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

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings that we suffer.

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

He delivered us from so deadly a peril, and he will deliver us; on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

You also must help us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

For our boast is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with holiness and godly sincerity, not in worldly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and still more toward you.

as you have understood us in part, that you can be proud of us just as we can be of you, in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double benefit.

When I was planning this, did I do it lightly? Or do I make my plans in a fleshly manner so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, Yes" and "No, No"?

But I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

Not that we lord it over your faith; but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

1 So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.

And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I had confidence in all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all.

For I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.

in order that Satan might gain no advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.

You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of carnal hearts.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.

Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves; but our competence is from God,

Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,

For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

For if what was fading away came with glory, much more is the glory of that which lasts.

We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at the end of the radiance that was fading away.

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

always carrying about in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

For we who live are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

For all this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

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

so that when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Therefore we are always of good courage; and we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,

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

We are not again commending ourselves to you, but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you may have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.

and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret itfor I see that my letter hurt you, though only for a little while

now I rejoice, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance; for you became sorrowful as God intended, so that you suffered no loss through us.

For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.

So although I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your zeal for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.

For I testify that according to their ability, and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own free will,

So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, he would also complete in you this work of grace.

But as you excel in everythingin faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love for ussee that you excel in this work of grace also.

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

Now finish the work, so that your readiness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;

but at the present time your abundance should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be equality.

and not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work which we are carrying on, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will.

We intend that no one should blame us about this liberal gift which we are administering,

for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

But I am sending the brethren so that our boasting about you may not prove vain in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be;

So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren to go on to you before me, and arrange in advance for this gift you have promised, so that it may be ready not as an exaction but as a willing gift.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may have an abundance for every good work.

I beg you that when I am present I may not have to be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,

You look at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ's, so also are we.

Let such people realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has apportioned to us, a field that reaches even to you.

We do not go beyond limits by boasting in other men's labors, but our hope is that as your faith grows, our sphere among you may be greatly enlarged,

so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast of work already done in another man's territory.

For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed you are bearing with me.

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.

But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

I think that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?

I repeat, let no one think me foolish; but even if you do, receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

To my shame, I must say that we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast aboutI am speaking as a foolI also dare to boast about.

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

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

And I know that this manwhether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows

Though if I should boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should depart from me.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.

That is why, for Christ's sake, I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

For in what respect were you inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

But be that as it may, I did not burden you myself. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery!

Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves before you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved.

For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you what I wish you to be, and you may not find me what you wish me to be; I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will have to mourn over many of those who sinned before and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and lewdness which they have practiced.

I warned those who sinned in the past and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present the second time, that if I come again I will not spare them

since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in youunless, indeed, you fail the test?

I trust that you will realize that we have not failed the test.

Now we pray to God that you may not do wrong, not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed.

I write these things while I am absent, in order that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority which the Lord gave me for building you up, and not for tearing you down.