2 Kawrin 3
1 Kaimih oep hamla koep ka tong uh a? Nangmih taengkah neh nangmih lamkah capat te oepsa bet banglam khaw ka kuek uh pawt maco?
[As I write these things about myself], I am [RHQ] not [doing it] to boast about how good I am, [as some of you say I do]. Some people always carry letters with them that tell how well they work, [that other people] have [written]. But I do not [RHQ] need [to bring] letters like that [when I come to you]. Nor do I need to ask you [to write] letters like that [for me when I go to other congregations].
2 Kaimih kah capat tah nangmih ni. Kaimih kah thinko ah a tarhit coeng. Te dongah hlang boeih loh a ming tih a tae coeng.
You yourselves are [MET] [like a] letter that recommends my work [for God to everyone]. People see [how Christ changed] your [lives when you believed the message that I taught you]. Everyone [who knows you] can see [the result of my work for God].
3 Kaimih kah tho ka thueng thil, Khrih kah capat la na om uh te phoe coeng. Cahang nen pawt tih aka hing Pathen Mueihla nena tarhit coeng. Lungto lungphaih dongah pawt tih pumsa thinko lungphaih dongah ni a tarhit coeng.
You are [MET] [like] a letter that Christ himself [has written] that says good things about [my work for God in your lives]. You show [people by the way you now conduct your lives that God has changed your lives] as a result of my work [among you. People did] not [find out about you by] reading [a letter that was written to them on paper] with [pen and] ink. Instead, [they saw how] the Spirit of the all-powerful God [has changed your lives]. Nor [did people find out about you by reading] a letter that was carved on stone slabs [like the stone slabs that God gave to Moses]. Instead, [it was the change that God’s Spirit made in] your lives [MET] [that they saw].
4 Te dongah tebang pangtungnah te Khrih lamloh Pathen taengah ng'khueh uh coeng.
I [can very] confidently [write these things about the work that Silas, Timothy, and I did among you, because God knows that what I write is true. We(exc) are true workers] for God [because of what] Christ [has done for us].
5 Mamih lamkah vanbangla pakhat khaw poek hamla mamih lamloh a cung a boeng la ng'om uh moenih. Tedae mamih kah tatthainah tah Pathen taeng lamkah ni.
We [(exc)], by ourselves, do not have the ability [to do this work]. None of us [apostles] can say, “[I have changed the lives of these people].” God is the one [who has given us this ability].
6 Anih loh paipi thai kaha tueihyoeih la mamih n'saii. Tedae cabu nen pawt tih mueihla nen ni n'saii. Cabu loh a ngawn dae mueihla loh a hing sak.
He is the one who enables us [(exc)] to be his messengers. [He has enabled us to tell people the message] about the new agreement [that he is making with them]. This is not a [message about obeying all the] written laws [of his old agreement that he made with the Jewish people]. Instead, [it is a message about God giving us his] Spirit. [Previously, God condemned people to be] separated from him forever [if they did not obey his laws]. But by [God’s new agreement] his Spirit enables people to live [eternally].
7 Lungto dongah catham la a tarhit dueknah kah bibi long pataeng thangpomnah neh om. Te dongah a maelhmai kah thangpomnah a hma dongah Moses kah maelhmai te Israel ca rhoek loh hmaitang thai pawh.
[Moses] taught [the people that if they did not obey God’s laws completely they would be] separated from God forever. [God] wrote [his laws] on stone [slabs. Then he gave them to Moses to teach them to the people. Although God’s laws condemned the people] to die, [when Moses brought those laws down from Sinai Mountain, God caused Moses’ face to shine] Moses’ face to shine radiantly [to show the people that these laws were God’s laws. It shone]. so brightly that the people of Israel could not keep looking at Moses’ face. [They had to look away]. But the brightness was slowly fading away.
8 Mueihla kah bibi tah thangpomnah neh muep om ngai mahpawt nim.
[So], [since God showed in such a wonderful way that those laws that condemned the people to die were from him], surely when we [(exc)] teach [people about how God’s] Spirit will [change their lives], [God will show] in an even more wonderful way [that] it is [his message.] [RHQ]
9 Laipupnah kah bibi te thangpomnah neh a om atah duengnah kah bibi tah thangpomnah muep coih ngai ta.
The message [that Moses taught them was wonderful, but when people heard] that message, [they realized that they were sinners and that God] would punish them. But God’s message that we [(exc) teach is a] much more wonderful message. We teach people that God will (erase the record of/declare people no longer guilty for) [the sinful things that they have done].
10 Tahae kah thangpomnah a baetawt kongah cungvang tah a thangpom tangtae long khaw thangpom voel pawh.
[The truth is that, although the work of teaching the people to obey God’s laws] was once important, it is not as important now, because [the work of teaching people that God will forgive them and] enable them to live to please him is far more important.
11 Aka paci long pataeng thangpomnah neh a om atah aka kuei long tah thangpomnah dongah muep om ngai ni ta.
Furthermore, [the message that Moses taught was not a lasting message, just like] the brightness on his face was not lasting and soon faded away. But [when God gives his Spirit to people], the wonderful work that [God’s Spirit does in their lives] is much greater [because] it lasts forever.
12 Te ngaiuepnah a om dongah ni sayalh la phet phet n'rhoidoeng uh.
We [(exc)] know that the message that we teach is a [much more wonderful message than the message that Moses taught]. So we [can preach] boldly.
13 Te dongah a maelhmai lumuekhni aka khueh thil Moses bangla a om moenih. Te daengah ni Israel ca rhoek loh a hmaitang vetih tiha tloihsoi la a paci uh pawt eh.
We do not [need to put a veil over our faces when we teach people], as Moses did. Moses put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not see that the radiance [on his face] soon faded away. [Similarly, the glory of the old agreement has also faded away].
14 Tedae amih kah poeknah loh ning uh. Amah tihnin khohnin duela paipi rhuem kah taenah dongah lumuekhni neh om pueng tih aa lim pawt te Khrih ah a khoe coeng.
But the Israelis stubbornly refused to [understand that the old agreement would end]. Even now, when they read the old agreement, [they still do not realize that it has ended. It is as if] [MET] that same veil [that Moses put on his face] is now over their [minds, keeping them from understanding God’s true message]. They will [understand that message] only when [they come to trust] in Christ. Then [it will be as though God] has removed the veil.
15 Tedae tihnin duela Moses cabua tae uh vaengah tah lumuekhni loh amih thinko te a yalh thil pueng.
[Throughout all these years], even until now, when [the Israelis] read what Moses [write, it is as though] a veil is covering their minds.
16 Tedae Boeipa taengah a mael vaengah tah lumuekhni te a khoe pah.
But when any of them believes in the Lord [Jesus], [God] removes that veil from them.
17 Boeipa tah mueihla la om coeng. Te dongah Boeipa mueihla a om nah ah poenghalnah om.
[It is by the power of his] Spirit that the Lord [works in our lives], and the Lord’s Spirit has set us free [from trying to obey all the rules and rituals that God gave Moses].
18 Mamih boeih loh Boeipa kah thangpomnah maelhmai neh n'lim uh tih amah mueimae te kap coeng. Te dongah Boeipa mueihla lamkah van bangla thangpomnah lamkah thangpomnah la n'thohai uh coeng.
[It is as though God] has removed the veil from our faces [MET]. We realize how awesome Jesus is. As we realize that, we are continually being changed {[the Holy Spirit is] continually changing us} to become more and more like Jesus, [so that people can see], more and more, how awesome [Jesus is]. It is the Spirit of the Lord who does [this].
