2 Corinthians 4:7 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to...

4:7 MSG

逐節對照

The Message - If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
新标点和合本 - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力是出于　神，不是出于我们。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，为要显明这莫大的能力是出于上帝，不是出于我们。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，为要显明这莫大的能力是出于　神，不是出于我们。
当代译本 - 我们不过是瓦器，里面却有这宝贝，要显明这莫大的能力是上帝的，而不是我们自己的。
圣经新译本 - 我们有这宝贝在瓦器里，是要显明这极大的能力是属于　神，不是出于我们。
中文标准译本 - 不过我们有这宝物在瓦器里，为要显明这极大的能力是出于神，不是出于我们。
现代标点和合本 - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力是出于神，不是出于我们。
和合本（拼音版） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力，是出于上帝，不是出于我们。
New International Version - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
New International Reader's Version - Treasure is kept in clay jars. In the same way, we have the treasure of the good news in these earthly bodies of ours. That shows that the mighty power of the good news comes from God. It doesn’t come from us.
English Standard Version - But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
New Living Translation - We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
Christian Standard Bible - Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.
New American Standard Bible - But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
New King James Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Amplified Bible - But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.
American Standard Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
King James Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
New English Translation - But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
World English Bible - But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
新標點和合本 - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，要顯明這莫大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，為要顯明這莫大的能力是出於上帝，不是出於我們。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，為要顯明這莫大的能力是出於　神，不是出於我們。
當代譯本 - 我們不過是瓦器，裡面卻有這寶貝，要顯明這莫大的能力是上帝的，而不是我們自己的。
聖經新譯本 - 我們有這寶貝在瓦器裡，是要顯明這極大的能力是屬於　神，不是出於我們。
呂振中譯本 - 但我們有這寶貝在瓦器裏，是要顯明這能力之無量高超是屬於上帝，不是出於我們。
中文標準譯本 - 不過我們有這寶物在瓦器裡，為要顯明這極大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
現代標點和合本 - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裡，要顯明這莫大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
文理和合譯本 - 我儕有此寶、置於土器、致莫大之能、非由我、乃由上帝、
文理委辦譯本 - 我儕有此寶、藏於土器、使知莫大之能、非由我、乃由上帝、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 但我有此寶藏於土器、使人知此莫大之能、非由我、乃由天主也、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 然此真光之在吾人、猶珍寶之藏於瓦器也。應知可貴者在天主之德、而不在吾人之身。
Nueva Versión Internacional - Pero tenemos este tesoro en vasijas de barro para que se vea que tan sublime poder viene de Dios y no de nosotros.
현대인의 성경 - 그러나 질그릇 같은 우리 속에 이 보화를 가진 것은 그 엄청난 능력이 하나님에게서 나온 것이지 우리에게서 나온 것이 아니라는 것을 보여 주기 위한 것입니다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Бога.
Восточный перевод - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Всевышнего.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Аллаха.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Всевышнего.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Mais ce trésor, nous le portons dans des vases faits d’argile, pour que ce soit la puissance extraordinaire de Dieu qui se manifeste, et non notre propre capacité.
リビングバイブル - このすばらしい宝〔私たちのうちに輝いている光と力〕は、こわれやすい器〔私たちの弱い肉体〕の中に入っています。私たちのうちにある栄光に満ちた力は、神に与えられたものであって、私たち自身から出たものでないことは明らかです。
Nestle Aland 28 - Ἔχομεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως ᾖ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἡμῶν·
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - ἔχομεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως ᾖ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἡμῶν;
Nova Versão Internacional - Mas temos esse tesouro em vasos de barro, para mostrar que o poder que a tudo excede provém de Deus, e não de nós.
Hoffnung für alle - Diesen kostbaren Schatz tragen wir in uns, obwohl wir nur zerbrechliche Gefäße sind. So wird jeder erkennen, dass die außerordentliche Kraft, die in uns wirkt, von Gott kommt und nicht von uns selbst.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Chúng tôi đựng bảo vật này trong bình đất—là thân thể chúng tôi. Vậy quyền năng vô hạn ấy đến từ Đức Chúa Trời, chứ không do chúng tôi.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - แต่เรามีของล้ำค่านี้ในภาชนะดินเพื่อแสดงว่าฤทธานุภาพอันล้ำเลิศนี้มาจากพระเจ้า ไม่ใช่มาจากตัวเราเอง
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - แต่เรามีสมบัติอันมีค่านี้อยู่ในหม้อดิน เพื่อจะได้แสดงให้เห็นว่าอานุภาพอันใหญ่ยิ่งนั้นมาจากพระเจ้า มิใช่มาจากตัวเราเอง

交叉引用

Matthew 13:52 - He said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”
1 Corinthians 4:9 - It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, the leftovers that nobody wants. And it’s not getting any better.
Judges 7:16 - He divided the three hundred men into three companies. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar, with a torch in the jar. He said, “Watch me and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do. When I and those with me blow the trumpets, you also, all around the camp, blow your trumpets and shout, ‘For God and for Gideon!’”
Judges 7:19 - Gideon and his hundred men got to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the sentries had been posted. They blew the trumpets, at the same time smashing the jars they carried. All three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands, ready to blow, and shouted, “A sword for God and for Gideon!” They were stationed all around the camp, each man at his post. The whole Midianite camp jumped to its feet. They yelled and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, God aimed each Midianite’s sword against his companion, all over the camp. They ran for their lives—to Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
1 Thessalonians 1:5 - You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.
Judges 7:13 - Gideon arrived just in time to hear a man tell his friend a dream. He said, “I had this dream: A loaf of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp. It came to the tent and hit it so hard it collapsed. The tent fell!”
Judges 7:14 - His friend said, “This has to be the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite! God has turned Midian—the whole camp!—over to him.”
Judges 7:2 - God said to Gideon, “You have too large an army with you. I can’t turn Midian over to them like this—they’ll take all the credit, saying, ‘I did it all myself,’ and forget about me. Make a public announcement: ‘Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount Gilead now and go home.’” Twenty-two companies headed for home. Ten companies were left.
Galatians 4:14 - And don’t you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared! And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can’t believe it.
2 Corinthians 4:1 - Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
Ephesians 3:8 - And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
2 Timothy 2:20 - In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.
Matthew 13:44 - “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
1 Corinthians 2:3 - I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
2 Corinthians 12:7 - Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. * * *
Ephesians 1:20 - All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Lamentations 4:2 - And the people of Zion, once prized, far surpassing their weight in gold, Are now treated like cheap pottery, like everyday pots and bowls mass-produced by a potter.
2 Corinthians 5:1 - For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

逐節對照

交叉引用

The Message - If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
新标点和合本 - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力是出于　神，不是出于我们。
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，为要显明这莫大的能力是出于上帝，不是出于我们。
和合本2010（神版-简体） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，为要显明这莫大的能力是出于　神，不是出于我们。
当代译本 - 我们不过是瓦器，里面却有这宝贝，要显明这莫大的能力是上帝的，而不是我们自己的。
圣经新译本 - 我们有这宝贝在瓦器里，是要显明这极大的能力是属于　神，不是出于我们。
中文标准译本 - 不过我们有这宝物在瓦器里，为要显明这极大的能力是出于神，不是出于我们。
现代标点和合本 - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力是出于神，不是出于我们。
和合本（拼音版） - 我们有这宝贝放在瓦器里，要显明这莫大的能力，是出于上帝，不是出于我们。
New International Version - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
New International Reader's Version - Treasure is kept in clay jars. In the same way, we have the treasure of the good news in these earthly bodies of ours. That shows that the mighty power of the good news comes from God. It doesn’t come from us.
English Standard Version - But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
New Living Translation - We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
Christian Standard Bible - Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.
New American Standard Bible - But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
New King James Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Amplified Bible - But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.
American Standard Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;
King James Version - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
New English Translation - But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
World English Bible - But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
新標點和合本 - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，要顯明這莫大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，為要顯明這莫大的能力是出於上帝，不是出於我們。
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裏，為要顯明這莫大的能力是出於　神，不是出於我們。
當代譯本 - 我們不過是瓦器，裡面卻有這寶貝，要顯明這莫大的能力是上帝的，而不是我們自己的。
聖經新譯本 - 我們有這寶貝在瓦器裡，是要顯明這極大的能力是屬於　神，不是出於我們。
呂振中譯本 - 但我們有這寶貝在瓦器裏，是要顯明這能力之無量高超是屬於上帝，不是出於我們。
中文標準譯本 - 不過我們有這寶物在瓦器裡，為要顯明這極大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
現代標點和合本 - 我們有這寶貝放在瓦器裡，要顯明這莫大的能力是出於神，不是出於我們。
文理和合譯本 - 我儕有此寶、置於土器、致莫大之能、非由我、乃由上帝、
文理委辦譯本 - 我儕有此寶、藏於土器、使知莫大之能、非由我、乃由上帝、
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 但我有此寶藏於土器、使人知此莫大之能、非由我、乃由天主也、
吳經熊文理聖詠與新經全集 - 然此真光之在吾人、猶珍寶之藏於瓦器也。應知可貴者在天主之德、而不在吾人之身。
Nueva Versión Internacional - Pero tenemos este tesoro en vasijas de barro para que se vea que tan sublime poder viene de Dios y no de nosotros.
현대인의 성경 - 그러나 질그릇 같은 우리 속에 이 보화를 가진 것은 그 엄청난 능력이 하나님에게서 나온 것이지 우리에게서 나온 것이 아니라는 것을 보여 주기 위한 것입니다.
Новый Русский Перевод - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Бога.
Восточный перевод - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Всевышнего.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Аллаха.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - Но это сокровище мы носим в глиняных сосудах – наших телах – и показываем, что эта выдающаяся сила исходит не от нас, а от Всевышнего.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Mais ce trésor, nous le portons dans des vases faits d’argile, pour que ce soit la puissance extraordinaire de Dieu qui se manifeste, et non notre propre capacité.
リビングバイブル - このすばらしい宝〔私たちのうちに輝いている光と力〕は、こわれやすい器〔私たちの弱い肉体〕の中に入っています。私たちのうちにある栄光に満ちた力は、神に与えられたものであって、私たち自身から出たものでないことは明らかです。
Nestle Aland 28 - Ἔχομεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως ᾖ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἡμῶν·
unfoldingWord® Greek New Testament - ἔχομεν δὲ τὸν θησαυρὸν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν, ἵνα ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς δυνάμεως ᾖ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἐξ ἡμῶν;
Nova Versão Internacional - Mas temos esse tesouro em vasos de barro, para mostrar que o poder que a tudo excede provém de Deus, e não de nós.
Hoffnung für alle - Diesen kostbaren Schatz tragen wir in uns, obwohl wir nur zerbrechliche Gefäße sind. So wird jeder erkennen, dass die außerordentliche Kraft, die in uns wirkt, von Gott kommt und nicht von uns selbst.
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - Chúng tôi đựng bảo vật này trong bình đất—là thân thể chúng tôi. Vậy quyền năng vô hạn ấy đến từ Đức Chúa Trời, chứ không do chúng tôi.
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - แต่เรามีของล้ำค่านี้ในภาชนะดินเพื่อแสดงว่าฤทธานุภาพอันล้ำเลิศนี้มาจากพระเจ้า ไม่ใช่มาจากตัวเราเอง
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - แต่เรามีสมบัติอันมีค่านี้อยู่ในหม้อดิน เพื่อจะได้แสดงให้เห็นว่าอานุภาพอันใหญ่ยิ่งนั้นมาจากพระเจ้า มิใช่มาจากตัวเราเอง

Matthew 13:52 - He said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”
1 Corinthians 4:9 - It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We’re something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We’re the Messiah’s misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we’re mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don’t have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, “God bless you.” When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We’re treated like garbage, the leftovers that nobody wants. And it’s not getting any better.
Judges 7:16 - He divided the three hundred men into three companies. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar, with a torch in the jar. He said, “Watch me and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly what I do. When I and those with me blow the trumpets, you also, all around the camp, blow your trumpets and shout, ‘For God and for Gideon!’”
Judges 7:19 - Gideon and his hundred men got to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the sentries had been posted. They blew the trumpets, at the same time smashing the jars they carried. All three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands, ready to blow, and shouted, “A sword for God and for Gideon!” They were stationed all around the camp, each man at his post. The whole Midianite camp jumped to its feet. They yelled and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, God aimed each Midianite’s sword against his companion, all over the camp. They ran for their lives—to Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.
1 Thessalonians 1:5 - You paid careful attention to the way we lived among you, and determined to live that way yourselves. In imitating us, you imitated the Master. Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit!—taking the trouble with the joy, the joy with the trouble.
Judges 7:13 - Gideon arrived just in time to hear a man tell his friend a dream. He said, “I had this dream: A loaf of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp. It came to the tent and hit it so hard it collapsed. The tent fell!”
Judges 7:14 - His friend said, “This has to be the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite! God has turned Midian—the whole camp!—over to him.”
Judges 7:2 - God said to Gideon, “You have too large an army with you. I can’t turn Midian over to them like this—they’ll take all the credit, saying, ‘I did it all myself,’ and forget about me. Make a public announcement: ‘Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount Gilead now and go home.’” Twenty-two companies headed for home. Ten companies were left.
Galatians 4:14 - And don’t you remember that even though taking in a sick guest was most troublesome for you, you chose to treat me as well as you would have treated an angel of God—as well as you would have treated Jesus himself if he had visited you? What has happened to the satisfaction you felt at that time? There were some of you then who, if possible, would have given your very eyes to me—that is how deeply you cared! And now have I suddenly become your enemy simply by telling you the truth? I can’t believe it.
2 Corinthians 4:1 - Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.
Ephesians 3:8 - And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!
2 Timothy 2:20 - In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.
Matthew 13:44 - “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
1 Corinthians 2:3 - I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.
2 Corinthians 12:7 - Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. * * *
Ephesians 1:20 - All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Lamentations 4:2 - And the people of Zion, once prized, far surpassing their weight in gold, Are now treated like cheap pottery, like everyday pots and bowls mass-produced by a potter.
2 Corinthians 5:1 - For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.