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2 Corinthians 4:5–7

For what we preach is not ourselves,q but Jesus Christ as Lord,r and ourselves as your servantss for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”a t made his light shine in our heartsu to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.v

But we have this treasure in jars of clayw to show that this all-surpassing power is from Godx and not from us.

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2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — English Standard Version (ESV)

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — New Living Translation (NLT)

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — New Century Version (NCV)

We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your servants for Jesus. God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” This is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.

We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that the great power is from God, not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — American Standard Version (ASV)

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves;

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus Lord, and ourselves your bondmen for Jesus’ sake. Because it is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassingness of the power may be of God, and not from us:

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Our message is not about ourselves. It is about Jesus Christ as the Lord. We are your servants for his sake. We are his servants because the same God who said that light should shine out of darkness has given us light. For that reason we bring to light the knowledge about God’s glory which shines from Christ’s face. 

Our bodies are made of clay, yet we have the treasure of the Good News in them. This shows that the superior power of this treasure belongs to God and doesn’t come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” is the one who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthenware jars, in order that the extraordinary degree of the power may be from God and not from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

We do not preach about ourselves. We preach about Jesus Christ. We say that he is Lord. And we serve you because of him.

God said, “Let light shine out of darkness.” He made his light shine in our hearts. It shows us the light of God’s glory in the face of Christ.

Treasure is kept in clay jars. In the same way, we have the treasure of the good news in these earthly bodies of ours. That shows that the mighty power of the good news comes from God. It doesn’t come from us.

2 Corinthians 4:5–7 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus sake.

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;


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