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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>2 Corinthians 4 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_corinthians/4.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/2_corinthians/4-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > 2 Corinthians 4</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../2_corinthians/3.htm" title="2 Corinthians 3">◄</a> 2 Corinthians 4 <a href="../2_corinthians/5.htm" title="2 Corinthians 5">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/2_corinthians/4.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> we never give up. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a> This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a> will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> being renewed every day. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/4-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:1 </span><span class="ft">Or </span><span class="it">ministry.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:7 </span><span class="ft">Greek </span><span class="it">We now have this treasure in clay jars.</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:13 </span><span class="ft">Ps 116:10.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:14 </span><span class="ft">Some manuscripts read </span><span class="it">who raised Jesus.</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">4:16 </span><span class="ft">Greek </span><span class="it">our inner being is.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. 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