NET Bible
"So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him."
— 2 Corinthians 5:9, NET Bible
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”
“Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him. ”
“Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.”
“And therefore we labour, whether absent or present, to please him.”
“For this reason we make it our purpose, in the body or away from it, to be well-pleasing to him.”
“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”
Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord–
for we live by faith, not by sight.
Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
So then whether we are alive or away, we make it our ambition to please him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.
The Message of Reconciliation Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.
We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart.