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6 We work together with God. So we are asking you not to receive God’s grace and then do nothing with it. 2He says,
“When I showed you my favor, I heard you.
On the day I saved you, I helped you.” (Isaiah 49:8)
I tell you, now is the time God shows his favor. Now is the day he saves.
3We don’t put anything in anyone’s way. So no one can find fault with our work for God. 4Instead, we make it clear that we serve God in every way. We serve him by holding steady. We stand firm in all kinds of trouble, hard times and suffering.
5We don’t give up when we are beaten or put in prison. When people stir up trouble in the streets, we continue to serve God. We work hard for him. We go without sleep and food. 6We remain pure. We understand completely what it means to serve God. We are patient and kind. We serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve him with true love. 7We speak the truth. We serve in the power of God. We hold the weapons of godliness in the right hand and in the left. 8We serve God in times of glory and shame. We serve him whether the news about us is bad or good. We are true to our calling.
But people treat us as if we were pretenders. 9We are known, but people treat us as if we were unknown. We are dying, but we continue to live. We are beaten, but we are not killed. 10We are sad, but we are always full of joy. We are poor, but we make many people rich. We have nothing, but we own everything.
11Believers at Corinth, we have spoken freely to you. We have opened our hearts wide to you. 12We are not holding back our love from you. But you are holding back your love from us. 13I speak to you as if you were my children. It is only fair that you open your hearts wide to us also.
Do Not Be Joined to Unbelievers
14Do not be joined to unbelievers. What do right and wrong have in common? Can light and darkness be friends? 15How can Christ and Satan agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16How can the temple of the true God and the statues of other gods agree?
We are the temple of the living God. God has said, “I will live with them. I will walk among them. I will be their God. And they will be my people.” (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 32:38; Ezekiel 37:27)
17 “So come out from among them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Do not touch anything that is not pure and clean.
Then I will receive you.” (Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 20:34, 41)
You will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord who rules over all.” (2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8)
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About New International Reader’s Version (1998)The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God. |
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Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved. The NIrV text may be quoted for non-commercial usage in any form (written, visual, electronic or audio) up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without the express written permission of the publisher, providing the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted. Notice of copyright must appear on the title or copyright page of the work as follows: Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. When quotations from the NIrV text are used in non-saleable media, such as church bulletins, orders of service, posters, transparencies or similar media, a complete copyright notice is not required, but the initials (NIrV) must appear at the end of each quotation. Any commentary or other Biblical reference work produced for commercial sale that uses the New International Reader’s Version must obtain written permission for use of the NIrV text. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.S. and Canada that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. S.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49530. Permission requests for commercial use within the U.K., EEC, and EFTA countries that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, Hodder Headline Plc., 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH, England. Permission requests for non-commercial usage that exceed the above guidelines must be directed to, and approved in writing by, International Bible Society, 1820 Jet Stream Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80921. |
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