2 Korintus 12
1 Saya terpaksa membanggakan diri walaupun itu tidak ada gunanya. Sekarang saya melanjutkan dengan penglihatan dan pengetahuan tentang hal-hal rohani yang Tuhan nyatakan kepada saya.
[It seems that] I must go on boasting [about myself]. Although [I do] not [think that my telling you about] this will help [you to accept me as Christ’s representative to you], I [will say this anyway]. I will tell you about visions that the Lord [gave a certain man] and about things that he [supernaturally] revealed [to that man. I will tell you this because some of the people among you boast that it was in visions that they received the things that they teach].
2 Empat belas tahun lalu, seorang pengikut Kristus yang saya kenal diangkat ke surga tingkat ketiga. Saya tidak tahu apakah benar-benar tubuhnya yang dibawa atau rohnya saja. Hanya Allah yang tahu. Tetapi saya tahu
The man that I will tell you about is one [who believes] in Christ. Fourteen years ago he was taken {[Christ] took him} up into the third heaven, [the highest heaven, the place where God is]. I do not know whether he went there [in his physical body] or whether he was outside of his body [at that time and only his spirit went]. Only God really knows.
But he was [suddenly] taken {[Christ suddenly] took him} up to [a place called] Paradise, [that wonderful place where God lives. I repeat that] I do not know whether his body [went there] or only his spirit. Only God knows [that. While he was there, God] told him some things that he does not allow [human beings] to tell [others about].
4 dia dibawa ke Firdaus. Di sana dia mendengar hal-hal mulia yang tidak boleh disebut oleh manusia, bahkan tidak bisa dijelaskan dengan kata-kata.
5 Saya bangga atas apa yang terjadi pada orang itu, tetapi saya tidak mau membanggakan diri sendiri dalam hal seperti itu. Lebih baik saya bangga dengan kelemahan-kelemahan saya!
I will proudly talk about that man. However, I will not be boasting [as] I say that I [am the one who saw and heard those wonderful things]. I will talk only about the things that [cause others to think of] me as a weak [human being like everyone else].
6 Walaupun saya terpaksa meniru guru-guru yang kurang bijaksana itu, ada perbedaan penting. Mereka menipu, dan saya mengatakan yang benar. Tetapi saya tidak akan melanjutkannya, karena saya mau kalian menilai saya hanya berdasarkan perbuatan yang nyata dan ajaran yang langsung kalian dengar dari saya.
But even if I should choose to boast [to you about such wonderful things that happened to me], I would not be [speaking like] a fool, because I would be telling you the truth. But I will not [talk proudly about such things], because I do not want any of you to think highly of me [because of the things that have happened to me]. Instead, [I want you to decide what kind of person I am by the way you see] me [acting] and by what you hear me teach.
7 Lagipula, supaya saya tidak menjadi sombong karena hal-hal luar biasa yang Allah nyatakan, maka saya diberi suatu penyakit yang menyiksa tubuh saya. Allah mengizinkan Satanas mengirim penyakit itu untuk memukul saya supaya tidak terlalu membanggakan diri.
In order that I might not become proud because of those many wonderful things [that Christ] revealed to me, [God permitted] Satan to send a messenger [to humble me] (OR, to [make me sick]). [What that messenger did to me was painful, like] [MET] a thorn pricking my body.
8 Sudah tiga kali saya memohon kepada Tuhan supaya Dia menyembuhkan saya dari penyakit itu.
Three times I prayed to the Lord about it, begging him to take this away from me.
9 Tetapi Tuhan menjawab, “Kebaikan hati-Ku sudah cukup bagimu! Karena kuasa-Ku menjadi sangat nyata ketika kamu lemah.” Jadi, jauh lebih baik saya membanggakan kelemahan-kelemahan saya supaya semakin terasa kuasa Kristus melindungi saya.
But he said to me, “[No, I will not take this away from you. Instead], I will kindly help you, and that will be all that you need, because it is [when you are] weak that I [can] best [work] powerfully [to help you].” So, because of [what the Lord said to me], I will very gladly boast about [the things that make] me [seem] weak, so that [people may realize] that it is Christ who gives me power [to serve him].
10 Oleh karena itu, sebagai utusan Kristus saya sudah belajar merasa senang ketika mengalami kelemahan, penghinaan, kesusahan, penganiayaan, maupun kesengsaraan. Sebab justru di saat lemahlah saya benar-benar mendapat kekuatan!
For that reason, [whenever I am] weak, or [when people] insult me, [or when I have to endure] hardships, or [when I am persecuted] {[people] cause me to suffer}, or [when I am in situations that] distress me, I am content because [I am serving] Christ. [I can say that] because at any time when I myself am weak, that is the [very] time when [Christ] powerfully [helps me].
11 Gara-gara kalian, saya sudah berbicara bodoh dengan membanggakan diri. Seharusnya, waktu orang lain menghina saya, kalianlah yang memuji saya. Karena saya merasa sama sekali tidak kalah dibandingkan ‘rasul-rasul yang luar biasa’ itu, walaupun sebenarnya saya ini bukan siapa-siapa!
It has been foolish for me [to talk about myself like this], but it is you who forced me to do it. Truly [if the Lord would not help me], I would be worthless, [as my opponents say that I am]. But none of the men whom you [wrongfully think] [IRO] are great apostles are greater in any way than I am. So it would have been right/proper for you to say good things about me.
12 Kalian sendiri sudah melihat bukti bahwa saya adalah rasul melalui segala macam keajaiban yang saya lakukan di antara kalian dengan kuasa Tuhan. Dan tugas itu saya lakukan dengan penuh kesabaran.
[You should have done that, because] when I was with you [I] repeatedly did the things that showed you that [I am truly] an apostle, such as performing many [DOU] miracles.
13 Saya melayani kalian dan jemaat-jemaat lain dengan cara yang sama. Bedanya hanya satu: Saya tidak pernah merepotkan kalian untuk membiayai saya. Kalau hal itu dianggap salah, maafkan saya!
And I have [certainly treated] you as well as [I treated] the other congregations [that I helped to start. Or do you think that] by not asking you [to pay me for my work], I was not treating you as well as I treated the other congregations? (It is foolish for you to [think that] [IRO] [it] was wrong for me not [to ask for pay from you for my work, and therefore I should ask] you to forgive me for that!/Do you [think that it] was wrong for me not [to ask for pay from you for my work, and therefore I should ask] you to forgive me for that?) [RHQ]
14 Sekarang saya siap mengunjungi kalian untuk ketiga kalinya. Dan saya tidak akan menyusahkan kalian dengan meminta bantuan dana, karena yang saya inginkan bukan hartamu, tetapi hatimu. Memang bukan anak-anak yang mengumpulkan harta untuk orangtua mereka, tetapi orangtualah yang mengumpulkan harta untuk anak-anaknya.
Now listen to me! It is time for me to come to you for a third [visit. When I come], I [still] will not insist that you [pay me for my work], because I do not want [any of] your [money] [EUP]! What I want is for you [MTY] [to love and appreciate me]. It is not [normally the duty of] children to save [money to provide for the needs of] their parents. Instead, it [is the duty of] parents to [provide] for their children [MET]. In the same way, [it is not your duty to provide for me. Instead, it is my duty to provide spiritual help for you because you are my spiritual children].
15 Jadi, saya dengan senang hati rela memberikan apa pun yang saya punya demi kepentingan kalian, bahkan menyerahkan diri saya untuk kalian. Kalau kasih saya kepada kalian semakin melimpah, masakan kasih kalian kepada saya semakin berkurang?!
So, for my part, [as a good parent would do], I will be very happy to use everything that I have, and do everything that I possibly can, [in order to help you]. And because I love you very much, (I will be very disappointed if [you] do not love me a little bit, too./will [you] not love me a little bit, too?) [RHQ]
16 Tetapi mungkin di antara kalian ada yang berkata, “Memang Paulus tidak pernah meminta uang kita untuk membiayai hidupnya, tetapi dia licik dan sudah menipu kita untuk mendapatkan keuntungan.”
[You all] know that I did not depend on you [to provide for my needs]. However, [there are some who accuse me, saying that] [IRO] I was very clever and got money from you by tricking you.
17 Itu tidak mungkin! Tentu kalian sendiri tahu bahwa saya tidak pernah menggunakan cara licik untuk mendapatkan keuntungan dari kalian melalui orang yang saya utus kepada kalian.
But did I ever do that? No! I never [RHQ] asked any of the men whom I sent to you [to get money] from you [and bring it to me]
18 Titus misalnya. Saya meminta dia mengunjungi kalian, dan bersamanya saya mengutus saudara seiman kita. Titus tidak memungut dana dari kalian, bukan?! Kalian tahu bahwa Titus dan saya bekerja dengan tujuan dan cara yang sama.
Titus went [and visited you because] I urged him to do so. I also sent the other believer, [whom you know], to go with Titus. [You know that] Titus did not [RHQ] trick [you in order to get money from you. And you certainly know that] he and I have always [RHQ] acted in exactly the same [honest] way [towards you].
19 Nah, berdasarkan apa yang kami tulis di atas, mungkin kalian pikir kami sedang berusaha membenarkan diri di hadapan kalian. Tidak! Saudara-saudari yang kami kasihi, saya bersumpah di hadapan Allah dan dalam persatuan kita dengan Kristus bahwa kami menulis surat ini hanya untuk menguatkan kalian.
While [you have been reading this letter, if] you have been thinking that I have [just] been [saying these things to] defend myself [against those who accuse me, you are wrong]. I have been saying [these things honestly, knowing] that God is listening [to me. I also speak as one who has a close relationship] with Christ. Everything that I do and [everything that I say is] to [help you] whom I love (to grow [spiritually/] to become [spiritually] mature).
20 Karena saya takut bahwa waktu saya datang, jangan-jangan kalian melihat sikap saya tidak seperti yang kalian harapkan, atau keadaan kalian tidak seperti yang saya inginkan. Saya takut kalau di antara kalian ada yang bertengkar, iri hati, sombong, marah-marah, atau ada perpecahan, fitnah, gosip, dan kelompok yang membuat kekacauan.
[I have written this way to you] because I worry that when I come [to visit you], I will see that [some of] you are [not conducting your lives the way] that I want you [to]. If that is so, [when I get there] you will see that I will have [to act] in a [very severe way toward you, and I am sure] that you do not want that. Specifically, I am afraid that [some of you] may be quarreling, or that you are being jealous [of each other], or that you quickly get very angry [with them], or that you are acting selfishly, or that [some of] you are saying bad things about others, or that you are (spreading false rumors/saying false things) about each other, or that you are acting proudly, or that you are [doing things] in a disorderly manner.
21 Waktu saya datang kembali, jangan-jangan saya kecewa dan malu di hadapan Allah karena di antara kalian masih ada yang hidupnya tidak pantas sebagai pengikut Kristus. Kalau di antara kalian masih ada yang belum bertobat dari perbuatan-perbuatan jahat yang lama, seperti dosa perzinaan dan segala jenis percabulan, saya akan sangat sedih dan menangis karena ternyata pelayanan kami di antara kalian benar-benar gagal!
[I] ([feel anxious/am concerned]) [about you. I worry that] when I visit you again, God, the one whom I [serve], will make me feel ashamed of you [when I see that] you [still are not conducting your lives as believers should]. Then I will feel very sad about [some of] you who were sinning previously and have not stopped your sinful behavior. [Some of you] may still have impure [thoughts. Some of you] may be having sexual intercourse with those to whom you are not married. [And some of you] may be doing other shameful things.
