World English Bible · Under Rome
2 Corinthians 5
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For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from , a house not made with hands, , in . For most certainly in this we groan, to be clothed with our habitation which is from , if indeed being clothed, we will not be found . For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we to be , but that we to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now he who made us for this very thing is , who also gave to us the down payment of . Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from ; for we walk by , not by sight. We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with . Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. For we must all be before the seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing therefore the , we persuade men, but we are to , and I that we are also in your . 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 . For if we are beside ourselves, it is for . Or if we are of sober , it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us; because we judge thus: that one for all, therefore all . He for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes and rose again. Therefore we know no one according to from now on. Even though we have known Christ according to , yet now we know him so no more. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But all things are of , who reconciled us to himself through , and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation. We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to . For him who knew no he made to be on our behalf, so that in him we might become the of .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. 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.