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

Who gave us salvation from so great a death: on whom we have put our hope that he will still go on to give us salvation;

You at the same time helping together by your prayer for us; so that for what has been given to us through a number of persons, praise may go up to God for us from all of them.

And by way of Corinth to go into Macedonia, and from there to come back again to you, so that you might send me on my way to Judaea.

And I said this very thing in my letter, for fear that when I came I might have sorrow from those from whom it was right for me to have joy; being certain of this, that my joy is the joy of you all.

So that now, on the other hand, it is right for him to have forgiveness and comfort from you, for fear that his sorrow may be over-great.

I had no rest in my spirit because Titus my brother was not there: so I went away from them, and came into Macedonia.

For we are not like the great number who make use of the word of God for profit: but our words are true, as from God, being said as before God in Christ.

Do we seem to be again attempting to put ourselves in the right? or have we need, as some have, of letters of approval to you or from you?

Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God;

For if the operation of the law, giving death, recorded in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the eyes of the children of Israel had to be turned away from the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory which was only for a time:

But we all, with unveiled face giving back as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction:

But we have this wealth in vessels of earth, so that it may be seen that the power comes not from us but from God;

But having the same spirit of faith, as it is said in the Writings, The words of my mouth came from the faith in my heart; in the same way, our words are the outcome of our faith;

Because we are certain that he who made the Lord Jesus come back from the dead, will do the same for us, and will give us a place in his glory with you.

For we are conscious that if this our tent of flesh is taken down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in heaven.

For in this we are crying in weariness, greatly desiring to be clothed with our house from heaven:

For truly, we who are in this tent do give out cries of weariness, for the weight of care which is on us; not because we are desiring to be free from the body, but so that we may have our new body, and death may be overcome by life.

So, then, we are ever without fear, and though conscious that while we are in the body we are away from the Lord,

We are without fear, desiring to be free from the body, and to be with the Lord.

For this reason we make it our purpose, in the body or away from it, to be well-pleasing to him.

And that he underwent death for all, so that the living might no longer be living to themselves, but to him who underwent death for them and came back from the dead.

For this reason, from this time forward we have knowledge of no man after the flesh: even if we have had knowledge of Christ after the flesh, we have no longer any such knowledge.

For which cause, Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and let no unclean thing come near you; and I will take you for myself,

Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become completely holy in the fear of God.

For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.

For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts,

But so that things may be equal; that from those things of which you have more than enough at the present time their need may be helped, and that if you are in any need they may be a help to you in the same way, making things equal.

For while he gladly gave ear to our request, he was interested enough to go to you from the impulse of his heart.

For fear that, if any from Macedonia come with me, and you are not ready, we (not to say, you) might be put to shame in this thing.

But in the Writings it says, He who puts in only a small number of seeds, will get in the same; and he who puts them in from a full hand, will have produce in full measure from them.

Now I, Paul, myself make request to you by the quiet and gentle behaviour of Christ, I who am poor in spirit when with you, but who say what is in my mind to you without fear when I am away from you:

But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.

For if anyone comes preaching another Jesus from the one whose preachers we are, or if you have got a different spirit, or a different sort of good news from those which came to you, how well you put up with these things.

I took money from other churches as payment for my work, so that I might be your servant;

And when I was present with you, and was in need, I let no man be responsible for me; for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, gave me whatever was needed; and in everything I kept myself from being a trouble to you, and I will go on doing so.

As the true word of Christ is in me, I will let no man take from me this my cause of pride in the country of Achaia.

In frequent travels, in dangers on rivers, in dangers from outlaws, in dangers from my countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the town, in dangers in the waste land, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers;

And being let down in a basket from the wall through a window, I got free from his hands.

For if I had a desire to take credit to myself, it would not be foolish, for I would be saying what is true: but I will not, for fear that I might seem to any man more than he sees me to be, or has word from me that I am.

And because the revelations were so very great, in order that I might not be overmuch lifted up, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, one sent from Satan to give me pain.

And about this thing I made request to the Lord three times that it might be taken away from me.

I have been forced by you to become foolish, though it was right for my praise to have come from you: for in no way was I less than the chief of the Apostles, though I am nothing.

This is the third time that I am coming to you. From the mouth of two or three witnesses will every word be made certain.

I said before, and still say it before I come, as being present for the second time, though I am still away from you, to those who have done wrong before, and to all the others, that if I come again I will not have pity;