He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.

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

For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia: we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life.

Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again

while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

For this is our confidence: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly wisdom but by God’s grace.

as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride, as you are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

So when I planned this, was I irresponsible? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” simultaneously?

I call on God as a witness, on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.

I do not mean that we have control of your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand by faith.

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I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident about all of you that my joy will also be yours.

For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not that you should be hurt, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.

I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

It is clear that you are Christ’s letter, produced by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on stone tablets but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

It is not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God.

Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading glory—

In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it.

We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not stare at the end of what was fading away,

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you.

Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory.

For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.

Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.

For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.

We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance rather than in the heart.

And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.

From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way.

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

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed.

I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together.

and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

For even if I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while.

Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us.

So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God.

I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability,

So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.

But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have.

It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality—

at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality.

And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift that is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation.

Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.

I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way.

and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.

Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we.

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.

We are not bragging beyond measure about other people’s labors. But we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged,

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.

But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.

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

Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

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

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,

especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

You have thought all along that we were defending ourselves to you. No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.

For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and I may not be found by you to be what you want; there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity they practiced.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.

And I hope you will recognize that we do not fail the test.

Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong—not that we may appear to pass the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to fail.

This is why I am writing these things while absent, that when I am there I will not use severity, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.