Seeing that we have such promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and grow up to full holiness in the fear of God.

I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.

for when I came to Macedonia, I had no respit from the trouble that beset me on every side: oppositions from without, and apprehensions within.

But, he who encourageth them that are brought low, encouraged us, - even God, - by the presence of Titus.

Not, however, by his presence alone, but also by the encouragement wherewith he had been encouraged over you: recounting unto us your earnest desire, your lamentation, your zeal in my behalf. So that I the more rejoiced.

Because, if I even grieved you by the letter, I do not regret, - though I could even have regretted, - I see that that letter, if even for an hour, did cause you grief.

Now, am I rejoicing, - not that ye were grieved, but that ye were grieved unto repentance; for ye were grieved according to God, in order that, in nothing, should ye receive damage from us.

for religious sorrow produces that salutary repentance, which we never regret: but worldly sorrow preys upon life.

For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Hence, if I even wrote unto you, it was not for the sake of him that did the wrong, naynot even for the sake of him that suffered the wrong; but for the sake of your earnestness, which was on our account, being made manifest unto you, before God:-

For this cause, have we received encouragement. In addition to our encouragement, however, much more abundantly, have we rejoiced over the joy of Titus, - that his spirit hath received refreshment from you all,

That, if in anything - unto him - in your behalf - I have boasted, I have not been put to shame; but, as, all things, in truth, we told you, so, even our boasting before Titus, turned out to be, truth.

and his affection to you is abundantly increased, whilst he remembers your obedience, and that fear and reverence with which you all received him.

I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

And we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God, that hath been given in the assemblies of Macedonia,

That, in a great testing of tribulation, the superabounding of their joy and their deep destitution, superabounded unto the riches of their liberality;

For I can testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, of their own free will, too, they have given help.

Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God.

With the result that I have been begging Titus that, as he had been the one to begin the work with you, so he should complete among you this grace also.

Now then, as you excel in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and all zeal and in your love to me, see to it that you excel in this grace also.

I don't mean to prescribe to you, but that the zeal of others may show you are as sincerely well-affected.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.

And I will give you my opinion in this matter; for this offering is fitting in your case, considering that you made a beginning before others, not only in the willingness to do something but also in actually doing something a year ago.

So now complete the doing of it also, in order that just as there was the readiness to will, so there may be the accomplishment according to your means.

For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

For, not that unto others should be relief, and unto you distress do I speak , but, by equality, in the present season, your surplus for their deficiency, -

In order that their surplus may come to be for your deficiency: that there may come about an equality: -

Even as it is written - He that gathered the much, had not more than enough, and, he that gathered the little, had not less,

But thanks be to God who has inspired in the heart of Titus the same zeal on your behalf that I have.

In that, though, indeed, the exhortation, he welcomed; yet already being, greatly in earnest, of his own accord, hath he gone forth unto you.

And I am sending with him that brother whose fame in the service of the gospel is spread through all the churches.

More than that, he is the one chosen by the churches to accompany me on my journey, in administering this gift of yours for the Lord's glory. And this has my full consent,

because I am on my guard in this, that no one should blame me, in respect to this bounty which I am administering.

looking to things that are right not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

and we sent with them our brother, whom we proved in many things many times being diligent, and now much more diligent, by the great confidence that is toward you,

As for Titus, remember that he is a partner of mine, and is also my associate in labors for you. As for the other brothers, remember that they are delegates from the churches, men in whom Christ is glorified.

Wherefore show unto them the proof of your love, and of the rejoicing that we have of you, that the congregations may see it.

For, indeed, concerning the ministration that is for the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you,

for I know how ready you are, and am always boasting about you to the Macedonians, telling them that Greece has been ready for a year past; and your zeal has been a spur to the majority of them.

Nevertheless I am sending the brothers in order that my boast about you may not prove vain in this instance; so that, as I kept saying, you may be prepared.

Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.

So I have thought that I must ask these brothers to visit you beforehand, and get your promised contribution ready in advance. I want it to be given of your bounty, not extorted from your covetousness.

As to this, however, he that soweth sparingly, sparingly, also shall reap, and, he that soweth with blessings, with blessings, also shall reap:

But let each give according to the purpose of his heart; not grudgingly of under compulsion. It is a cheerful giver that God loves.

And God is able to give you an overflowing measure of every grace, so that all your wants of every kind may be supplied at all times, and you may give of your abundance to every good work;

as it is written, "He that dispersed abroad and hath given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth for ever."

Now, he that supplieth seed to the sower, and bread for eating, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and cause to grow your fruits of righteousness:

You yourselves will be enriched with all good things, that you may give ungrudgingly; and your gifts, of which I am the agent, will make men give thanks to God.

For the office of this ministration, not only supplieth the need of the saints: but also is abundant herein, that for this laudable ministering, thanks might be given to God of many,

seeing that through the proving of you by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your contribution unto them and unto all;

Moreover, in their prayers for you they will be longing after you, because of the exceeding grace of God that is resting upon you.

Now I Paul, myself, appeal to you by the humble-heartedness and selflessness of Christ??aul who "in your presence is humble, but bold enough when he is absent"??2 I beseech you, and I say, do not make me show my boldness, when I come in the boldness with which I think I shall show my courage against some who think that I am walking on the low level of the flesh.

I entreat, however, that, when present, I may not be bold with the assurance wherewith I think to be daring against some who account of us as though, according to flesh, we were walking, -

For, though we are still living in the world, it is no worldly warfare that we are waging.

For I pull down imaginations and every crag that lifts itself against the knowledge of God. And I carry every thought away into captivity and subjection to Christ;

Being ready to give punishment to whatever is against his authority, after you have made it clear that you are completely under his control.

Look these facts in the face. If any man is fully persuaded as regards himself that he belongs to Christ, let him consider again with himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also am I.

for even if also anything more abundantly I shall boast concerning our authority, that the Lord gave us for building up, and not for casting you down, I shall not be ashamed;

That I may not seem as though I would be terrifying you through means of my letters;

(for 'tis objected that my letters are weighty and powerful, but my bodily presence weak, and my preaching

Let such a man assure himself that my actions, when I am present, will be just like my words in my letters when I am absent.

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you.

For we have no need to make ourselves seem more than we are, as if our authority did not come as far as to you: for we came even as far as you with the good news of Christ:

I am not "boasting beyond measure in the labors of others," but it is my hope that, as your faith goes on increasing among yourselves, by the enlargement of my appointed limits,

so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, not boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry.

He that boasteth, however, in the Lord, let him boast;

For, not he that commendeth himself, he, is approved, but he whom, the Lord, doth commend.

Would that you could put up with a little "folly" from me! Nay, do bear with me.

I have a divine jealousy on your behalf; for I betrothed you to one only husband, even to Christ, that I might present you to him, a chaste virgin.

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

If indeed some one is coming to preach another Jesus, whom I did not preach, or you are receiving a Spirit other than you once received, or another gospel which you did not accept before, you would do well to bear with me.

For I reckon that I am in no respect behind your superapostolic apostles.

Though untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything.

Is it a sin, forsooth, that I humbled myself that you might be exalted, in preaching the gospel to you free of cost?

Other assemblies, I despoiled, receiving supplies that I might minister, unto you;

And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.

Truth of Christ is in me, that, this boasting, shall not be silenced unto me, in the regions of Achaia.

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

I am doing and will continue to do this in order to cut away the ground from under those who wish some cause for slander; and that the ground of their boasting may appear as does mine.

I say again, let no one think me a fool. Or, if you must, at least bear with me as a fool, that I, too, may do a little boasting.

That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.

Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.

For ye suffer fools gladly because that ye yourselves are wise.

I say that I was weak, and yet for whatever reason any one is bold (I speak in mere folly) I too am bold.

Are they ministers of Christ? So am I. I am talking like a man that has gone crazy -- as such I am superior! -- serving Him with labors greater by far, with far more imprisonments, with floggings vastly worse, and often at the point of death.

Five times I have been given one less than forty lashes, by the Jews.

Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.

If, to boast, is needful, in the things that concern my weakness, will I boast.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am telling the truth.

When I was in Damascus, the Governor under King Aretas had the gates of that city guarded, so as to arrest me,

I know a man who belongs to the Messiah. Fourteen years ago whether in his body or outside of his body, I do not know, but God knows that man was snatched away to the third heaven.

I know that this man—whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know, God knows—

How that he was caught away into paradise, and heard unspeakable things, which it is not allowable for a man to utter:

Of an experience like that I am prepared to boast, but not of myself personally ??not except as regards my weaknesses.

For if I want to boast, I will not be a fool, because I will be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me,

It was for this reason, lest I should be over-elated, that there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be over-elated.

Concerning this, three times over I supplicated the Lord that it might leave me;

but he has answered me. "My grace is sufficient for you; it is in weakness that my power is perfected."