2 Corinthians 5:9 BSB

2 Corinthians 5:9

So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him.

KJV

Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

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Commentary

5 voices

Tertullian

On the Resurrection of the Flesh (220)

Then he says even to all: "We therefore earnestly desire to be acceptable unto God, whether absent or present; for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ Jesus." If all of us, then all of us wholly; if wholly, then our inward man and outward too-that is, our bodies no less than our souls.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

So it is that well-grounded hopes of heaven will be far from giving the least encouragement to sloth and sinful security; on the contrary, they should stir us up to use the greatest care and diligence in religion: Wherefore, or because we hope to be present with the Lord, we labour and take pains,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Wherefore - (Διὸ Dio). In view of the facts stated above. Since we have the prospect of a resurrection and of future glory; since we have the assurance that there is a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and since God has given to us this hope, and has granted to us the earnest of the Spirit, we make it our great object so to live as to be accepted by him. We labor - The word used here (φιλοτιμούμεθα philotimoumetha, from φίλος philos and τιμὴ timē, loving honor) means properly to love honor; to be ambitious.

Charles Spurgeon

1834–1892

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
διὸ	dio	Therefore	G1352 →
καὶ	kai	also	G2532 →
φιλοτιμούμεθα,	philotimoumetha	we are ambitious,	G5389 →
εἴτε	eite	whether	G1535 →
ἐνδημοῦντες	endēmountes	being at home	G1736 →
εἴτε	eite	or	G1535 →
ἐκδημοῦντες,	ekdēmountes	being away,	G1553 →
εὐάρεστοι	euarestoi	well-pleasing	G2101 →
αὐτῷ	autō	to Him	G846 →
εἶναι·	einai	to be;	G1511 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”
leads to
- James 1:15
  Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- Romans 2:6–10
  God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
- Isaiah 3:10–11
  Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their labor.
- Romans 6:16
  Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to…
Through
Colossians 1:10
so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
leads to
- Ephesians 4:1
  As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received:
- Hebrews 13:21
  equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
- 2 Peter 1:2–3
  Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
- John 15:16
  You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

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About 2 Corinthians

The Crown of Thorns — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

2 Corinthians: the study guide →Read chapter 5 →The featured study →

Continue: 2 Corinthians 5 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 2 Corinthians

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 2 Corinthians