2 Korintierne 3
1 Byrjar me å gjeva oss sjølve lovord att? eller treng me då, liksom sume folk, til å hava lovords brev til dykk eller frå dykk?
Are we starting to speak well of ourselves again? Or do we need to have some letter of recommendation for you, or from you, as some people do?
2 De er vårt brev, innskrive i våre hjarto, kjent og lese av alle menneskje,
You are our letter, written in our experience with you, that everybody reads and knows about.
3 med di det er kunnigt at de er Kristi brev, tilkome ved vår tenesta, innskrive ikkje med blekk, men med den livande Guds Ande, ikkje på steintavlor, men på hjartans kjøttavlor.
You demonstrate that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us; not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not written on stone slabs but in our living experience as human beings.
4 Men ei slik tiltru hev me til Gud ved Kristus,
We have total confidence before God through Christ.
5 ikkje at me av oss sjølve duger til å tenkja ut noko som av oss sjølve, men dugleiken vår er av Gud,
Not that we would consider ourselves able to do this on our own—it's God who gives us this capacity!
6 han som og gjorde oss duglege til å vera tenarar for ei ny pakt, ikkje for bokstav, men for ande; for bokstaven slær i hel, men Anden gjer livande.
He also gave us the ability to be ministers of a new agreement, based not on the letter of the law, but on the spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the spirit gives life.
7 Når då daudens tenesta, som var innhoggi med bokstavar på steinar, kom med herlegdom, so Israels-borni ikkje greidde å sjå på Mose åsyn på grunn av herlegdomen i hans åsyn, endå det var ein som kvarv burt,
However, the old way of relating to God, written in letters carved in stone, ended in death, even though it came with God's glory—so much so that the Israelites couldn't even bear to look at Moses' face because it shone so brightly, even though the glory was fading.
8 kor skal ikkje då Andens tenesta endå meir vera i herlegdom!
If that was so, shouldn't the new way of relating to God in the Spirit come with even greater glory?
9 For er fordømings-tenesta herlegdom, so er rettferds-tenesta endå mykje meir rik på herlegdom.
If the old way that condemns us has glory, the new way that makes us right with God has so much more glory!
10 For endå det herlege er i dette stykke ikkje herlegt mot den ovrike herlegdomen.
For the old that was once glorious has no glory at all in comparison with the incredible glory of the new.
11 For når det burtkvervande var i herlegdom, so skal det vedvarande so mykje meir vera i herlegdom.
If the old that is fading away had glory, the new that continues has so much more glory.
12 Sidan me då hev slik ei von, so gjeng me fram med stort frimod
Since we have such a confident hope, we are truly bold!
13 og gjer ikkje som Moses, som lagde eit sveip yver si åsyn, so Israels-borni ikkje skulde skoda enden av det som kvarv burt.
We don't have to be like Moses, who had to put on a veil to cover his face so the Israelites wouldn't be dazzled by the glory, even though it was fading away.
14 Men deira hug vart forherd; for like til denne dag ligg det same sveipet der når dei les den gamle pakti, og det vert ikkje openberra at ho vert avlyst i Kristus.
In spite of that, they had a hard, stubborn attitude. For right up until today when the old agreement is read, the same “veil” remains. Only through Christ can it be removed.
15 Men til denne dag ligg det eit sveip yver hjarta deira når Moses vert lesen.
Even today, whenever the books of Moses are read, a veil covers their minds.
16 Men når det vender um til Herren, då vert sveipet burtteke.
But when they turn and accept the Lord, the veil is removed.
17 Men Herren er Anden; men der Herrens Ande er, der er fridom.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there's freedom.
18 Men me som med usveipt åsyn ser Herrens herlegdom som i ein spegel, me vert alle umlaga til det same bilæte frå herlegdom til herlegdom, liksom av Herrens Ande.
So all of us, with our faces unveiled, see and reflect the glory of the Lord as in a mirror. We are being transformed into the same mirror image, whose glory grows brighter and brighter. This is what the Lord the Spirit does.
