As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
Parallel translations
- WEB For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness),
- KJV For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:
- NKJV For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness.
- NASB For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness—
- NLT Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul never used flattery or hid greed behind his preaching, and God is his witness. His ministry was free of self-serving manipulation.
Overview
Continuing his defense, Paul denies the two corrupting motives of false teachers: flattering speech to win approval and a hidden pretext for greed. He calls God as witness, an oath underscoring his sincerity. True gospel ministry refuses to exploit hearers for personal gain.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 33
- Rom 1:9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- 2 Cor 12:17Did I exploit you by anyone I sent you?
- Acts 20:33I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
- Gal 1:20I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
- 2 Pet 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- 1 Th 2:10You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless our conduct was among you who believed.
- 2 Pet 2:14–15Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.
- Rev 18:12–13cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
- 1 Pet 5:2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you, watching over them not out of compulsion, but because it is God’s will; not out of greed, but out of eagerness;
- Titus 1:7As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-absorbed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- 2 Cor 7:2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.
- Matt 22:16They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
- Rom 9:1I speak the truth in Christ; I am not lying, as confirmed by my conscience in the Holy Spirit.
- Prov 28:23He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
- 2 Cor 2:17For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- Isa 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- 1 Tim 3:3not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
- Mic 3:5This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:
- Job 17:5If a man denounces his friends for a price, the eyes of his children will fail.
- Jer 6:13“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
- 2 Pet 2:18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.
- Mal 1:10“Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
- Isa 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- 2 Cor 4:2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
- Prov 20:19He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
- Ps 12:2–3They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- 1 Tim 3:8Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
- Matt 23:13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
- Rom 16:18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Jer 8:10Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
- Jude 1:11Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
- Prov 26:28A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Job 32:21–22I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.
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Christ at the center
The believer waits for God's Son from heaven, Jesus who delivers from the wrath to come and who will return to gather his people to himself.
How 1 Thessalonians 2:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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