From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia.

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

Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us -- by me and Silvanus and Timothy -- was not "Yes" and "No," but it has always been "Yes" in him.

But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us,

who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

For if I make you sad, who would be left to make me glad but the one I caused to be sad?

And I wrote this very thing to you, so that when I came I would not have sadness from those who ought to make me rejoice, since I am confident in you all that my joy would be yours.

But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place.

For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing --

to the latter an odor from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit, but we are speaking in Christ before God as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God.

who made us adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from staring at the result of the glory that was made ineffective.

And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing,

among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.

For God, who said "Let light shine out of darkness," is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body.

We do so because we know that the one who raised up Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will bring us with you into his presence.

Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart.

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

And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.

God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet -- see! -- we continue to live; as those who are scourged and yet not executed;

Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

So then, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong, or on account of the one who was wronged, but to reveal to you your eagerness on our behalf before God.

as it is written: "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little."

But thanks be to God who put in the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you,

And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his work in spreading the gospel.

And we are sending with them our brother whom we have tested many times and found eager in many matters, but who now is much more eager than ever because of the great confidence he has in you.

My point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.

Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow.

Now I, Paul, appeal to you personally by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (I who am meek when present among you, but am full of courage toward you when away!) --

now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving according to human standards.

For we would not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who recommend themselves. But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

For it is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person the Lord commends.

When I was with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia fully supplied my needs. I kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals in the things they boast about.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with indignation?

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

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven.

I am afraid that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

I said before when I was present the second time and now, though absent, I say again to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone,