¹⁰always carrying around the death of Jesus in our body, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. ¹³But because we^* have the same spirit of faith in accordance with what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,”^d we also believe, therefore we also speak, ¹⁴because we^* know that the one who raised Jesus^e will also raise us together with Jesus and present us together with you. ¹⁵For all these things are for your sake^f, in order that the grace that is increasing through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outer person is being destroyed, yet our inner person is being renewed day after day. ¹⁷For our momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure and proportion^g, ¹⁸because^* we are not looking at what is seen, but what is not seen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal.

Absent from the Body and at Home with the Lord

5For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For indeed, in this house we groan, because we^* desire to put on our dwelling from heaven, ³if indeed, even after we^* have taken it off,^a we will not be found naked. ⁴For indeed we who are in this tent groan, being burdened for this reason, that^b we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now the one who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the down payment, the Spirit.

⁶Therefore, although we are^* always confident and know that while we^* are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—⁷for we live by faith, not by sight—⁸so we are confident and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. ⁹Therefore indeed we have as our ambition, whether at home in the body or absent from the body, to be acceptable to him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the things through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Read in Logos

2 Corinthians 4:17: For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison…

Footnotes

*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have”) which is understood as causal
dA quotation from Ps 116:10
*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“know”) which is understood as causal
eSome manuscripts have “the Lord Jesus”
fLiterally “for the sake of you”
gLiterally “according to an extraordinary degree to an extraordinary degree”
*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the causal genitive absolute participle (“looking at”)
*Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“desire”) which is understood as causal
*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“have taken off”) which is understood as temporal
aA number of important early manuscripts read “have put it on” here
bLiterally “in that”
*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“confident”) which is understood as concessive
*Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“are at home”) which is understood as temporal