1 Vai tad mēs atkal sākam sevi slavināt? Jeb vai mums kā dažiem citiem vajadzīgas ieteikšanas vēstules pie jums vai no jums?
2 Jūs esat mūsu vēstule, rakstīta mūsu sirdis, saprotama un lasāma visiem cilvēkiem.
3 Ir skaidri redzams, ka esat Kristus vēstule, ko esam sastādījuši, rakstīta ne ar tinti, bet ar dzīvā Dieva Garu, ne uz akmens, bet uz sirds plāksnēm.
4 Tāda paļāvība mums ir caur Kristu uz Dieva.
5 Ne ka mēs paši no sevis būtu spējīgi ko labu domāt; bet ja esam spējīgi, tad tas ir no Dieva,
6 Kas mūs darījis spējīgus kalpot jaunajai derībai, ne burtam, bet garam; jo burts nokauj, bet gars dara dzīvu.
7 Bet ja nāves amatam ar saviem akmeņos kaltiem burtiem bijis tāds spo-žums, ka Israēla bērni nevarēja skatīties Mozus vaigā viņa spožuma dēļ, kam taču bija jāzūd,
8 Kā lai nebūtu daudz lielāks spožums gara amatam?
9 Jo, ja pazudināšanas amatam bijis spožums, tad jo daudz vairāk tas ir taisnošanas amatam.
10 Jo, kas bijis spožs, tas tagad ir zaudējis savu spožumu šā pārlieku lielā spožuma dēj.
11 Jo, ja tam, kam bija jāzūd, bijis spožums, tad jo vairāk būs spožums tam, kas paliek.
12 Tāpēc ka mums ir tāda cerība, mēs runājam ar lielu drosmi,
13 Un ne tā kā Mozus, kas klāja apsegu pār savu vaigu, lai Israēla bērni neredzētu, kā izbeidzas tas, kam jāzūd.
14 Bet viņu sirdis tika nocietinātas; jo līdz šai dienai tas pats apsegs paliek, un lasot veco derību, nevar tikt atsegts, jo tas zūd ar Kristu.
15 Bet lidz šai dienai, kad lasa Mozu, apsegs paliek izklāts pār viņu sirdīm.
16 Bet līdz ko atgriežas pie tā Kunga, tur sega tiek noņemta.
17 Tas Kungs ir Gars. Kur tā Kunga Gars, tur ir brīvība.
18 Bet mēs visi, atsegtām sejām spoguļodamies tā Kunga spožumā, topam pārvērsti viņa paša līdzībā no spožuma uz spožumu. To dara tā Kunga Gars.
God's New Agreement
1 Are we once again bragging about ourselves? Do we need letters to you or from you to tell others about us? Some people do need letters telling about them. 2 But you are our letter, and you are in our hearts for everyone to read and understand. 3 You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God.
4 We are sure about all this. Christ makes us sure in the very presence of God. 5 We don't have the right to claim that we have done anything on our own. God gives us what it takes to do all we do. 6 He makes us worthy to be the servants of his new agreement that comes from the Holy Spirit and not from a written Law. After all, the Law brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
7 The Law of Moses brought only the promise of death, even though it was carved on stones and given in a wonderful way. Still the Law made Moses' face shine so brightly the people of Israel could not look at it, even though it was a fading glory. 8 So won't the agreement the Spirit brings to us be even more wonderful? 9 If something that brings the death sentence is glorious, won't something that makes us acceptable to God be even more glorious? 10 In fact, the new agreement is so wonderful that the Law is no longer glorious at all. 11 The Law was given with a glory that faded away. But the glory of the new agreement is much greater, because it will never fade away.
12 This wonderful hope makes us feel like speaking freely. 13 We are not like Moses. His face was shining, but he covered it to keep the people of Israel from seeing the brightness fade away. 14 The people were stubborn, and something still keeps them from seeing the truth when the Law is read. Only Christ can take away the covering that keeps them from seeing.
15 When the Law of Moses is read, they have their minds covered over 16 with a covering that is removed only for those who turn to the Lord. 17 The Lord and the Spirit are one and the same, and the Lord's Spirit sets us free. 18 So our faces are not covered. They show the bright glory of the Lord, as the Lord's Spirit makes us more and more like our glorious Lord.
