2 Korinther 5
1 Wir wissen ja: Wenn unser Zelt — das Haus, worin wir hier auf Erden wohnen — (im Tode) abgebrochen wird, so haben wir einen Bau, von Gott bereitet, ein himmlisches Haus, das nicht mit Händen gemacht ist, sondern ewig bleiben soll. (aiōnios g166)
We know that [these bodies] we live in [here in this world are like] [MET] tents. [They are like temporary living/dwelling places]. [So we should not be concerned about what happens to our bodies]. We know that if we are killed {if [someone] kills us}, God will give us [permanent living places. Those permanent living places] [MET] will not be houses that people have made. They [will be new bodies in which we will live forever] in heaven. (aiōnios g166)
2 Solange wir in diesem Zelt wohnen, haben wir zu seufzen, weil wir voll Sehnsucht darauf warten, mit unserer himmlischen Behausung überkleidet zu werden.
[While we are here on earth, we suffer]. We often groan because we desire [to go] to heaven [where God] will give us our new [bodies] [MET].
3 Denn haben wir diese angezogen, dann werden wir nicht unbekleidet dastehen.
When [God gives us(inc) our new bodies] [MET], our [spirits will have] [LIT, MET] bodies to live in [that will last forever].
4 Solange wir also noch in diesem Zelt wohnen, haben wir zu seufzen unter einem schweren Druck. Denn wir möchten nicht entkleidet, sondern überkleidet werden, damit das Sterbliche verschlungen werde von dem Leben.
[It is true that] while we are still living in these bodies [MET] [that do not last forever], we often groan [DOU] [because we desire to be free from them]. We are not longing to be without a body. Instead, [we groan because] we desire to receive our new bodies [MET] in heaven. We long for this to happen so that these bodies that are going to die some day will suddenly be changed [into bodies] that will live [forever].
5 Gott ist's, der uns hierzu befähigt hat: er hat uns auch den Geist als Angeld darauf gegeben.
It is God himself who has prepared us to [receive] these [new bodies]. He is also the one who has guaranteed/assured us [(inc)] that this will happen. He has guaranteed it by sending his Spirit [to live inside us now].
6 Darum sind wir allezeit getrost, obwohl wir wissen: Solange dieser Leib noch unsere Heimat ist, sind wir noch fern von der Heimat,
So, [because God’s Spirit lives in us], we are always confident [that God will give us new bodies]. We know that as long as we have bodies here on [earth], we are not yet [living together] with the Lord [Jesus in heaven].
7 fern vom Herrn — denn unser Lebensweg führt uns hier durch Glauben, nicht durch Schauen —.
While we [(exc)] live [here, we] do not have our [new bodies, but we are] trusting [that God will give them to us].
8 Trotzdem sind wir getrost und möchten sogar lieber diesen Leib verlassen und daheim sein bei dem Herrn.
[As I said], we [(exc)] are confident [that he will give us new bodies]. We [(exc)] would much prefer to leave these bodies [which we have now], and be with the Lord [Jesus in our] home in [heaven].
9 Deshalb setzen wir auch alles daran, ihm (bei seinem Kommen) wohlgefällig zu sein — ganz einerlei, ob wir dann in diesem Leib wohnen oder ihn verlassen haben.
Because of all that, we always want to please [Jesus in everything that we do]. Whether we [(exc)] are [still living] here [in these] bodies or whether we have [left] them and are living in our home [in heaven], we want to please him.
10 Denn wir alle müssen offenbar werden vor dem Richterstuhl Christi, damit ein jeder seinen Lohn empfange für sein Tun in diesem Leibesleben, es sei gut oder böse.
[And we need to try hard to do that] because each one of us [believers] must stand before Christ [to be] judged [by him] {[when he will] judge [his people]}. [At that time] he will [reward each one of] us according to what we have done [while we lived in this world] in these bodies. [He will reward us according to] whether we have done good things or whether we have done evil things.
11 Weil wir nun wissen, wie sehr der Herr (als Richter) zu fürchten ist, könnten wir uns da bei den Menschen "einschmeicheln" wollen? Gott kennt uns genau. Ich hoffe, auch ihr seid innerlich von unserer Aufrichtigkeit überzeugt.
It makes me fearful [to think that some day I will stand before the Lord for him to judge me]. So I [do everything that I can to] convince people [that they should believe] (OR, [that I teach] sincerely) [God’s message]. God knows very well [how I conduct my life and what I teach], and I really believe that you know it, too.
12 Damit wollen wir uns aber nicht wieder einmal bei euch "empfehlen". Nein, wir wollen euch nur Anlaß geben, eure gute Meinung von uns auch jenen Prahlern gegenüber zu vertreten, deren Herz ganz anders ist als ihr frommes Gesicht.
Once again [I say, as I write this], I am not just [trying to] make you think well/highly of me, [as some people will probably say that I am]. Instead, I am [telling you in this letter why you have] good reason [to tell those who criticize me] that you think highly of me. [I am telling you this] so that you will know what to say to those [teachers of false doctrine among you]. They are proud [of what they have done], instead of [making sure that] they [are right with God and being pleased with that].
13 Sind wir nun wirklich "von Sinnen gekommen", so ist das im Dienst Gottes geschehen: sind wir aber bei gesundem Verstand, so ist das euch zum Segen.
[Some of them say that after God has enabled me to see visions], I [talk like] a crazy person. If [that is so, I want you to realize that I talk that way in order to please] God. On the other hand, if [you think that] I [speak and act] wisely, [that is good. I want you to know that I do] speak and act wisely in order to [help] you.
14 Was uns ganz und gar gefangennimmt, das ist die Liebe, die Christus uns bewiesen hat. wir denken nämlich so: Einer ist für alle gestorben, folglich sind alle gestorben.
[I speak and act the way I do] because the love that Christ [has for people] influences me [in everything that I say and do]. When Christ died, [he suffered the punishment] for [the sins of] all people. So, we should all [think of ourselves as having] died with him, [being as unresponsive to sinful desires as] [MET] a corpse is.
15 Und er ist darum für alle gestorben, damit die, die da leben, nicht mehr sich selbst leben, sondern dem, der zu ihrem Heil gestorben und auferstanden ist.
When [Christ] died for the everyone, he died in order that [we believers who are alive now] should not conduct our lives in a way that will just [please ourselves]. Instead, [we should conduct our lives in a way that will please] Christ, [because] he is the one who died for us and was brought back to life {whom [God] raised} again.
16 Darum beurteilen wir jetzt niemand mehr nach dem äußeren Augenschein. Und haben wir früher sogar Christus nur nach seiner äußeren Erscheinung im Fleisch beurteilt, so denken wir jetzt ganz anders von ihm.
So, [because I realize how much Christ loves everyone], I no longer think about people in the way that those who do not believe [in Christ] think about [them]. Before I [was a believer], I thought about Christ in the way that other non-believers did. But I do not think of him that way any more.
17 Wer also mit Christus in Gemeinschaft steht, der ist ein neues Geschöpf. Das Alte ist (bei ihm) vergangen: ein Neues ist offenbar geworden.
The fact is that God makes every one [of us] who [trusts] in Christ to be completely different [than we were before]. Our old [way of conducting our lives] is gone. We now have a [completely] new way of [conducting our lives].
18 Dies alles aber ist Gottes Werk: Er hat uns durch Christus mit sich versöhnt und uns den Dienst übertragen, die Versöhnung zu verkündigen.
This [complete change in our lives] is all something that God [does]. It is God who made it possible for us to have a peaceful relationship with him. [He was able to do that] because of what Christ [did for us]. Now God [has sent] me, and those [who work] with me, to tell [people that they] can have a peaceful relationship with him.
19 Denn Gott war es, der in Christus die Welt mit sich versöhnte: er rechnet den Menschen ihre Übertretungen nicht zu, und er hat uns den Auftrag gegeben, die Versöhnung kundzumachen.
That is, [he sent us(exc) to tell them that] when Christ [died], God was [making it possible for everyone] [MTY] in the world to have a peaceful relationship with him. He no longer keeps a record of the sinful things that [we believers] have done. The message that [God] has given to us [to tell people is how we can have a] peaceful relationship with him.
20 So treten wir in Christi Namen als Gesandte auf, ja, Gottes Stimme tönt durch unseren Mahnruf. Wir bitten in Christi Namen: "Laßt euch mit Gott versöhnen!"
So, it is I and my companions who are Christ’s representatives [in this world. When we tell people the message about Christ], it is God himself who is pleading with them by means of what we [say]. So, as true representatives of Christ, we plead with you: [Believe God’s true message about Christ in order that you may] be reconciled to {have a peaceful relationship with} him.
21 Ihn, der die Sünde nicht gekannt, hat er für uns zur Sünde gemacht, damit wir in ihm Gottes Gerechtigkeit würden.
[You must believe that even though] Jesus never sinned, God [punished him for all the] sinful things [that people do, just] as [if Jesus had done those sinful things himself]. And because of our close relationship with Christ, God has erased the record of our sins/declared us no longer guilty for our sins.
