For this reason tongues are for a sign, not to those who have faith, but to those who have not: but the prophet's word is for those who have faith, and not for the rest who have not.

What is it then, my brothers? when you come together everyone has a holy song, or a revelation, or a tongue, or is giving the sense of it. Let everything be done for the common good.

For you may all be prophets in turn so that all may get knowledge and comfort;

For God is not a God whose ways are without order, but a God of peace; as in all the churches of the saints.

Let women keep quiet in the churches: for it is not right for them to be talking; but let them be under control, as it says in the law.

And if they have a desire for knowledge about anything, let them put questions to their husbands privately: for talking in the church puts shame on a woman.

For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings;

For I am the least of the Apostles, having no right to be named an Apostle, because of my cruel attacks on the church of God.

But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

For if it is not possible for the dead to come to life again, then Christ has not come to life again:

For as by man came death, so by man there is a coming back from the dead.

For as in Adam death comes to all, so in Christ will all come back to life.

For his rule will go on till he has put all those who are against him under his feet.

For, as it says, He has put all things under his feet. But when he says, All things are put under him, it is clear that it is not said about him who put all things under him.

Again, what will they do who are given baptism for the dead? if the dead do not come back at all, why are people given baptism for them?

If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end.

Be awake to righteousness and keep yourselves from sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I say this to put you to shame.

Foolish man, it is necessary for the seed which you put into the earth to undergo death in order that it may come to life again:

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for the glory of one star is different from that of another.

Now I say this, my brothers, that it is not possible for flesh and blood to have a part in the kingdom of God; and death may not have a part in life.

In a second, in the shutting of an eye, at the sound of the last horn: for at that sound the dead will come again, free for ever from the power of death, and we will be changed.

For this body which comes to destruction will be made free from the power of death, and the man who is under the power of death will put on eternal life.

For this cause, my dear brothers, be strong in purpose and unmoved, ever giving yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you are certain that your work is not without effect in the Lord.

Now about the giving of money for the saints, as I gave orders to the churches of Galatia, so do you.

And if it is possible for me to go there, they will go with me.

But I will come to you after I have gone through Macedonia, for that is my purpose;

But I may be with you for a time, or even for the winter, so that you may see me on my way, wherever I go.

For it is not my desire to see you now, on my way; because it is my hope to be with you for some time, if that is the Lord's pleasure.

For a great and important door there is open to me, and there are a number of people against me.

Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear; because he is doing the Lord's work, even as I am:

See then that he has the honour which is right. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me: for I am looking for him with the brothers.

But as for Apollos, the brother, I had a great desire for him to come to you with the brothers, but it was not his pleasure to come now; but he will come when he has a chance.

Now I make my request to you, my brothers, for you have knowledge that the house of Stephanas is the first-fruits of Achaia, and that they have made themselves the servants of the saints,

And I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for they have done what was needed to make your work complete.

For they gave comfort to my spirit and to yours: for which cause give respect to such people.

If any man has not love for the Lord, let him be cursed. Maran atha (our Lord comes).

For as we undergo more of the pain which Christ underwent, so through Christ does our comfort become greater.

But if we are troubled, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which takes effect through your quiet undergoing of the same troubles which we undergo:

And our hope for you is certain; in the knowledge that as you take part in the troubles, so you will take part in the comfort.

For it is our desire that you may not be without knowledge of our trouble which came on us in Asia, that the weight of it was very great, more than our power, so that it seemed that we had no hope even of life:

You at the same time helping together by your prayer for us; so that for what has been given to us through a number of persons, praise may go up to God for us from all of them.

For our glory is in this, in the knowledge which we have that our way of life in the world, and most of all in relation to you, has been holy and true in the eyes of God; not in the wisdom of the flesh, but in the grace of God.

For in our letters we say no other things to you, but those which you are reading, and to which you give agreement, and, it is my hope, will go on doing so to the end:

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching among you, even I and Silvanus and Timothy, was not Yes and No, but in him is Yes.

For he is the Yes to all the undertakings of God: and by him all the words of God are made certain and put into effect, to the glory of God through us.

But God is my witness that it was in pity for you that I did not come to Corinth at that time.

Not that we have authority over your faith, but we are helpers of your joy: for it is faith which is your support.

But it was my decision for myself, not to come again to you with sorrow.

For if I give you sorrow, who then will make me glad, but he who is made sad by me?

And I said this very thing in my letter, for fear that when I came I might have sorrow from those from whom it was right for me to have joy; being certain of this, that my joy is the joy of you all.

For out of much trouble and pain of heart and much weeping I sent my letter to you; not to give you sorrow, but so that you might see how great is the love which I have to you.

Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him;

So that now, on the other hand, it is right for him to have forgiveness and comfort from you, for fear that his sorrow may be over-great.

For which cause my desire is that you will make your love to him clear by your acts.

And for the same reason I sent you a letter so that I might be certain of your desire to do my orders in all things.

But if you give forgiveness to anyone, I do the same: for if I have given forgiveness for anything, I have done it because of you, in the person of Christ;

So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs.

Now when I came to Troas for the good news of Christ, and there was an open door for me in the Lord,

For we are a sweet perfume of Christ to God in those who are getting salvation and in those who are going to destruction;

To the one it is a perfume of death to death; to the other a perfume of life to life. And who is enough for such things?

For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.

You yourselves are our letter, whose writing is in our heart, open for every man's reading and knowledge;

For you are clearly a letter of Christ, the fruit of our work, recorded not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in stone, but in hearts of flesh.

Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God;

Who has made us able to be servants of a new agreement; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter gives death, but the Spirit gives life.

For if the operation of the law, giving death, recorded in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the eyes of the children of Israel had to be turned away from the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory which was only for a time:

For if the operation of the law, producing punishment, had its glory, how much greater will be the operation of the Spirit causing righteousness?

For the glory of the first no longer seems to be glory, because of the greater glory of that which comes after.

For if the order which was for a time had its glory, much more will the eternal order have its glory.

But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old agreement the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ.

Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free.

For this reason, because we have been made servants of this new order, through the mercy given to us, we are strong:

For our preaching is not about ourselves, but about Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants through Jesus.

Troubles are round us on every side, but we are not shut in; things are hard for us, but we see a way out of them;

For, while living, we are still being given up to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be seen in our flesh, though it is under the power of death.

Because we are certain that he who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead, will do the same for us, and will give us a place in his glory with you.

For we go through all things on account of you, because the greater the number to whom the grace is given, the greater is the praise to the glory of God.

For which cause we do not give way to weariness; but though our outer man is getting feebler, our inner man is made new day by day.

For our present trouble, which is only for a short time, is working out for us a much greater weight of glory;

While our minds are not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are for a time; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

For we are conscious that if this our tent of flesh is taken down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in heaven.

For in this we are crying in weariness, greatly desiring to be clothed with our house from heaven:

For truly, we who are in this tent do give out cries of weariness, for the weight of care which is on us; not because we are desiring to be free from the body, but so that we may have our new body, and death may be overcome by life.

Now he who has made us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a witness of what is to come.

So, then, we are ever without fear, and though conscious that while we are in the body we are away from the Lord,

(For we are walking by faith, not by seeing,)

We are without fear, desiring to be free from the body, and to be with the Lord.

For this reason we make it our purpose, in the body or away from it, to be well-pleasing to him.

For we all have to come before Christ to be judged; so that every one of us may get his reward for the things done in the body, good or bad.

Having in mind, then, the fear of the Lord, we put these things before men, but God sees our hearts; and it is my hope that we may seem right in your eyes.

For if we are foolish, it is to God; or if we are serious, it is for you.

For it is the love of Christ which is moving us; because we are of the opinion that if one was put to death for all, then all have undergone death;

And that he underwent death for all, so that the living might no longer be living to themselves, but to him who underwent death for them and came back from the dead.

For this reason, from this time forward we have knowledge of no man after the flesh: even if we have had knowledge of Christ after the flesh, we have no longer any such knowledge.

For him who had no knowledge of sin God made to be sin for us; so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

(For he says, I have given ear to you at a good time, and I have been your helper in a day of salvation: see, now is the good time; now is the day of salvation):

Giving no cause for trouble in anything, so that no one may be able to say anything against our work;

Do not keep company with those who have not faith: for what is there in common between righteousness and evil, or between light and dark?

And what agreement has the house of God with images? for we are a house of the living God; even as God has said, I will be living among them, and walking with them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.

For which cause, Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and let no unclean thing come near you; and I will take you for myself,