For just as I have more than my share in the sufferings of the Christ, so also through the Christ I have more than my share of comfort.

If I am afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if I am receiving comfort, it is for your comfort?? comfort produced within you by your patient fortitude, under the same sufferings which I also am enduring.

My hope for you is firm; for I know that as you are comrades in my sufferings, so also are you comrades in my comfort.

while all of you also are helping me by your prayers; so that from many lips thanksgiving may rise on my behalf for the blessings vouchsafed to me through the intercessions of many.

For this is my proud boast, the testimony of my conscience, that it was in holiness and with pure motives before God, not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God, that I have conducted myself in the world, and above all in my relations with you.

For I am writing to you nothing different from what you read aloud and very well recognize, and I hope will continue to recognize to the very end,

For Jesus Christ, Son of God, who was proclaimed among you by us, that is, by Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not wavering between "Yes" and "No," but in him is the everlasting "Yes."

For however many are the promises of God, in him they are "Yes." Therefore also through him let the Amen be said by our voices to the glory of God.

But for my part I call God to witness, as my soul shall answer for it, that it was to spare you that I came not to Corinth

(not that I am attempting to lord it over your faith, but rather to work with you for your happiness); for your faith is stedfast.

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

And for this very reason I wrote you, that I might not come only to be grieved by those who ought to give me joy; and because I trusted in you all, that my joy is the joy of all of you.

For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart, through many tears; not to pain you, but to convince you of my love, my abundant love for you.

Sufficient for the offender is the punishment imposed by the majority;

For this very purpose also I wrote you (before), that I might test you, to see if you were obedient in every respect.

If you forgive the man, I forgive him, too; for whatever I have forgiven has been forgiven in the presence of Christ,

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

I could get no peace of mind because I failed to find Titus, my brother. So I bade them good-bye and started off for Macedonia.

to these latter an odor of death to death, to the former, of life to life. For such service as this, who is sufficient?

I am; for I am not like most, trafficking in the word of God, but rather from a sincere heart, like a man of God, I speak in Christ, in the very presence of God.

It is he who has also made me sufficient as a minister of a new covenant; not of a letter but of a spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit makes alive.

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, far more is the ministry of righteousness radiant in glory.

For if that which was fading came in glory, far more will that which ever abides be glorious.

Nay, their minds were made dull; for to this very day, at the public reading of the Old Testament, the same veil rests thereon, because it is not revealed to them that in Christ the veil is taken away.

It is not myself that I proclaim, but Christ Jesus as Master, and myself that I proclaim, and myself your slave for Jesus' sake.

For God who said, "Out of darkness light shall shine," is he who has shone in my heart, that the sunrise of the knowledge of God may shine forth in the face of Christ.

For, alive though I am, I am always given over to death for the sake of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may shine forth in my dying flesh.

For I know that He who raised from the dead the Lord Jesus, will raise me also with Jesus, and set me at your side in his presence.

For everything is for your sakes, so that more abundant grace, because of the thanksgiving of many voices, might overflow to the glory of 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 my light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working out for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

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

For I know, if this earthly tent of mine were struck, I have a mansion built by God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

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,

For in this tent of mine I am groaning in deep trouble; not that I wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life.

And He who has wrought me out for this very end is God, who has given me his Spirit as pledge.

for I am walking by faith, not by sight.

And for this reason I also make it home with the Lord.

For we must all be made manifest, in our true characters, before the Judgment-seat of Christ; so that each one may receive according to that which he has done in his body, whether good or evil.

So, because I know the fear of God, I "persuade men." What I am is manifest to God, and I hope manifest also to your conscience.

I am not "commending myself to you again," but I am giving you an occasion of boasting on my behalf, so that you may have an answer ready for those who boast in externals, and not in the heart.

For if I was "beside myself," it was to God; of if I am now "of sound mind," it is for you.

For the love of Christ overmasters me; because I thus judge that if One has died for all, then all have died;

and that he died for all in order that the living may live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again for them.

For he said: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, And in the day of salvation have I succored thee. Behold, now is the acceptable time! behold, now is the day of salvation!

by a true teaching and an energy divine; by the weapons of righteousness, for attack or for defense,

I pray you, therefore, in fair exchange (I speak as to my children), let your hearts also be wide open to me.

Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? what communion has light with darkness?

And what compact has God's temple with idols? For we are a temple of the living God, as he has said: I will dwell among them, and walk about among them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

As these promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and of spirit, and perfect our holiness in the fear of God.

Make room for me in your hearts! I have wronged no man, I have ruined no man, I have defrauded no man.

I am not saying this to blame you, for as I have already said, I hold you in my heart to live together and to die together.

For even after I reached Macedonia, my flesh had no rest, but I was troubled on every hand. Without were fights; within were, fears.

and not alone by his coming, but also by the comfort you had been to him. For he told me of your eager longing, of your penitence, and of your zeal on my behalf, so that I was happier still.

Even if I caused you pain by my letter, I do not regret; though I did regret it when I saw that my letter had caused you pain, even for a time.

For your pain came from God, and so you took no harm from me. For the pain which is from God works repentance leading to salvation, a repentance never to be regretted. But the world's pain works death.

So then, even if I did write to you, it was not for the sake of the wrong-doer, or of him who had been wronged, but to make clear to yourselves in the sight of God your earnest care for me.

And his tender affection is all the greater toward you, when he calls to mind the obedience of you all, and the fear and trembling with which you received him.

For although in heavy trial of affliction, their overbrimming happiness, even in spite of their deep poverty, abounded to the opulence of their unselfishness.

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

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

And I will give you my opinion in this matter; for this offering is fitting in your case, considering that you made a beginning before others, not only in the willingness to do something but also in actually doing something a year ago.

For if there be first willing mind, the gift is accepted according to what a man has, and not according to what he has not.

but burdens are to be equalized. Now your abundance at this present time present time is a supply for their want, in supply for your want; and so burdens be equalized,

For he not only consented to my request, but being thoroughly in earnest, comes to you of his own accord.

More than that, he is the one chosen by the churches to accompany me on my journey, in administering this gift of yours for the Lord's glory. And this has my full consent,

For I aim at being above reproach, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

As for Titus, remember that he is a partner of mine, and is also my associate in labors for you. As for the other brothers, remember that they are delegates from the churches, men in whom Christ is glorified.

It is indeed unnecessary for me to write you in regard to the ministration to the saints at Jerusalem,

for I know how ready you are, and am always boasting about you to the Macedonians, telling them that Greece has been ready for a year past; and your zeal has been a spur to the majority of them.

For if any Macedonians come with me and find you not ready, shame would come upon me (not to speak of you) in respect to this confidence.

He who ever supplies seed to the sower, and bread for the food of man, will supply and make plentous your seed, and increase the harvest springing up from your almsgiving.

For this ministration proves you. On account of it men glorify God for your faithfulness to your professions of the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of your gifts to them and to all.

Moreover, in their prayers for you they will be longing after you, because of the exceeding grace of God that is resting upon you.

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR HIS UNSPEAKABLE GIFT!

for the weapons of my warfare are not weapons of the flesh, but mighty for God, in pulling down all fortresses.

For I pull down imaginations and every crag that lifts itself against the knowledge of God. And I carry every thought away into captivity and subjection to Christ;

If, however, I were to boast more loudly concerning the authority which the Lord gave me (not to cast you down, but to build you up), I should have no cause for shame.

For I am not overstepping the limits of my authority, as though I reached you not; since I have already come even as far as Corinth to proclaim the gospel of Christ.

For a man is proved worthy, not by his self-commendation, but when he is commended by the Lord.

I have a divine jealousy on your behalf; for I betrothed you to one only husband, even to Christ, that I might present you to him, a chaste virgin.

But I fear lest, just as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, so your minds should be seduced from your single-mindedness and purity toward Christ.

For I reckon that I am in no respect behind your superapostolic apostles.

Is it a sin, forsooth, that I humbled myself that you might be exalted, in preaching the gospel to you free of cost?

Even when I lacked the actual necessities of life while I was with you, I was a burden to no one; for whatever I lacked, the brothers from Macedonia supplied, when they came. So I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

I am doing and will continue to do this in order to cut away the ground from under those who wish some cause for slander; and that the ground of their boasting may appear as does mine.

For such fellows are sham apostles of Christ.

No wonder! for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light.

I say that I was weak, and yet for whatever reason any one is bold (I speak in mere folly) I too am bold.

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as though I were beside myself), such, far, more, am I; in labors more abundant, in imprisonments also more abundant, in floggings beyond measure, in deaths often.

If I should choose to continue boasting I should not be foolish, for I should be speaking the truth. But I refrain, lest by the stupendous grandeur of the revelation any one should estimate me beyond what he sees in me, or hears from me.

It was for this reason, lest I should be over-elated, that there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be over-elated.

but he has answered me. "My grace is sufficient for you; it is in weakness that my power is perfected."

Most gladly therefore will I boast rather of my weakness, that over me like a tent may be pitched the power of Christ. That is why I rejoice in weakness, in ill-treatment, in troubles, in persecutions and calamities for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.

I am become a fool??ou have forced me to; for you yourselves ought to have been my vindicators. In no respect am I inferior to these superapostolic apostles, even though I am nothing.

And now for the third time I am preparing to visit you. I will not be a burden to you, for I am not seeking yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

For my part, I will most gladly spend, yea, and will myself be spent, for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I to be loved the less?

Do you think that all this time I am defending myself to you? It is before the presence of God that I am speaking in Christ; and all, beloved, for your upbuilding.

For I dread that perhaps, when I come, I may not find you to be such as I wish, and that I may be found by you such as you do not wish; I dread lest there should be quarrels, jealousy, tempers, party spirit, slandering, gossip, arrogance, tumults;

and lest when I come again my God may humble me before you, and lest I shall mourn for many those who have sinned before, and have not repented of the impurity and immorality and wantonness which they have practised.