2:4a

Instead: This verse contrasts with 2:3, where Paul used negative statements. Rather than deceitful and wrong teaching (2:3), what Paul was preaching was approved by God (2:4).

we speak as those approved by God: The way that Paul and his companions preached and behaved wherever they went showed that God had examined their motives and behavior and had found that these were pure. Here is another way to translate this:

God…has judged us worthy to be entrusted (Good News Translation)

to be entrusted with the gospel: This is closely connected with the previous phrase. God had examined Paul and his companions and judged that he could trust them to preach the gospel faithfully.

2:4b

not in order to please men but God: Whatever Paul and his companions did, they did not do it so that human beings would praise them. It was God’s approval that was important to them.

men: The Greek word anthropos, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as men, is a word that means humans beings, male and female. It is not limited to males.

2:4c

who examines our hearts: Paul was using Old Testament language here to describe how God examines what people think. The Greek verb dokimazō, which the Berean Standard Bible translates as examines, is the same verb that Paul used in 2:4a (where the Berean Standard Bible translates it as “approved”). There is a similar idea in 2:5c, where Paul used the expression “God is our witness” in order to emphasize again that God had approved what they were doing.

hearts: People of different languages and cultures have unique ways to express what people think and how they feel. Many of these expressions refer to parts of the body as if they were the origin of these emotions. In Paul’s culture, the heart was considered to be the center of the inner life, including all thoughts, emotions and motives. You need to use the equivalent natural expression in your language.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.