For you yourselves know, brothers, our visit to you wasn’t in vain, 2but having suffered before and been shamefully treated, as you know, at Philippi, we grew bold in our God1 to tell you God’s Injil2 in much conflict. 3For our exhortation is not of error, nor of uncleanness, nor in deception.
4But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Injil, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts. 5For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness), 6nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of AL-MASIH3. 7But we were gentle among of you, as when a nurse cherishes her own children.
8Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Injil of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us. 9For you remember, brothers, our labour and toil; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the Injil of God.
10You are witnesses with God, how holy, righteously, and blamelessly we behaved ourselves toward you who believe. 11As you know how we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, that, when you received from us the word of the message of God, you accepted it not as the word of men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which also works in you who believe. 14For you, brothers, became imitators of the congregations of God which are in Judea in AL-MASIH ‘ISA4; for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews; 15who killed both the LORD ‘ISA and their own prophets, and drove us out, and didn’t please God, and are contrary to all men; 16forbidding us to speak to the non-Jews that they may be saved; to fill up their sins always. But wrath has come on them to the fullest.
17But we, brothers, being bereaved of you for a short season, in presence, not in heart, tried even harder to see your face with great desire, 18because we wanted to come to you—indeed, I, Paul, once and again—but Shaitan5 hindered us. 19For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our LORD ‘ISA at his coming? 20For you are our glory and our joy.
- 2:2 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 2:2 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to,
1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books,
2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed in the holy Injil (or New Testament). ↩︎ - 2:6 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 2:14 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
- 2:18 Shaitan, is derived from the Hebrew Satan, which means “adversary” or “accuser.” ↩︎