King James Version · Under Rome
2 Corinthians 5
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For we know that if our earthly house of this were dissolved, we have a building of , an house not made with hands, in . For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from : If so be that being clothed we shall not be found . For we that are in this do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be , but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is , who also hath given unto us the earnest of . Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from : (For we walk by , not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with . Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of , we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto ; and I also are made manifest in your . For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which in appearance, and not in . For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to : or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one for all, then were all : And that he for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after : yea, though we have known Christ after , yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of , who hath reconciled us to himself by , and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though did beseech you by us: we you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to . For he hath made him to be for us, who knew no ; that we might be made the of in him.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- What happens to a person between death and the resurrection? · 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.