who comforts me in all my distress, so that I am able to comfort people who are in any distress by the comfort with which I myself am comforted by God.

If I am in distress, it is in the interests of your comfort and salvation; if I am comforted, it is in the interests of your comfort, which is effective as it nerves you to endure the same sufferings as I suffer myself.

Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

For what I am writing to you is only what you can read and understand, and I hope that you will understand it fully,

as you have partly understood the meaning of my life, namely that I am your source of pride (as you are mine) on the Day of our Lord Jesus.

If then I had such a purpose, did I seem to be changing suddenly? or am I guided in my purposes by the flesh, saying, Yes, today, and, No, tomorrow?

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we were preaching among you, even I and Silvanus and Timothy, was not Yes and No, but in him is Yes.

But I appeal to God as my witness [i.e., to verify that I am telling the truth]; it was in order to spare you [i.e., from a disciplinary action] that I decided not to return to Corinth.

not that we rule [like dictators] over your faith, but rather we work with you for [the increase of] your joy; for in your faith you stand firm [in your strong conviction that Jesus of Nazareth—the Messiah—is the Son of God, through whom we obtain eternal salvation].

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

For if I cause you grief [by a well-deserved rebuke], who then provides me enjoyment but the very one whom I have made sad?

And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.

If a certain individual has been causing pain, he has been causing pain not so much to me as to all of you ??at anyrate (for I am not going to overstate the case) to a section of you.

The man to whom I refer has been sufficiently punished by the penalty inflicted by the majority of you;

For my aim in writing was simply to test you, to see if you were absolutely obedient.

To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

for your sakes, that I may not be overreached by Satan, for I am not ignorant of his devices.

For we are a fragrance of Christ grateful to God in those whom He is saving and in those who are perishing;

to the one, a deathly, deadly odor, to the other a vital, life-giving one. Who is qualified for this task? I am!

I am, for I am not like most, adulterating the word of God; like a man of sincerity, like a man of God, I speak the word in Christ before the very presence of God.

Am I beginning again to 'commend' myself? Do I need, like some people, to be commended by written certificates either to you or from you?

It is not that I am personally qualified to form any judgment by myself; my qualifications come from God,

Such being my hope then, I am quite frank and open ??13 not like Moses, who used to hang a veil over his face to keep the children of Israel from gazing at the last rays of a fading glory.

So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

(It is Christ Jesus as Lord, not myself, that I proclaim; I am simply a servant of yours for Jesus' sake.)

But I am keeping this jewel in an earthen jar, to prove that its surpassing power is God's, not mine.

on every side I am harried but not hemmed in, perplexed but not despairing,

persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed ??10 wherever I go, I am being killed in the body as Jesus was, so that the life of Jesus may come out in my body:

Wherever I go, I am always carrying about in my body the dying of Jesus, in order that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in this body of mine.

every day of my life I am being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may come out within my mortal flesh.

For we go through all things on account of you, because the greater the number to whom the grace is given, the greater is the praise to the glory of God.

for which cause I am not discouraged, but tho' my body decays, yet my mind is daily renewed.

For our short and light affliction is working out for us an infinite and eternal weight of glory, as we aim not at the things which are visible, but invisible:

while I am gazing not at things seen, but at things unseen; for things seen are temporal, but things unseen are eternal.

For in this tent I am groaning, earnestly longing to be under the cover of my heavenly habitation; if so be that being so covered,

since I am sure that once so covered I shall not be 'naked' at the hour of death.

For I who am still in my tent sigh with anxiety, because I do not want to be stripped of it, but to put on the other over it, so that what is only mortal may be absorbed in life.

I am prepared for this change by God, who has given me the Spirit as its pledge and instalment.

Come what may, then, I am confident; I know that while I reside in the body I am away 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.

So I have good courage, and am well pleased rather, to be in banishment from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him.

If I 'appeal to the interests of men,' then, it is with the fear of the Lord before my mind. What I am is plain to God without disguise, plain also, I trust, to your own conscience.

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.

'I am beside myself,' am I? Well, that is between myself and God. I am 'sane,' am I? Well, that is in your interests;

for I am controlled by the love of Christ, convinced that as One has died for all, then all have died,

But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him],

So I am an envoy for Christ, God appealing by me, as it were ??be reconciled to God, I entreat you on behalf of Christ.

I am giving no one a cause of stumbling in order that my ministry may not be discredited;

but in every way I am striving to commend myself as God's minister by stedfast endurance, by afflictions, by troubles, by distresses,

in honor or dishonor, in praise or blame; considered an imposter, when I am true,

'unknown' but well-known, dying but here I am alive, chastened but not killed,

pained, when I am always glad, poor, when I make many others rich, penniless, when really I own everything.

O Corinthians, I am keeping nothing back from you; my heart is wide open for you.

It is not that I am cramping you, it is your own affections.

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

With these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that pollutes either body or spirit, and, in deepest reverence for God, aim at perfect holiness.

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.

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.

Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

And it is not only by his arrival that we are encouraged, but also by the encouragement which he received from you; for he tells us of your strong affection, your penitence, and your zeal on my behalf--so that I am happier still.

Because even though I grieved you in the letter, I am not remorseful (even though I was remorseful), for I perceive that that letter grieved you, even though for an hour.

yet I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might not suffer loss in anything on our account.

So though I sent you a letter, it was not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear in the eyes of God.

That is why I am so comforted. With all my own comfort, I was still more overjoyed at the gladness of Titus, for his mind has been set at rest by you all.

For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.

I rejoice that in everything I am of good courage concerning you.

Now I am going to tell you, brothers, of God's spiritual blessing which was given in the churches of Macedonia,

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

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].

And I am not saying this so that others may get off free, while the weight comes on you:

As has been written, He to whom much, was not in excess; and he to whom little, was not diminished.

Along with him I am sending that brother whose services to the gospel are praised by all the churches;

What is more, he has been appointed by the churches to travel with me in the interests of this generous undertaking, which I am superintending to honor the Lord and to show our readiness to help.

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

For we have regard for what is honorable [and above suspicion], not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.

As for Titus, remember that he is a partner with me, and is my comrade in my labours for you. And as for our brethren, remember that they are delegates from the Churches, and are men in whom Christ is glorified.

for I know your eagerness [to promote this cause], and I have [proudly] boasted to the people of Macedonia about it, telling them that Achaia has been prepared since last year [for this contribution], and your enthusiasm has inspired the majority of them [to respond].

Still, I am sending the brothers [on to you], so that our pride in you may not be an empty boast in this case, and so that you may be prepared, just as I told them you would be;

He who furnishes the sower with seed and with bread to eat will supply seed for you and multiply it; he will increase the crop of your charities ??11 you will be enriched on all hands, so that you can be generous on all occasions, and your generosity, of which I am the agent, will make men give thanks to God;

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.

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

For though I do live an earthly life, I am not carrying on an earthly war,

For I am demolishing arguments and every barrier that is raised against the genuine knowledge of God, taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,

I am prepared to court-martial anyone who remains insubordinate, once your submission is complete.

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 if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed.

I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters.

Let him understand that I will act when I arrive, as forcibly as I express myself by letter when I am absent.

I am not overstepping the limit, as if you lay beyond my sphere; I was the very first to reach you with the gospel 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,

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

Put up with me if I am a little foolish: but, truly, you do put up with me.

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

For I reckon that I am not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.