Therefore if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; the old [things] have passed away; behold, new [things] have come.

He made the one who did not know sin [to be] sin on our behalf, in order that we could become the righteousness of God in him.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers, for what participation [is there between] righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship [does] light [have] with darkness?

And he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, because the power is perfected in weakness." Therefore rather I will boast most gladly in my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may reside in me.

among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they would not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory into glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

Blessed [is] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the [things] through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Now we possess such confidence through Christ toward God.

And I wrote this very [thing] in order that [when I] came, I would not experience sorrow from those who ought to have made me glad, [because I] have confidence about you all, that my joy {belongs to all of you}.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that [although he] was rich, for your sake he became poor, in order that you, by his poverty, may become rich.

Now the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed, and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow,

Now [the point is] this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Each one [should give] as he has decided in his heart, not {reluctantly} or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And all these [things] [are] from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outer person is being destroyed, yet our inner [person] is being renewed day after day.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord [is, there is] freedom.

Let such a person consider this: that what we are in word by letters [when we] are absent, [we will] also [be] in {actions} [when we] are present.

For the love of Christ controls us, [because we] have concluded this: that one died for all; as a result all died.

and all pride that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

But what I am doing, I will also do, in order that I may remove the opportunity of those who want an opportunity, that they may be found just as also we [are] in what they are boasting about.

For if indeed I grieved you by my letter, I do not regret [it]. Even if I did regret [it] (I see that that letter grieved you, even though for {a short time}),

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.

even because of the extraordinary degree of the revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, in order that it would torment me so that I would not exalt myself.

Therefore [since we] have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of body and spirit, accomplishing holiness in the fear of God.

And no wonder, for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.

for we live by faith, not by sight--

Therefore we are ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as [if] God were imploring [you] through us. We beg [you] on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

But we have this treasure in earthenware jars, in order that the extraordinary degree of the power may be from God and not from us.

Test yourselves [to see] if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ [is] in you, unless you are unqualified?

Now we make known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia,

For we do not dare to classify or to compare ourselves with some who commend themselves, but [they] themselves, [when they] measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, do not understand.

For [although we] are living in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh,

But I am afraid lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds may be led astray from the sincerity and the purity of [devotion] to Christ.

For God who said, "Light will shine out of darkness," [is the one] who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

in the word of truth, in the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and left hand,

for the weapons of our warfare [are] not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments

For such people [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

But thanks [be] to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and who reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of him through us in every place.

being made rich in every [way] for all generosity, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

For he says, "At the acceptable time I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now [is] the acceptable time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation!

For grief according to [the will of] God brings about a repentance [leading] to salvation, not to be regretted, but worldly grief brings about death.

[because] we are not looking at what is seen, but what is not seen. For what is seen [is] temporary, but what is not seen [is] eternal.

who also makes us adequate [as] servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, thus through Christ our comfort overflows also.

And I am giving an opinion in this [matter], because this is profitable for you who not only began previously, a year ago, to do [something], but also to want [to do it].

{For in what respect are you made worse off} more than the rest of the churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

so we are confident and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Therefore "come out from their midst and be separate," says the Lord, "and do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you,

But if indeed our gospel is veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing,

For I am jealous [for] you with a godly jealousy, because I promised you [in marriage] to one husband, to present [you] [as] a pure virgin to Christ.

now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved according to [the will of] God, so that you suffered loss in no way through us.

Because of this, [since we] have this ministry, just as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart,

And our hope for you [is] firm, [because we] know that as you are sharers in the sufferings, so also [you will be sharers] in the comfort.

And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, [because you] have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work.

But if we are afflicted, [it is] for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, [it is] for your comfort that is at work in the patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer.

So then, from now on we know no one {from a human point of view}, if indeed we have known Christ {from a human point of view}, but now we know [him this way] no longer.

For our momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory {beyond all measure and proportion},

I know a man in Christ fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or outside the body I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven,

It is necessary to boast; [it is] not profitable, but I will proceed to visions and revelations of the Lord.

Behold, this third [time] I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden [to you]. For I am not seeking your possessions, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

[while] you also join in helping {on our behalf} by prayer, so that thanks may be given {on our behalf} by many persons for this gracious gift [given] to us through [the help] of many.

For we are not overextending ourselves, as [if we] had not reached you, because we have reached even as far as you with the gospel of Christ,

who delivered us from so great [a risk] of death, and will deliver [us], in whom we have put our hope that he will also deliver [us] again,

Again I say, do not let anyone think I am foolish. But indeed, if [you do], accept me even as foolish, in order that I also may boast a little.

through glory and dishonor, through slander and good repute, [regarded] as deceivers and [yet] truthful,

For we are not writing [anything] else to you except what you can read or also understand. But I hope that you will understand {completely},

so that we may proclaim the gospel in the regions that lie beyond you, [and] not boast in the things accomplished in the [area] assigned to someone else.

So now also complete the doing [of it], in order that just as [you have] the eagerness to want [to do it], thus also [you may] complete [it] from [what you] have.

For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but [the one] whom the Lord commends.

because the service of this ministry is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but also is overflowing through many [expressions of] thanksgiving to God.

Therefore [it is] not a great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

But [we] ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not be putting confidence in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,

For if the eagerness is present {according to what one has}, [it is] acceptable not {according to what one does not have}.

But "the one who boasts, let him boast in the Lord."

But God [is] faithful, so that our word to you is not "yes" and "no."

Through the proven character of this service [they will] glorify God because of the submission of your confession to the gospel of Christ and the generosity of [your] participation toward them and toward everyone,

For behold how much diligence this very [thing], being grieved according to [the will of] God, has brought about in you: what defense [of yourselves], what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! In everything you have demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

and through you to go to Macedonia, and to come to you again from Macedonia, and to be sent on my way by you to Judea.

But thanks [be] to God, who has put in the heart of Titus the same devotion {on your behalf},

just as you have also understood us in part, that we are your reason for boasting, just as you [are] also ours in the day of our Lord Jesus.

For [this is] not that for others [there may be] relief, [and] for you difficult circumstances, but [as a matter] of equality.

For if we are out of our senses, [it is] for God; if we are of sound mind, [it is] for you.

But if the ministry of death in letters carved on stone came with glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look intently into the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was transitory,

For out of great distress and anguish of heart I wrote to you through many tears, not so that you may be caused to be sad, but so that you may know the love that I have especially for you.

And with this confidence, I was wanting to come to you previously, in order that you may have a second proof of my goodwill,

[who] also sealed us and gave the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

as unknown and [yet] known completely, as dying, and behold, we go on living, as disciplined, and [yet] not put to death,

just as it is written, "The [one] who [gathered] much did not have too much, and the [one] who [gathered] little did not have too little."

not boasting {beyond limits} in the labors of others, but having hope [that as] your faith is growing to be enlarged greatly by you according to our assignment,

Consequently, even if I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong or because of the one who had been wronged, but in order that your diligence {on our behalf} might be revealed to you before God.

Therefore, [when I] was wanting [to do] this, perhaps then was I making use of vacillation? Or was I deciding what I was deciding according to the flesh, in order that with me my "yes" may be "yes" and my "no" [may be] "no" [at the same time]?

At the present time your abundance [will be] for their need, in order that their abundance may also be for your need, so that there may be equality,

how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more with glory?

I have not taken advantage of you {through anyone whom I sent to you}, [have I]?

For if I have boasted anything to him about you, I have not been put to shame, but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, thus also our boasting to Titus {has proven to be true}.

What I am saying in this project of boasting, I am not saying as the Lord [would say], but as in foolishness.

We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to boast about us, in order that you may have [an answer] for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.

and [they are] longing for you in their prayers for you, because of the surpassing grace of God to you.

But I call upon God [as] witness against my life, that [in order to] spare you, I did not come again to Corinth.

always carrying around the death of Jesus in our body, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed;

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, did not become "yes" and "no," but has become "yes" in him.

Because of this we have been encouraged, and in addition to our encouragement, we rejoiced much more over the joy of Titus, because his spirit had been refreshed by all of you.

But if anyone has caused sorrow, he has not caused me sorrow, but {to some degree}--{in order not to say too much}--[to] all [of] you.

Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.

But I will spend and be expended most gladly for your lives. If I love you much more, am I to be loved less?

And we have sent at the same time with him the brother whose praise in the gospel [has become known] throughout all the churches.

For if [there was] glory in the ministry of condemnation, by much more will the ministry of righteousness overflow with glory.

But let [it] be. I have not been a burden to you, but [because I] was crafty, I took you by cunning.

For if what was transitory [came] with glory, by much more what remains [is] with glory.

I say [this] to [my] shame, namely, that we have been weak. But in whatever anyone dares to [boast]--I am speaking in foolishness--I also dare to [boast].

For [because you] are wise, you put up with foolish people gladly!

as grieving, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and possessing everything.

Have you been thinking all this time that we are defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and all [these things], dear friends, [are] for your edification.

Since many are boasting according to human standards, I also will boast.

For we who are alive [are] continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

Now I, Paul, appeal to you myself by the humility and gentleness of Christ, who {when I am present in person} [am] humble among you, but [when I] am absent am bold toward you--

I urged Titus [to go], and I sent the brother [with him]. Titus did not take advantage of you, [did he]? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same footsteps?

For indeed what had been glorified has not been glorified in this case, on account of the glory that surpasses [it].

For indeed, in this [house] we groan, [because we] desire to put on our dwelling from heaven,

For I am afraid lest somehow [when I] arrive, I will not find you as I want, and I may be found by you as you do not want. [I am afraid] lest somehow [there will be] strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, pride, disorder.

{We have spoken freely and openly} to you, Corinthians; our heart is open wide.

[I am afraid] lest [when I] come again my God will humiliate me {in your presence}, and I will grieve over many of those who sinned previously and have not repented because of their impurity and sexual immorality and licentiousness that they have practiced.

For you put up with [it] if someone enslaves you, if someone devours [you], if someone takes advantage of [you], if someone is presumptious [toward you], if someone strikes you in the face.

And we are sending with them our brother whom we have tested many times in many [things] that he is diligent, but now much more diligent [because of his] great confidence in you.

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty [lashes] less one.

Are they Hebrews? I [am] also! Are they Israelites? I [am] also! Are they descendants of Abraham? I [am] also!

But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being uncovered, because it is done away with in Christ.

This punishment by the majority [is] sufficient for such a person.

Now the same [way] [in] exchange (I am speaking as to children), you open wide [your hearts] also.

And his affection for you is all the more [when he] remembers the obedience of all of you as you welcomed him with fear and trembling.

Now the one who has prepared us for this very [thing] [is] God, who has given us the down payment, the Spirit.

For indeed we who are in this tent groan, being burdened {for this reason, that} we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

And what agreement [does] Christ [have] with Beliar? Or what share [does] a believer [have] with an unbeliever?

And not only [this], but he was also chosen by the churches [as] our traveling companion together with this gift that is being administered by us to the glory of the Lord himself and [to show] our readiness [to help].

Therefore show to them the proof of your love and our boasting about you {openly before} the churches.

with toil and hardship, often in sleepless nights, with hunger and thirst, often going hungry, in cold and poorly clothed.

[I have been] on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from [my own] people, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers because of false brothers,

[We are] trying to avoid this, lest anyone should find fault with us in this abundant gift that is being administered by us.

I rejoice, because in everything I am completely confident in you.

and not as Moses used to place a veil over his face, in order that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was transitory.

because he not only welcomed our request, but being very earnest, by his own choice he went out to you.

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your affections.

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to take me into custody,

if indeed, even [after we] have taken [it] off, we will not be found naked.

Apart from these external things, [there is] the pressure on me every day of the anxiety about all the churches.

Therefore I urge you to confirm [your] love for him.

[because we] know that the one who raised Jesus will also raise us together with Jesus and present [us] together with you.

For we are taking into consideration what is honorable not only before the Lord, but also before people.

Now to whomever you forgive anything, I also [do]; for indeed, whatever I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, [it is] {for your sake} in the presence of Christ,

So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.

that with a great ordeal of affliction, the abundance of their joy and the extreme depth of their poverty have overflowed to the wealth of their generosity.

If [there is a question] concerning Titus, [he is] my partner and fellow worker for you. If [there is a question concerning] our brothers, [they are] messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

because it is said, "His letters [are] severe and powerful, but his bodily presence [is] weak and his speech is of no account."

{Make room for us in your hearts}. We have wronged no one, we have ruined no one, we have defrauded no one.

because I know your readiness [to help], [concerning] which I keep on boasting to the Macedonians about you, that Achaia has been ready [to help] since last year, and your zeal has stirred up the majority [of them].

But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart,

now I ask [when I] am present [that I will] not [need] to be bold with the confidence [with] which I propose to show boldness toward some who consider us as behaving according to the flesh.

Now [when I] arrived in Troas for the gospel of Christ and a door was opened for me by the Lord,

but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

For even [when] we arrived in Macedonia, our body had no rest, but we were afflicted in every [way]--quarrels outside, fears within.

You are our letter, inscribed on our hearts, known and read by all people,

Great [is] my confidence toward you; great [is] my boasting on your behalf; I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

Therefore I considered [it] necessary to urge the brothers that they should go on ahead to you and make arrangements in advance for your generous gift that was promised previously, so this would be prepared as a generous gift and not as grudgingly granted.

and not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and [then] to us, by the will of God.

I am not saying [this] as a command, but proving the genuineness of your love by means of the diligence of others.

For all [these things] {are for your sake}, in order that the grace that is increasing through the many may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

So then, you should rather forgive and comfort him, lest somehow this person should be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

For I have decided this for myself, not to come to you again in sorrow.

requesting of us with much exhortation the favor and the fellowship of the ministry to the saints,

But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus,

So we urged Titus that, just as he had previously begun [it], thus he would also complete for you this [act of] grace.

I testify that [they gave] according to [their] ability, and beyond [their] ability, by their own choice,

I have become a fool! You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for [I am] in no way inferior to the preeminent apostles, even if I am nothing.

Just as it is written, "He scattered widely, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains {forever}."

But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you would not prove to be empty in this case, so that you may be prepared just as I was saying,

You are looking at things according to appearance. If anyone is convinced he himself is Christ's, he should consider this concerning himself again: that just as Christ himself [is], so also [are] we.

And {we are ready} to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is completed.

and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort [with] which he was comforted among you, [because he] reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

I do not say [this] {to condemn you}, because I have already said that you are in our hearts, so that we die together and we live together.

Because for this [reason] also I wrote, in order that I could know your proven character, whether you are obedient in everything.

For even if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave [us] {for building you up and not for tearing you down}, I will not be put to shame,

so that I do not want to appear as if I were terrifying you by my letters,

lest somehow if Macedonians should come with me and find you unprepared, we--{not to speak of you}--would be humiliated in connection with this project.

that he was caught up to paradise and heard words not to be spoken, which [it is] not permitted for a person to speak.

[We are] giving no one an occasion for taking offense in anything, in order that our ministry will not have fault found [with it],

And what agreement [does the] temple of God [have] with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, "I will live in them and will walk about [among them], and I will be their God and they will be my people."

and I know this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows--

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, together with all the saints who are in all Achaia.

to those on the one hand an odor from death to death, [and] to those on the other hand a fragrance from life to life. And who [is] qualified for these [things]?

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus [as] Lord, and ourselves [as] your slaves for the sake of Jesus.

Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep water.

Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would depart from me.

For as many as [are the] promises of God, in him [they are] "yes"; therefore also through him [is] the "amen" to the glory of God through us.

We are afflicted in every [way], but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;

This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you. {By the testimony} of two or three witnesses every word will be established.

For if I [cause] you sorrow, then who will make me glad except the one who is caused to be sad by me?

but commending ourselves as servants of God in every [way], in much endurance, in afflictions, in distresses, in difficulties,

I did not experience rest in my spirit, [because] I did not find Titus my brother, but saying farewell to them, I departed for Macedonia.

Now the one who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anoints us [is] God,

Now [because we] are fellow workers, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Therefore, [because we] know the fear of the Lord, we are attempting to persuade people, but we are revealed to God, and I hope to be revealed in your consciences.

But [because we] have the same spirit of faith in accordance with [what is] written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we also believe, therefore we also speak,

Therefore, [because we] have such a hope, we use much boldness,

in order that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

But just as you excel in everything--in faith and in speaking and in knowledge and with all diligence and in the love from us [that is] in you--so may you excel in this grace also.

Or did I commit a sin [by] humbling myself in order that you may be exalted, because I proclaimed the gospel of God to you without payment?

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning our affliction that happened in the [province of] Asia, that we were burdened to an extraordinary degree, beyond [our] strength, so that we were in despair even of living.

Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as from ourselves, but our adequacy [is] from God,

And he died for all, in order that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

For if the one who comes proclaims another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you put up with [it] well [enough]!

If it is necessary to boast, I will boast [about] {the things related to my weakness}.

Therefore indeed we have as our ambition, whether at home [in the body] or absent [from the body], to be acceptable to him.

On behalf of such a person I will boast, but on behalf of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.

[As the] truth of Christ is in me, this boasting {of mine} will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.

Finally, brothers, rejoice, be restored, be encouraged, {be in agreement}, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Therefore, [although we are] always confident and know that [while we] are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--

Are they servants of Christ?--I am speaking as though I were beside myself--I [am] more so, with far greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with beatings to a much greater degree, in [danger of] death many times.

For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, in holiness and purity of motive from God, not in merely human wisdom, but by the grace of God.

Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in calamities, in persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

For if I want to boast, I will not be foolish, because I will be telling the truth, but I am refraining, so that no one can credit to me more than what he sees [in] me or hears anything from me,

For I consider myself in no way to be inferior to the preeminent apostles.

who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those [who are] in all affliction with the comfort with which [we] ourselves are comforted by God.

For we are not like the majority who peddle the word of God, but as from pure motives--but as from God--we speak before God in Christ.

But even if [I am] unskilled in speech, yet [I am] not in knowledge; certainly in everything [we] have made this clear to you in every [way].

in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love without hypocrisy,

But we will not boast {beyond limits}, but according to the measure of the assignment that God has assigned to us as a measure to reach even as far as you.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed {forever}, knows that I am not lying.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or [do we], like some, need letters of recommendation to you or from you?

Who is weak, and [I am] not weak? Who is caused to sin, and I do not burn [with indignation]?

but we have renounced shameful hidden things, not behaving with craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but with the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person's conscience before God.

in beatings, in prisons, in disturbances, in troubles, in sleepless nights, in going hungry,

revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.

Thanks [be] to God for his indescribable gift!

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

{Why}? Because I do not love you? God knows [I do]!

I wish that you would put up with me {in something a little foolish}--but indeed you are putting up with me.

Indeed, the signs of an apostle have been done among you with all patient endurance, both signs and wonders and deeds of power.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit [be] with all of you.

For indeed, he was crucified because of weakness, but he lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him because of the power of God toward you.

For it is unnecessary for me to write to you concerning the ministry to the saints,

and I will be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me," says the all-powerful Lord.

I robbed other churches [by] accepting support [from them] for the ministry to you.

And [when I] was present with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will keep [myself from being a burden].

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

since you are demanding proof that Christ, who [is] not weak toward you, but is powerful among you, is speaking in me.

I have already said when was present the second time, and [although I] am absent now also say in advance to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare [anyone],

Now we pray to God that you not do wrong in any way, not that we are seen as approved, but that you do what is good, even [though] we are [seen] as though unqualified.

Because of this, I am writing these [things] [although I] am absent, in order that [when I] am present I may not have to act severely according to the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.

For we are not able [to do] anything against the truth, but rather [only] for the truth.

For we rejoice whenever we are weak, but you are strong, and we pray for this: your maturity.

And I hope that you will recognize that we are not unqualified!

and I was lowered through a window through the wall in a rope-basket, and I escaped his hands.