some ancient authorities read set our hope; and still will he deliver us.}set our hope that he will also still deliver us;
ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf.
For our glorying is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
For we write no other things unto you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end:
as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second {Or, grace Some ancient authorities read joy}benefit;
and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judæa.
When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay?
But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay.
For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you {Greek: through.}by us, even {Greek: through.}by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in him is yea.
For how many soever be the promises of God, in him is the yea: wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us.
Now he that establisheth us with you {Greek: into.}in Christ, and anointed us, is God;
{Or, seeing that he both sealed us}who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
But I call God for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you I forbare to come unto Corinth.
Not that we have lordship over your {Or, your faith}faith, but are helpers of your joy: for in faith ye stand fast.
Querverweise zu 2. Korinther 1,20 2Kor 1,20
and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall {Or, lie in wait for}bruise thy head, and thou shalt {Or, lie in wait for}bruise his heel.
so that he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of {Hebrew: Amen. See 2 Corinthians 1:20; Revelation 3:14.}truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of {Hebrew: Amen. See 2 Corinthians 1:20; Revelation 3:14.}truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
Seeing it is God, that said, {Genesis 1:3.}Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the {Greek: illumination.}light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth {Or, bless themselves}be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through {Greek: the more.}the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,Nor {Or, a lawgiver}the ruler's staff from between his feet, {Or, Til he come to Shiloh, having the obedience of the peoples Or, according to Syriac, Til he come whose it is &c.}Until Shiloh come:And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
For Jehovah hath built up Zion;He hath appeared in his glory.
His name shall endure for ever;His name shall {Or, have issue}be continued {Hebrew: before the sun.}as long as the sun:And men shall {Or, bless themselves}be blessed in him;All nations shall call him happy.
And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from {Or, evil}the evil one. {Many authorities, some ancient, but with variations add For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen. }
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, {Or, the}a {Or, maiden}virgin {Or, is with child, and beareth}shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name {That is, God is with us.}Immanuel.
Glory to God in the highest,And on earth {Many ancient authorities read peace, good pleasure among men.}peace among {Greek: men of good pleasure.}men in whom he is well pleased.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called {Or, Wonderful counsellor}Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, {Hebrew: Father of Eternity.}Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever. Amen.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received {Some ancient authorities read us.}you, to the glory of God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;For he hath visited and wrought redemption for his people,
And hath raised up a horn of salvation for usIn the house of his servant David
(As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets that have been from of old),
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To show mercy towards our fathers,And to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware unto Abraham our father,
To grant unto us that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemiesShould serve him without fear,
to the praise of the glory of his grace, {Or, wherewith he endued us}which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, we who {Or, have}had before hoped in Christ:
in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the {Or, good tidings. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel of your salvation,— in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but {Or, through}by me.
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus:
Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God {Greek: covenanted.}made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, {Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14.}And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to {Greek: bring good tidings of the &c. Compare chapter 2:17.}preach unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
and to {Some ancient authorities read bring to light what is.}make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God who created all things;
to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Unto you first God, having raised up his {Or, Child See Matthew 12:18; Isaiah 42:1; 52:13; 53:11.}Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.
to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
And we bring you good tidings of the promise made unto the fathers,
that God hath fulfilled the same unto our children, in that he raised up Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, {Psalm 2:7}Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.
And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, {Isaiah 55:3}I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.
Because he saith also in another psalm, {Psalm 16:10}Thou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption.
For David, after he had {Or, served his own generation by the counsel of God, fell asleep Or, served his own generation, fell asleep by the counsel of God}in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
but he whom God raised up saw no corruption.
Be it known unto you therefore, brethren, that through this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins:
and by him every one that believeth is justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.
For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that {Greek: brought good tidings. Compare Matthew 11:5.} preached the gospel unto you {Greek: in.}by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given unto the fathers,
saying,Amen: {Greek: The blessing, and the glory &c.}Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God {Greek: unto the ages of ages.}for ever and ever. Amen.
and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, {Psalm 18:49 (or 2 Samuel 22:50).}Therefore will I {Or, confess}give praise unto thee among the {Greek: nations. Compare Matthew 4:15.}Gentiles,And sing unto thy name.
Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, {Genesis 13:15; 17:8.}And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect.
For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise: but God hath granted it to Abraham by promise.
But the scripture shut up all things under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
For when God made promise to Abraham, since he could swear by none greater, he sware by himself,
saying, {Genesis 22:16 f.}Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
And thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the oath is final for confirmation.
Wherein God, being minded to show more abundantly unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of his counsel, {Greek: mediated.}interposed with an oath;
that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us:
which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and stedfast and entering into that which is within the veil;
but he whose genealogy is not counted from them hath taken tithes of Abraham, and hath blessed him that hath the promises.
being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation.
But Christ having come a high priest of {Some ancient authorities read the good things that are come.}the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through {Or, his eternal spirit}the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse {Many ancient authorities read our.}your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
And for this cause he is the mediator of a new {The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.}covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first {The Greek word here used signifies both covenant and testament.}covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
These all died {Greek: according to.}in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise,
God having {Or, forseen}provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to-day, (yea) and {Greek: unto the ages.}for ever.
As for you, let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning. If that which ye heard from the beginning abide in you, ye also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father.
And this is the promise which he promised {Some ancient authorities read you.}us, even the life eternal.
And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.