2 Corinthians 5:7

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Simplified Cowboy Version
What we believe will happen guides us and keeps us confident, not what we might be seeing right now.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
for we walk by faith, not by sight—

Legacy Standard Bible
for we walk by faith, not by sight—

Bible in Basic English
(For we are walking by faith, not by seeing,)

Darby Translation
(for we walk by faith, not by sight;)

Christian Standard Bible®
For we walk by faith, not by sight,

World English Bible
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
(For we walk by faith, not by sight.)

Weymouth's New Testament
for we are living a life of faith, and not one of sight.

King James Version (1611)
(For we walke by faith, not by sight.)

Literal Translation
(for we walk by faith, not by sight),

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
for we walke in faith, and se him not.

Mace New Testament (1729)
(for I regulate my conduct by my future expectations, not by visible enjoyments:

Amplified Bible
for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God's promises]—

American Standard Version
(for we walk by faith, not by sight);

Revised Standard Version
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For we walke in fayth and se not.

Update Bible Version
(for we walk by faith, not by sight);

Webster's Bible Translation
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Young's Literal Translation
for through faith we walk, not through sight --

New Century Version
We live by what we believe, not by what we can see.

New English Translation
for we live by faith, not by sight.

Berean Standard Bible
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Contemporary English Version
But we live by faith, not by what we see.

Complete Jewish Bible
for we live by trust, not by what we see.

English Standard Version
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Geneva Bible (1587)
(For we walke by faith, and not by sight.)

George Lamsa Translation
For we walk by faith, and not by sight.

Hebrew Names Version
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

International Standard Version
For we live by faith, not by sight.Romans 8:24-25; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Hebrews 11:1;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
For by faith we walk, and not by sight.

Murdock Translation
(for we walk by faith, and not by sight;)

New King James Version
For we walk by faith, not by sight.

New Living Translation
For we live by believing and not by seeing.

New Life Bible
Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.

English Revised Version
(for we walk by faith, not by sight);

New Revised Standard
for we walk by faith, not by sight.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
By faith, are we walking, not by sight; -

Douay-Rheims Bible
(For we walk by faith and not by sight.)

King James Version
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Lexham English Bible
for we live by faith, not by sight—

Bishop's Bible (1568)
(For we walke by fayth, not after outwarde appearaunce.)

Easy-to-Read Version
We live by what we believe will happen, not by what we can see.

New American Standard Bible
for we walk by faith, not by sight—

Good News Translation
For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
for we walken bi feith, and not bi cleer siyt.

Contextual Overview

¹For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. ⁶That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming. ⁹But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad. ¹¹That keeps us vigilant, you can be sure. It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet to get them ready to face God. God alone knows how well we do this, but I hope you realize how much and deeply we care. We're not saying this to make ourselves look good to you. We just thought it would make you feel good, proud even, that we're on your side and not just nice to your face as so many people are. If I acted crazy, I did it for God; if I acted overly serious, I did it for you. Christ's love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own. Because of this decision we don't evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don't look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

2 Corinthians 1:24, 2 Corinthians 4:18, Deuteronomy 12:9, Romans 8:24, Romans 8:25, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 10:38, Hebrews 11:1-26, Hebrews 11:27, 1 Peter 1:8, 1 Peter 5:9

Reciprocal: John 20:29 - blessed 1 Corinthians 13:10 - General Colossians 2:6 - walk Colossians 3:3 - your

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For we walk by faith, and not by sight. Faith is a grace which answers many useful purposes; it is the eye of the soul, by which it looks to Christ for righteousness, peace, pardon, life, and salvation; the hand by which it receives him, and the foot by which it goes to him, and walks in him as it has received him; which denotes not a single act of faith, but a continued course of believing; and is expressive, not of a weak, but of a strong steady faith of glory and happiness, and of interest in it: and it is opposed to "sight": by which is meant, not sensible communion, but the celestial vision: there is something of sight in faith; that is a seeing of the Son; and it is an evidence of things not seen, of the invisible glories of the other world; faith looks at, and has a glimpse of things not seen, which are eternal; but it is but seeing as through a glass darkly; it is not that full sight, face to face, which will be had hereafter, when faith is turned into vision.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For we walk - To walk, in the Scriptures often denotes to live, to act, to conduct in a certain way; see the notes on Romans 4:12; Romans 6:4. It has reference to the fact that life is a journey, or a pilgrimage, and that the Christian is traveling to another country. The sense here is, that we conduct ourselves in our course of life with reference to the things which are unseen, and not with reference to the things which are seen.

By faith - In the belief of those things which we do not see. We believe in the existence of objects which are invisible, and we are influenced by them. To walk by faith, is to live in the confident expectation of things that are to come; in the belief of the existence of unseen realities; and suffering them to influence us as if they were seen. The people of this world are influenced by the things that are seen. They live for wealth, honor, splendor, praise, for the objects which this world can furnish, and as if there were nothing which is unseen, or as if they ought not to be influenced by the things which are unseen. The Christian, on the contrary, has a firm conviction of the reality of the glories of heaven; of the fact that the Redeemer is there; of the fact that there is a crown of glory; and he lives, and acts as if that were all real, and as if he saw it all. The simple account of faith, and of living by faith is, that we live and act as if these things were true, and suffer them to make an impression on our mind according to their real nature; see the note on Mark 16:16.

It is contradistinguished from living simply under the influence of things that are seen. God is unseen - but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a God, and as if he saw him. Christ is unseen now by the bodily eye; but the Christian lives and acts as if he were seen, that is, as if his eye were known to be upon us, and as if he was now exalted to heaven and was the only Saviour. The Holy Spirit is unseen; but he lives, and acts as if there were such a Spirit, and as if his influences were needful to renew, and purify the soul. Heaven is unseen; but the Christian lives, and thinks, and acts as if there were a heaven, and as if he now saw its glories. He has confidence in these, and in kindred truths, and he acts as if they were real. Could man see all these; were they visible to the naked eye as they are to the eye of faith, no one would doubt the propriety of living and acting with reference to them.

But if they exist, there is no more impropriety in acting with reference to them than if they were seen. Our seeing or not seeing them does not alter their nature or importance, and the fact that they are not seen does not make it improper to act with reference to them. There are many ways of being convinced of the existence and reality of objects besides seeing them; and it may be as rational to be influenced by the reason, the judgment, or by strong confidence, as it is to be influenced by sight. Besides, all people are influenced by things which they have not seen. They hope for objects that are future. They aspire to happiness which they have not yet beheld. They strive for honor and wealth which are unseen, and which is in the distant future. They live, and act - influenced by strong faith and hope - as if these things were attainable; and they deny themselves, and labor, and cross oceans and deserts, and breathe in pestilential air to obtain those things which they have not seen, and which to them are in the distant future.

And why should not the Christian endure like labor, and be willing to suffer in like manner, to gain the unseen crown which is incorruptible, and to acquire the unseen wealth which the moth does not corrupt? And further still, the people of this world strive for those objects which they have not beheld, without any promise or any assurance that they shall obtain them. No being able to grant them has promised them; no one has assured them that their lives shall be lengthened out to obtain them. In a moment they may be cut off and all their plans frustrated; or they may be utterly disappointed and all their plans fail; or if they gain the object, it may be unsatisfactory, and may furnish no pleasure such as they had anticipated. But not so the Christian. He has:

(1) The promise of life.

(2) He has the assurance that sudden death cannot deprive him of it. It at once removes him to the object of pursuit, not from it.

(3) He has the assurance that when obtained, it shall not disgust, or satiate, or decay, but that it shall meet all the expectations of the soul, and shall be eternal.

Not by sight - This may mean either that we are not influenced by a sight of these future glories, or that we are not influenced by the things which we see. The main idea is, that we are not influenced and governed by the sight. We are not governed and controlled by the things which we see, and we do not see those things which actually influence and control us. In both it is faith that controls us, and not sight.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 5:7. For we walk by faith — While we are in the present state faith supplies the place of direct vision. In the future world we shall have sight-the utmost evidence of spiritual and eternal things; as we shall be present with them, and live in them. Here we have the testimony of God, and believe in their reality, because we cannot doubt his word. And to make this more convincing he gives us the earnest of his Spirit, which is a foretaste of glory.