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New Living Translation |   | |
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| | 2Cr 11:1 | I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Please bear with me.
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| | 2Cr 11:2 | I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ.
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| | 2Cr 11:3 | But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent.
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| | 2Cr 11:4 | You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
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| | 2Cr 11:5 | But I don't think I am inferior to these "super apostles."
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| | 2Cr 11:6 | I may not be a trained speaker, but I know what I am talking about. I think you realize this by now, for we have proved it again and again.
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| | 2Cr 11:7 | Did I do wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God's Good News to you without expecting anything in return?
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| | 2Cr 11:8 | I "robbed" other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.
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| | 2Cr 11:9 | And when I was with you and didn't have enough to live on, I did not ask you to help me. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me another gift. I have never yet asked you for any support, and I never will.
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| | 2Cr 11:10 | As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, I will never stop boasting about this all over Greece.
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| | 2Cr 11:11 | Why? Because I don't love you? God knows I do.
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| | 2Cr 11:12 | But I will continue doing this to cut the ground out from under the feet of those who boast that their work is just like ours.
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| | 2Cr 11:13 | These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
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| | 2Cr 11:14 | But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.
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| | 2Cr 11:15 | So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve.
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| | 2Cr 11:16 | Once again, don't think that I have lost my wits to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little.
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| | 2Cr 11:17 | Such bragging is not something the Lord wants, but I am acting like a fool.
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| | 2Cr 11:18 | And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.
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| | 2Cr 11:19 | After all, you, who think you are so wise, enjoy listening to fools!
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| | 2Cr 11:20 | You put up with it when they make you their slaves, take everything you have, take advantage of you, put on airs, and slap you in the face.
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| | 2Cr 11:21 | I'm ashamed to say that we were not strong enough to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about--I'm talking like a fool again--I can boast about it, too.
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| | 2Cr 11:22 | They say they are Hebrews, do they? So am I. And they say they are Israelites? So am I. And they are descendants of Abraham? So am I.
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| | 2Cr 11:23 | They say they serve Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in jail more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.
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| | 2Cr 11:24 | Five different times the Jews gave me thirty-nine lashes.
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| | 2Cr 11:25 | Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.
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| | 2Cr 11:26 | I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the stormy seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not.
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| | 2Cr 11:27 | I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.
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| | 2Cr 11:28 | Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along.
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| | 2Cr 11:29 | Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
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| | 2Cr 11:30 | If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.
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| | 2Cr 11:31 | God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows I tell the truth.
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| | 2Cr 11:32 | When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.
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| | 2Cr 11:33 | But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall, and that's how I got away!
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