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2 Corinthians 3

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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¹ but a kind of awful and terrifying expectation of [divine] judgment and the fury of a fire and burning wrath which will consume the adversaries [those who put themselves in opposition to God].

² Anyone who has ignored and set aside the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

³ How much greater punishment do you think he will deserve who has rejected and trampled under foot the Son of God, and has considered unclean and common the blood of the covenant that[4] sanctified him, and has insulted the Spirit of grace [who imparts the unmerited favor and blessing of God]?

⁴ For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the deliverance of justice rest with Me], I will repay [the wrongdoer]." And again, "The Lord will judge His people."

⁵ It is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God [incurring His judgment and wrath].

⁶ But remember the earlier days, when, after being [spiritually] enlightened, you [patiently] endured a great conflict of sufferings,

⁷ sometimes by being made a spectacle, publicly exposed to insults and distress, and sometimes by becoming companions with those who were so treated.

⁸ For you showed sympathy and deep concern for those who were imprisoned, and you joyfully accepted the [unjust] seizure of your belongings and the confiscation of your property, conscious of the fact that you have a better possession and a lasting one [prepared for you in heaven].

⁹ Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward.

¹⁰ For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.

¹¹ For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

¹² But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man's relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.

¹³ But[5] our way is not that of those who shrink back to destruction, but [we are] of those who believe [relying on God through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by this confident faith preserve the soul.

¹⁴ Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].

¹⁵ For by this [kind of] faith the[1] men of old gained [divine] approval.

¹⁶ By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

¹⁷ By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks.

¹⁸ By faith [that pleased God] Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken [to heaven], he received the testimony [still on record] that he had walked with God and pleased Him.

#	AMP
1	but a kind of awful and terrifying expectation of [divine] judgment and the fury of a fire and burning wrath which will consume the adversaries [those who put themselves in opposition to God].
2	Anyone who has ignored and set aside the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
3	How much greater punishment do you think he will deserve who has rejected and trampled under foot the Son of God, and has considered unclean and common the blood of the covenant that[4] sanctified him, and has insulted the Spirit of grace [who imparts the unmerited favor and blessing of God]?
4	For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the deliverance of justice rest with Me], I will repay [the wrongdoer]." And again, "The Lord will judge His people."
5	It is a fearful and terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God [incurring His judgment and wrath].
6	But remember the earlier days, when, after being [spiritually] enlightened, you [patiently] endured a great conflict of sufferings,
7	sometimes by being made a spectacle, publicly exposed to insults and distress, and sometimes by becoming companions with those who were so treated.
8	For you showed sympathy and deep concern for those who were imprisoned, and you joyfully accepted the [unjust] seizure of your belongings and the confiscation of your property, conscious of the fact that you have a better possession and a lasting one [prepared for you in heaven].
9	Do not, therefore, fling away your [fearless] confidence, for it has a glorious and great reward.
10	For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.
11	For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
12	But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith [respecting man's relationship to God and trusting Him]; And if he draws back [shrinking in fear], My soul has no delight in him.
13	But[5] our way is not that of those who shrink back to destruction, but [we are] of those who believe [relying on God through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by this confident faith preserve the soul.
14	Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].
15	For by this [kind of] faith the[1] men of old gained [divine] approval.
16	By faith [that is, with an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom and goodness of God] we understand that the worlds (universe, ages) were framed and created [formed, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose] by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
17	By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks.
18	By faith [that pleased God] Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken [to heaven], he received the testimony [still on record] that he had walked with God and pleased Him.

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