^aWorking together with Him, ^bwe strongly urge you not to receive ^cGod’s grace in vain by turning away from sound doctrine and His merciful kindness. 2 For He says,“^aAT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME (the time of grace) I LISTENED TO YOU,AND I HELPED YOU ON THE DAY OF SALVATION.”Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”— Is 49:8 3 ^awe put no obstruction in anyone’s path, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4 but we ^acommend ourselves in every way as ^bservants of God: ^cin great endurance, in sufferings, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in ^abeatings, in imprisonments, in ^briots, in labors, in sleepless nights, in ^chunger, 6 in purity and sincerity, in ^aknowledge and spiritual insight, in ^bpatience, in kindness, in the ^cHoly Spirit, in ^dgenuine love, 7 in speaking ^athe word of truth, in ^bthe power of God; by ^cthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand like holding the sword to attack and for the left like holding the shield to defend, 8 amid glory and ^adishonor; by ^bevil report and good report; branded as ^cdeceivers and yet vindicated as ^dtruthful; 9 as unknown to the world, yet well-known by God and His people; as ^adying, yet ^bwe live; as punished, yet not killed; 10 as ^asorrowful, yet always ^brejoicing; as ^cpoor, yet bestowing riches on many; as ^dhaving nothing, yet possessing ^eall things.

11 ^aWe are speaking freely to you, Corinthians we are keeping nothing back, and our ^bheart is opened wide. Is 60:5; Ezek 33:22 12 There is no limit to our affection for you, but ^ayou are limited in your own affection for us. 13 Now in ^athe same way as a fair exchange for our love toward you—I am speaking as I would to ^bchildren—open wide your hearts to us also.

14 ^aDo not be unequally bound together with ^bunbelievers do not make mismatched alliances with them, inconsistent with your faith. For what ^cpartnership can righteousness have with lawlessness? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What ^aharmony can there be between Christ and Belial (Satan) ? Or what does a ^bbeliever have in common with an ^cunbeliever? 16 ^aWhat agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are ^bthe temple of ^cthe living God; just as God said:“^dI WILL ^eDWELL AMONG THEM AND ^fWALK AMONG THEM;AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. Ex 25:8; 29:45; Lev 26:12; Jer 31:1; Ezek 37:27

And ^aworking together with Him, ^bwe also urge you not to receive ^cthe grace of God in vain— 2 for He says,“^aAT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.”Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”— 3 ^agiving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4 but in everything ^acommending ourselves as ^1bservants of God, ^cin much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 5 in ^abeatings, in imprisonments, in ^btumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^chunger, 6 in purity, in ^aknowledge, in ^bpatience, in kindness, in the ^cHoly Spirit, in ^dgenuine love, 7 in ^athe word of truth, in ^bthe power of God; by ^cthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 by glory and ^adishonor, by ^bevil report and good report; regarded as ^cdeceivers and yet ^dtrue; 9 as unknown ¹yet well-known, as ^adying ²yet behold, ^bwe live; as ³punished ⁴yet not put to death, 10 as ^asorrowful yet always ^brejoicing, as ^cpoor yet making many rich, as ^dhaving nothing ¹yet possessing ^eall things.

11 ^aOur mouth ¹has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our ^bheart is opened wide. 12 You are not restrained ¹by us, but ^ayou are restrained in your own ²affections. 13 Now in a like ^aexchange—I speak as to ^bchildren—open wide to us also.

14 ^aDo not be ¹bound together with ^bunbelievers; for what ^cpartnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what ^aharmony has Christ with ¹Belial, or ²what has a ^bbeliever in common with an ^cunbeliever? 16 Or ^awhat agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are ^bthe temple of ^cthe living God; just as God said,“^dI WILL ^eDWELL IN THEM AND ^fWALK AMONG THEM;AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

And ^aworking together with Him, ^bwe also plead with you not to receive ^cthe grace of God in vain— 2 for He says,“^aAT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.”Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”— 3 ^agiving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, 4 but in everything ^acommending ourselves as ^bministers of God, ^cin much perseverance, in afflictions, in distresses, in hardships, 5 in ^abeatings, in imprisonments, in ^bdisturbances, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^chunger, 6 in purity, in ^aknowledge, in ^bpatience, in kindness, in the ^cHoly Spirit, in ^dunhypocritical love, 7 in ^athe word of truth, in ^bthe power of God; by ^cthe weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, 8 by glory and ^adishonor, by ^bevil report and good report; regarded as ^cdeceivers and yet ^dtrue; 9 as unknown and yet well-known, as ^adying and yet behold, ^bwe live; as ¹punished and yet not put to death, 10 as ^asorrowful but always ^brejoicing, as ^cpoor but making many rich, as ^dhaving nothing and yet possessing ^eall things.

11 ^aOur mouth ¹has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our ^bheart is opened wide. 12 You are not restrained ¹by us, but ^ayou are restrained in your own ²affections. 13 Now in a like ^aexchange—I speak as to ^bchildren—open wide to us also.

14 ^aDo not be unequally yoked with ^bunbelievers; for what ^cpartnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what ^aharmony has Christ with ¹Belial, or ²what has a ^bbeliever in common with an ^cunbeliever? 16 Or ^awhat agreement has a ¹sanctuary of God with idols? For we are ^ba sanctuary of ^cthe living God; just as God said,“^dI WILL ^eDWELL IN THEM AND ^fWALK AMONG THEM;AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.