¹Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?

¹¶ E timata ana ano ranei matou te whakapai ki a matou ano? e pera ana ranei me etahi atu, e mea ana matou ki etahi pukapuka whakapai ma matou ki a koutou, ma koutou ranei ki a matou?

²You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men;

²Ko koutou ta matou pukapuka, he mea tuhituhi ki o matou ngakau, e kitea ana, e korerotia ana e nga tangata katoa:

³being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.

³Kua marama na hoki, ko koutou he pukapuka na te Karaiti, he mea minita na matou, ehara i te mea tuhituhi ki te mangumangu, engari ki te Wairua o te Atua ora; he teka ki nga papa kohatu, engari ki runga ki nga papa kikokiko o te ngakau.

⁴Such confidence we have through Christ toward God;

⁴Ko tenei tu whakaaro o matou u tonu ki ta te Atua, he mea na te Karaiti:

⁵not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;

⁵He teka kei a matou ake te tikanga mo te whakaaro ki tetahi aha, me te mea na matou ake ano; engari na te Atua matou i whai tikanga ai;

⁶who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁶¶ Nana hoki matou i tau ai hei minita mo te kawenata hou; he teka no te reta, engari no te wairua: he whakamate hoki ta te reta, he whakaora ia ta te wairua.

⁷But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which was passing away:

⁷Na, mehemea te minitatanga o te mate i tuhituhia nei, i whaoa nei ki nga kohatu, i puta kororia mai, i kore ai e taea e nga tama a Iharaira te titiro matatau atu ki te mata o Mohi i te kororia o tona mata; he kororia ia e memeha ana:

⁸won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory?

⁸E kore ianei e nui noa atu te kororia o te minitatanga o te wairua?

⁹For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

⁹Na, mehemea te minitatanga o te whakatau he he kororia, heoi hira rawa atu te kororia o te minitatanga o te tika.

¹⁰For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.

¹⁰He pono hoki, kahore te mea i whakakororiatia i whai kororia i tenei wahi, ara na te kororia e hira rawa nei.

¹¹For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

¹¹Mehemea hoki he kororia to te mea e memeha ana, nui noa atu te kororia o te mea pumau.

¹²Having therefore such a hope, we use great boldness of speech,

¹²¶ Na, i a matou ka tumanako nei ki tenei, nui atu to matou maia ki te korero:

¹³and not as Moses, who put a veil on his face, that the children of Israel wouldn’t look steadfastly on the end of that which was passing away.

¹³Kahore ano e pera me Mohi i maka nei i te hipoki ki tona mata, kei titiro matatau atu nga tama a Iharaira ki te tukunga iho o te mea e memeha haere ana:

¹⁴But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.

¹⁴Otira i whakapakeketia o ratou hinengaro: no te mea taea noatia mai tenei ra i te korerotanga o te kawenata tawhito e mau tonu ana taua hipoki ra ano, kahore ano i hurahia; i roto ia i a te Karaiti ka whakakahoretia.

¹⁵But to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

¹⁵Na, tae noa mai ki tenei ra, ki te korerotia a Mohi, e takoto ana he hipoki ki runga i to ratou ngakau.

¹⁶But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

¹⁶Na, kia huri ki te Ariki, ka tangohia te hipoki.

¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁷Na, ko te Ariki, ko te Wairua ia; ko te wahi i noho ai te Wairua o te Ariki, kei reira te tikanga herekore.

¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.

¹⁸Ko tatou katoa ia kahore he hipoki mo te mata, e whakaahua ana i te kororia o te Atua, ano kei roto i te whakaata, a e whakaputaia ketia ana kia rite ki taua ahua ano, he kororia hono iho ki te kororia, i runga i ta te Wairua o te Ariki.