who comforts me in every sorrow I have, so that I can comfort people who are in sorrow with the comfort with which I am comforted by God.

for as I have greatly suffered for Christ, so I have been greatly comforted thro' Christ.

If I am in trouble, it is to bring you comfort and salvation, and if I am comforted, it is for the sake of the comfort which you experience when you steadfastly endure such sufferings as I also have to bear.

and the hopes I had of you continue still the same, knowing that as you have had your share of suffering, so you will likewise have of consolation.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

But, we ourselves, within ourselves, have had the sentence of death, that we might not rest our confidence upon ourselves, but upon God, who raiseth the dead,

Who, out of so great a death, rescued us, and will rescue, - unto whom we have turned our hope, that, even yet, he will rescue:

while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then thanks will be given by many persons on our behalf for the gracious gift [of deliverance] granted to us through the prayers of many [believers].

For, our boasting, is, this, - the witness of our conscience, that, in sanctity and sincerity of God, and not in fleshly wisdom, but in God's favour, have we behaved ourselves in the world, - and more abundantly towards you.

For what I am writing you is nothing more than what you can read and understand, and I hope that you will understand it perfectly, just as some of you have come to understand me partially;

According as ye have also acknowledged us, in part, - that, your theme of boasting, we are, even indeed as, ye, also shall be , ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

And, in this confidence, I purposed, before, to come unto you, - in order that, a second joy, ye might have, -

and to have passed by you into Macedonia, and to have come again out of Macedonia unto you, and to have been led forth to Jewry ward of you.

Now I did not resort to fickleness, did I, in planning that? Or, do I make my plans in accordance with worldly notions, to have my "Yes" mean "No," if I want it so?

As certainly as God is faithful, we haven't talked to you with mixed messages like that.

The Son of God, Christ Jesus, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus, Timothy, and I, you have not found wavering between "Yes" and "No." With him it has always been "Yes,"

For all the promises of God, whatever their number, have their confirmation in Him; and for this reason through Him also our "Amen" acknowledges their truth and promotes the glory of God through our faith.

But, I, call upon God, as a witness, against my own soul, - that, to spare you, not yet, have I come unto Corinth:

Not that we have lordship over your faith, but are, helpers, of your joy, for, by your faith, ye stand.

For I have determined, unto myself, this - not, again, in grief, to come unto you.

for if I cause you grief, who is there to cause me joy except those whom I have grieved?

And I wrote this very thing - lest, if I came, I should have, grief, from those over whom I had need to rejoice, - having confidence in you all, that, my joy, is the joy, of you all.

For, out of much tribulation and anguish of heart, wrote I unto you, through many tears, - not that ye might be grieved, but that, the love, ye might know, which I have very abundantly unto you.

But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.

Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him;

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.

Wherefore I exhort you, that love may have strength over him.

for this was one view I had in writing, to have this trial of you, whether you are intirely obedient.

Now, to whom ye forgive anything, I, also; for, I also, what I have forgiven, if, anything, I have forgiven, for your sake, in the person of Christ, have I forgiven it .

witness) lest satan should have got some advantage of us: for we are apprized of his artifices.

I have not had rest to my spirit, on my not finding Titus my brother, but having taken leave of them, I went forth to Macedonia;

Are we to begin again, ourselves, to commend? or have we need, like some, of commendatory letters unto you, or from you?

because ye are manifestly seen to be the letter of Christ, of which we have been the secretaries, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart.

But, such confidence as this, have we, through the Christ, towards God.

Will not the operation of the Spirit have a much greater glory?

For if the ministry [of the law] that brings condemnation came with splendor, will not the ministry that brings righteousness [i.e., the New Agreement] have greater splendor?

For in comparison with its surpassing splendor, what was splendid has come to have no splendor at all.

For if the order which was for a time had its glory, much more will the eternal order have its glory.

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

besides, their minds were greatly prejudiced: for that very veil would still have obstructed the understanding of the old testament, unless it had been taken away by Christ.

But whenever the heart of the nation shall have returned to the Lord, the veil will be withdrawn.

Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

But have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, - but, by the manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves unto every conscience of men, in the sight of God.

Because the god of this world has made blind the minds of those who have not faith, so that the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, might not be shining on them.

Howbeit we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that, the surpassing greatness of the power, may be of God, and not from ourselves: -

Howbeit, seeing that we have the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written - I believed, therefore I spake, we, also believe, therefore also we speak:

For everything [i.e., that we have experienced. See verses 8-12] is for your sakes so that [God's] unearned favor, being extended to so many, [in bringing them salvation through Paul's ministry] may result in much thanksgiving in praise to God.

For this reason, as I have said, I do not lose courage, but even though my outward man is wasting away, my inward man is being renewed, day by day.

for I have no regard to the things which are visible, but to such as are invisible: since visible things are temporary, but the invisible are eternal.

For we know that - -if, our earthly tent-dwelling, should be taken down, we have, a building of God, a dwelling not made by hand, age-abiding in the heavens.

while I am thus incas'd, I groan with desire to have that celestial vehicle superinduc'd:

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

we that are in this tabernacle do groan under the burden of it: not that we desire to be divested of it, but we desire to have our celestial body, that this mortal state may vanish into immortality.

Therefore we have always confidence, and know that whilst we are indwelling in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

(for I have to guide my steps by faith, not by what is seen)??8 yet I am confident, and I prefer to leave my home in the body and make my home with the Lord.

We have good courage, however, and are well pleased - rather to be away from home, out of the body, and to come home, unto the Lord.

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

For we all have to come before Christ to be judged; so that every one of us may get his reward for the things done in the body, good or bad.

having known, therefore, the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, and to God we are manifested, and I hope also in your consciences to have been manifested;

Not again, ourselves, do we commend unto you, but as though an occasion we were giving unto you - something to boast of, in our behalf; that ye may have something suited unto them who, in appearance, are boasting, and not in heart.

For, whether we have been beside ourselves, it hath been for God, or, whether we are sober-minded, it is for you.

For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died.

and that he died for all in order to have the living live no longer for themselves but for him who died and rose for them.

So that, we, henceforth, know, no one, after the flesh: if we have even been gaining, after the flesh, a knowledge of Christ,

On the contrary, now, no longer, are we gaining it. So that, if any one is in Christ, there is a new creation! the old things, have passed away, - Lo! they have become new!

As workers together with God we urge you also, who have received God's unearned favor, do not allow it to be for nothing,

For he saith - In an approved season, have I hearkened unto thee, and, in a day of salvation, have succoured thee; - Lo! now, a well-approved season, Lo! now, a day of salvation:

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

But as God's servants, we have commended ourselves in every way, with great endurance, in persecutions, in difficulties, in distresses,

[We have been] beaten, jailed, and mobbed. [We have] worked hard, missed sleep and gone without food.

[We have ministered] with purity, knowledge, patience and kindness. [We have done this] by [the power of] the Holy Spirit; out of genuine love;

[We have experienced] honor and dishonor; a bad reputation and a good one. [We have been viewed] as deceivers and yet are genuine;

as [both] unknown [to people] and yet well-known; [we have almost] died, and yet as you see, we are still alive; [we have been] punished and yet not killed;

We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide.

We have not cut you off, but you have cut off your own feelings toward us.

Let us have a like return; I speak as unto children; be ye also enlarged.

Be not getting diversely yoked with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness?

What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:

I will dwell among them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.

Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God.

Give place to us! no one, have we wronged, no one, have we corrupted, no one, have we defrauded.

Unto condemnation, I am not saying this , for I have before said - In our hearts, are ye, to the end we may die together and live together.

I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.

Ever since we reached Macedonia, we have had no rest in body or mind; on every side there have been troubles--conflicts without, anxieties within.

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 I rejoice, not that ye have been grieved, but that ye have been grieved to repentance; for ye have been grieved according to God, that in nothing ye might be injured by us.

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.

Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that did hurt, neither for his cause that was hurt: but that our good mind which we have toward you in the sight of God, might appear unto you

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.

I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

I must acquaint you, brethren, with the contribution which the churches of Macedonia have religiously made,

who tho' labouring under great trial of affliction, and extreme poverty, have notwithstanding with exceeding cheerfulness contributed very liberally: being forward of themselves to the utmost of their power,

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

Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints:

They have done more than I expected; they gave themselves to the Lord, to begin with, and then (for so God willed it) they put themselves at my disposal.

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 therefore, as ye are rich in all parts, in faith, in word, in knowledge, in all ferventness, and in love, which ye have to us: even so see that ye be plenteous in this benevolence.

For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth.

And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.