II Koryntian 3
1 Czy będziemy teraz zachwalać samych siebie? Czy—podobnie jak inni—potrzebujemy listów polecających dla was lub od was?
[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 To przecież wy jesteście naszym listem polecającym—wszystko macie wypisane w sercach i każdy może to przeczytać!
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 Powszechnie wiadomo, że jesteście jak list od samego Chrystusa, napisany—dzięki naszej służbie—nie przez jakiegoś człowieka, ale przez Ducha żyjącego Boga. List ten nie jest też wyryty na kamiennych tablicach, jak przykazania Prawa Mojżesza, lecz zapisany w żywych ludzkich sercach.
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 Tak właśnie wyraża się nasze zaufanie, jakie dzięki Chrystusowi pokładamy w Bogu.
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 Nie uważamy, że sami z siebie jesteśmy w stanie czegoś dokonać, ale ufamy wyłącznie Bogu!
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 To On uczynił nas sługami nowego przymierza, które nie opiera się na przykazaniach Prawa Mojżesza, ale na Bożym Duchu. Przykazania Prawa prowadzą bowiem do śmierci, natomiast Boży Duch daje życie!
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 Stare przymierze, którego przykazania były wyryte na kamiennych tablicach, ostatecznie doprowadziło ludzi do śmierci. Mimo to zawarciu tego przymierza towarzyszyła tak wielka chwała, że Izraelici nie mogli patrzeć na twarz Mojżesza—jaśniała bowiem Bożą chwałą, choć tylko przez pewien czas.
[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 Pomyślcie więc, o ile większa chwała będzie towarzyszyła służbie Ducha Świętego!
[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 Skoro Boża chwała objawiła się w tym, co prowadziło do potępienia, to o ile większa chwała objawi się w tym, co prowadzi do uniewinnienia z grzechów!
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 Stare przymierze blednie i niknie w porównaniu z nowym przymierzem.
[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 A jeśli przemijającemu przymierzu towarzyszyła tak wielka chwała, to jak cudowna chwała będzie towarzyszyła przymierzu, które jest wieczne!
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 Mając więc taką nadzieję, możemy prowadzić służbę z pełną swobodą i otwartością
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 —nie tak, jak Mojżesz, który zasłaniał twarz, aby Izraelici nie patrzyli na jej przemijający blask.
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 Niestety ludzie ci stali się uparci i po dziś dzień nie mogą dostrzec prawdy, gdy słuchają Prawa Mojżesza. Tylko Chrystus może bowiem sprawić, że zaczną widzieć.
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 Po dziś dzień, gdy czytają pisma Mojżesza, nie widzą prawdy, bo jest przed nimi zasłonięta.
[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 Ale gdy ktoś z nich zwraca się do Pana, zasłona znika.
But when any of them believes in the Lord [Jesus], [God] removes that veil from them.
17 Pan jest bowiem duchem, a gdziekolwiek pojawia się Jego Duch, niesie ludziom wolność.
[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 My zaś z odsłoniętą twarzą wpatrujemy się w chwałę Pana i dzięki Jego Duchowi coraz bardziej się do Niego upodabniamy.
[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].
