Nay, we had, as we still have, the sentence of death within our own selves, in order that our confidence may repose, not on ourselves, but on God who raised the dead to life.

For the reason for our boasting is this--the testimony of our own conscience that it was in holiness and with pure motives before God, and in reliance not on worldly wisdom but on the gracious help of God, that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and above all in our relations with you.

As certainly as God is faithful, our language to you is not now "Yes" and now "No."

For Jesus Christ the Son of God--He who was proclaimed among you by us, that is by Silas and Timothy and myself--did not show Himself a waverer between "Yes" and "No." But it was and always is "Yes" with Him.

Not that we want to lord it over you in respect of your faith--we do, however, desire to help your joy--for in the matter of your faith you are standing firm.

But, so far as I am concerned, I have resolved not to have a painful visit the next time I come to see you.

And I write this to you in order that when I come I may not receive pain from those who ought to give me joy, confident as I am as to all of you that my joy is the joy of you all.

For with many tears I write to you, and in deep suffering and depression of spirit, not in order to grieve you, but in the hope of showing you how brimful my heart is with love for you.

Now if any one has caused sorrow, it has been caused not so much to me, as in some degree--for I have no wish to exaggerate--to all of you.

for fear Satan should gain an advantage over us. For we are not ignorant of his devices.

yet, obtaining no relief for my spirit because I did not find our brother Titus, I bade them farewell and went on into Macedonia.

We are; for, unlike most teachers, we are not fraudulent hucksters of God's Message; but with transparent motives, as commissioned by God, in God's presence and in communion with Christ, so we speak.

Do you say that this is self-recommendation once more? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

For all can see that you are a letter of Christ entrusted to our care, and written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the ever-living God--and not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts as tablets.

not that of ourselves we are competent to decide anything by our own reasonings, but our competency comes from God.

It is He also who has made us competent to serve Him in connexion with a new Covenant, which is not a written code but a Spirit; for the written code inflicts death, but the Spirit gives Life.

If, however, the service that proclaims death--its code being engraved in writing upon stones--came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily on the face of Moses because of the brightness of his face--a vanishing brightness;

will not the service of the Spirit be far more glorious?

Therefore, cherishing a hope like this, we speak without reserve, and we do not imitate Moses,

Therefore, being engaged in this service and being mindful of the mercy which has been shown us, we are not cowards.

(For we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for the sake of Jesus.)

But we have this treasure in a fragile vase of clay, in order that the surpassing greatness of the power may be seen to belong to God, and not to originate in us.

Therefore we are not cowards. Nay, even though our outward man is wasting away, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day.

while we look not at things seen, but things unseen; for things seen are temporary, but things unseen are eternal.

For we know that if this poor tent, our earthly house, is taken down, we have in Heaven a building which God has provided, a house not built by human hands, but eternal.

if indeed having really put on a robe we shall not be found to be unclothed.

Yes, we who are in this tent certainly do sigh under our burdens, for we do not wish to lay aside that with which we are now clothed, but to put on more, so that our mortality may be absorbed in Life.

for we are living a life of faith, and not one of sight.

We are not again commending ourselves to your favour, but are furnishing you with a ground of boasting on our behalf, so that you may have a reply ready for those with whom superficial appearances are everything and sincerity of heart counts for nothing.

We are to tell how God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not charging men's transgressions to their account, and that He has entrusted to us the Message of this reconciliation.

And you also we, as God's fellow workers, entreat not to be found to have received His grace to no purpose.

as obscure persons, and yet are well known; as on the point of death, and yet, strange to tell, we live; as under God's discipline, and yet we are not deprived of life;

Do not come into close association with unbelievers, like oxen yoked with asses. For what is there in common between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what partnership has light with darkness?

Make room for us in your hearts. There is not one of you whom we have wronged, not one to whom we have done harm, not one over whom we have gained any selfish advantage.

I do not say this to imply blame, for, as I have already said, you have such a place in our hearts that we would die with you or live with you.

But He who comforts the depressed--even God-- comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not by his coming only,

For if I gave you pain by that letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it then. I see that that letter, even though for a time it gave you pain, had a salutary effect.

Now I rejoice, not in your grief, but because the grief led to repentance; for you sorrowed with a godly sorrow, which prevented you from receiving injury from us in any respect.

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, a repentance not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world finally produces death.

Therefore, though I wrote to you, it was not to punish the offender, nor to secure justice for him who had suffered the wrong, but it was chiefly in order that your earnest feeling on our behalf might become manifest to yourselves in the sight of God.

They not only did this, as we had expected, but first of all in obedience to God's will they gave their own selves to the Lord and to us.

I am not saying this by way of command, but to test by the standard of other men's earnestness the genuineness of your love also.

But in this matter I give you an opinion; for my doing this helps forward your own intentions, seeing that not only have you begun operations, but a year ago you already had the desire to do so.

For, assuming the earnest willingness, the gift is acceptable according to whatever a man has, and not according to what he has not.

I do not urge you to give in order that others may have relief while you are unduly pressed,

Even as it is written, "He who gathered much had not too much, and he who gathered little had not too little."

For we seek not only God's approval of our integrity, but man's also.

Still I send the brethren in order that in this matter our boast about you may not turn out to have been an idle one; so that, as I have said, you may be ready;

for fear that, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to say you yourselves--should be put to the blush in respect to this confidence.

I have thought it absolutely necessary therefore to request these brethren to visit you before I myself come, and to make sure beforehand that the gift of love which you have already promised may be ready as a gift of love, and may not seem to have been something which I have extorted from you.

But do not forget that he who sows with a niggardly hand will also reap a niggardly crop, and that he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Let each contribute what he has decided upon in his own mind, and not do it reluctantly or under compulsion. "It is a cheerful giver that God loves."

For the service rendered in this sacred gift not only helps to relieve the wants of God's people, but it is also rich in its results and awakens a chorus of thanksgiving to God.

For, by the practical proof of it which you exhibit in this service, you cause God to be extolled for your fidelity to your professed adherence to the Good News of the Christ, and for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all who are in need,

But as for me Paul, I entreat you by the gentleness and self-forgetfulness of Christ--I who when among you have not an imposing personal presence, but when absent am fearlessly outspoken in dealing with you.

I beseech you not to compel me when present to make a bold display of the confidence with which I reckon I shall show my 'courage' against some who reckon that we are guided by worldly principles.

The weapons with which we fight are not human weapons, but are mighty for God in overthrowing strong fortresses.

If, however, I were to boast more loudly of our Apostolic authority, which the Lord has given us that we may build you up, not pull you down, I should have no reason to feel ashamed.

Let it not seem as if I wanted to frighten you by my letters.

For we have not the 'courage' to rank ourselves among, or compare ourselves with, certain persons distinguished by their self-commendation. Yet they are not wise, measuring themselves, as they do, by one another and comparing themselves with one another.

We, however, will not exceed due limits in our boasting, but will keep within the limits of the sphere which God has assigned to us as a limit, which reaches even to you.

For there is no undue stretch of authority on our part, as though it did not extend to you. We pressed on even to Corinth, and were the first to proclaim to you the Good News of the Christ.

We do not exceed our due limits, and take credit for other men's labours; but we entertain the hope that, as your faith grows, we shall gain promotion among you--still keeping within our own sphere--promotion to a larger field of labour,

and shall tell the Good News in the districts beyond you, not boasting in another man's sphere about work already done by him.

For it is not the man that commends himself who is really approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

If indeed some visitor is proclaiming among you another Jesus whom we did not proclaim, or if you are receiving a Spirit different from the One you have already received or a Good News different from that which you have already welcomed, your toleration is admirable!

And if in the matter of speech I am no orator, yet in knowledge I am not deficient. Nay, we have in every way made that fully evident to you.

Christ knows that it is true when I say that I will not be stopped from boasting of this anywhere in Greece.

And why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do.

What I am now saying, I do not say by the Lord's command, but as a fool in his folly might, in this reckless boasting.

with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led astray into sin, and I am not aflame with indignation?

I am compelled to boast. It is not a profitable employment, but I will proceed to visions and revelations granted me by the Lord.

I know a Christian man who fourteen years ago-- whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows--was caught up (this man of whom I am speaking)

And I know that this man-- whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know;

Of such a one I will boast; but of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.

If however I should choose to boast, I should not be a fool for so doing, for I should be speaking the truth. But I forbear, lest any one should be led to estimate me more highly than what his own eyes attest, or more highly than what he hears from my lips.

See, I am now for the third time prepared to visit you, but I will not be a dead weight to you. I desire not your money, but yourselves; for children ought not to put by for their parents, but parents for their children.

If I love you so intensely, am I the less to be loved? Be that as it may: I was not a burden to you. But being by no means scrupulous, I entrapped you, they say!

I begged Titus to visit you, and sent our other brother with him. Did Titus gain any selfish advantage over you? Were not he and I guided by one and the same Spirit, and did we not walk in the same steps?

For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may not find you to be what I desire, and that you may find me to be what you do not desire; that perhaps there may be contention, jealousy, bitter feeling, party spirit, ill-natured talk, backbiting, undue eulogy, unrest;

and that upon re-visiting you I may be humbled by my God in your presence, and may have to mourn over many whose hearts still cling to their old sins, and who have not repented of the impurity, fornication, and gross sensuality, of which they have been guilty.

since you want a practical proof of the fact that Christ speaks by my lips--He who is not feeble towards you, but powerful among you.

Test yourselves to discover whether you are true believers: put your own selves under examination. Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you, unless you are insincere?

But I trust that you will recognize that we are not insincere.

And our prayer to God is that you may do nothing wrong; not in order that our sincerity may be demonstrated, but that you may do what is right, even though our sincerity may seem to be doubtful.

For this reason I write thus while absent, that when present I may not have to act severely in the exercise of the authority which the Lord has given me for building up, and not for pulling down.