Because God, then, will give us such rewards, dear brothers, let us make ourselves clean from all evil of flesh and spirit, and become completely holy in the fear of God.

It is not with the purpose of judging you that I say this: for I have said before that you are in our hearts for life and death together.

My words to you are without fear, I am full of pride on account of you: I have great comfort and joy in all our troubles.

For even when we had come into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; there were fightings outside and fears inside.

And not by his coming only, but by the comfort which he had in you, while he gave us word of your desire, your sorrow, your care for me; so that I was still more glad.

For though my letter gave you pain, I have no regret for it now, though I had before; for I see that the letter gave you pain, but only for a time.

Now I am glad, not that you had sorrow, but that your sorrow was the cause of a change of heart; for yours was a holy sorrow so that you might undergo no loss by us in anything.

For the sorrow which God gives is the cause of salvation through a change of heart, in which there is no reason for grief: but the sorrow of the world is a cause of death.

For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.

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.

So we have been comforted: and we had the greater joy in our comfort because of the joy of Titus, for his spirit had been made glad by you all.

For I was not put to shame in anything in which I may have made clear to him my pride in you; but as we said nothing to you but what was true, so the good things which I said to Titus about you were seen by him to be true.

And his love to you is the more increased by his memory of you all, how you gave way to his authority, and how you took him to your hearts with fear and honour.

For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts,

For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth.

And in this I give my opinion: for it is to your profit, who were the first to make a start a year before, not only to do this, but to make clear that your minds were more than ready to do it.

For if there is a ready mind, a man will have God's approval in the measure of what he has, and not of what he has not.

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

But praise be to God, who puts the same care for you into the heart of Titus.

For while he gladly gave ear to our request, he was interested enough to go to you from the impulse of his heart.

For the business has been so ordered by us as to have the approval, not only of the Lord, but of men.

If any question comes up about Titus, he is my brother-worker, working with me for you; or about the others, they are the representatives of the churches to the glory of Christ.

But there is no need for me to say anything in my letter about the giving to the saints:

For I have before made clear to those of Macedonia my pride in your ready mind, saying to them that Achaia has been ready for a year back; and a great number have been moved to do the same by your example.

For fear that, if any from Macedonia come with me, and you are not ready, we (not to say, you) might be put to shame in this thing.

So it seemed to me wise for the brothers to go before, and see that the amount which you had undertaken to give was ready, so that it might be a cause for praise, and not as if we were making profit out of you.

Let every man do after the purpose of his heart; not giving with grief, or by force: for God takes pleasure in a ready giver.

As it is said in the Writings, He has sent out far and wide, he has given to the poor; his righteousness is for ever.

And he who gives seed for putting into the field and bread for food, will take care of the growth of your seed, at the same time increasing the fruits of your righteousness;

For this work of giving not only takes care of the needs of the saints, but is the cause of much praise to God;

For when, through this work of giving, they see what you are, they give glory to God for the way in which you have given yourselves to the good news of Christ, and for the wealth of your giving to them and to all;

While their hearts go out to you in love and in prayer for you, because of the great grace of God which is in you.

Praise be to God for what he has given, which words have no power to say.

Now I, Paul, myself make request to you by the quiet and gentle behaviour of Christ, I who am poor in spirit when with you, but who say what is in my mind to you without fear when I am away from you:

For though we may be living in the flesh, we are not fighting after the way of the flesh

(For the arms with which we are fighting are not those of the flesh, but are strong before God for the destruction of high places);

For though I might take pride in our authority (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for your destruction), it will not be a cause of shame to me:

That I may not seem to have the desire of causing you fear by my letters.

For his letters, they say, have weight and are strong; but in body he is feeble, and his way of talking has little force.

For we will not make comparison of ourselves with some of those who say good things about themselves: but these, measuring themselves by themselves, and making comparison of themselves with themselves, are not wise.

For we have no need to make ourselves seem more than we are, as if our authority did not come as far as to you: for we came even as far as you with the good news of Christ:

Not taking credit to ourselves for what is not our business, that is, for the work of others; but having hope that, with the growth of your faith, we may get the credit for an increase which is the effect of our work,

So that we may be able to go on and take the good news to countries still farther away than you are, and not take credit for another man's work in making things ready to our hand.

But whoever has a desire for glory, let his glory be in the Lord.

For the Lord's approval of a man is not dependent on his opinion of himself, but on the Lord's opinion of him.

For I have a very great care for you: because you have been married by me to one husband, and it is my desire to give you completely holy to Christ.

But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.

For if anyone comes preaching another Jesus from the one whose preachers we are, or if you have got a different spirit, or a different sort of good news from those which came to you, how well you put up with these things.

For in my opinion, I am in no way less than the most important of the Apostles.

I took money from other churches as payment for my work, so that I might be your servant;

And when I was present with you, and was in need, I let no man be responsible for me; for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, gave me whatever was needed; and in everything I kept myself from being a trouble to you, and I will go on doing so.

Why? because I have no love for you? let God be judge.

But what I do, that I will go on doing, so that I may give no chance to those who are looking for one; so that, in the cause of their pride, they may be seen to be the same as we are.

For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ.

And it is no wonder; for even Satan himself is able to take the form of an angel of light.

For you put up with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise for ever, is witness that the things which I say are true.

And being let down in a basket from the wall through a window, I got free from his hands.

As it is necessary for me to take glory to myself, though it is not a good thing, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

On account of such a one I will have glory: for myself I will take no glory, but only in my feeble body.

For if I had a desire to take credit to myself, it would not be foolish, for I would be saying what is true: but I will not, for fear that I might seem to any man more than he sees me to be, or has word from me that I am.

And he said to me, My grace is enough for you, for my power is made complete in what is feeble. Most gladly, then, will I take pride in my feeble body, so that the power of Christ may be on me.

So I take pleasure in being feeble, in unkind words, in needs, in cruel attacks, in troubles, on account of Christ: for when I am feeble, then am I strong.

I have been forced by you to become foolish, though it was right for my praise to have come from you: for in no way was I less than the chief of the Apostles, though I am nothing.

For what is there in which you were made less than the other churches, but in the one thing that I was not a trouble to you? Let me have forgiveness for this wrong.

This is now the third time that I am ready to come to you; and I will not be a trouble to you: my desire is for you, not for your property: for it is not the children's business to make store for their fathers, but the fathers for the children.

And I will gladly give all I have for your souls. If I have the more love for you, am I to be loved the less?

It may seem to you that all this time we have been attempting to put ourselves in the right; but we are saying these things before God in Christ. For all things, dear brothers, are for your profit.

For I have a fear that, when I come, you may not be answering to my desire, and that I may not be answering to yours; that there may be fighting, hate, angry feeling, divisions, evil talk about others, secrets, thoughts of pride, outbursts against authority;

And that when I come again, my God may put me to shame among you, and I may have grief for those who have done wrong before and have had no regret for their unclean ways, and for the evil desires of the flesh to which they have given way.

I said before, and still say it before I come, as being present for the second time, though I am still away from you, to those who have done wrong before, and to all the others, that if I come again I will not have pity;

Seeing that you are looking for a sign of Christ giving out his word in me; who is not feeble in relation to you, but is strong in you:

For he was feeble in that he was put to death on the cross, but he is living by the power of God. And we are feeble in him, but we will be living with him through the power of God in relation to you.

Because we are able to do nothing against what is true, but only for it.

For we are glad when we are feeble and you are strong: and this is our prayer, even that you may be made complete.

For this cause I am writing these things while I am away, so that there may be need for me, when I am present, to make use of sharp measures, by the authority which the Lord has given me for building up and not for destruction.

Who gave himself for our sins, so that he might make us free from this present evil world, after the purpose of our God and Father:

To whom be the glory for ever and ever. So be it.

For I did not get it from man, and I was not given teaching in it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it:

And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us;

To whom we gave way not even for an hour; so that the true words of the good news might still be with you.

But, quite the opposite, when they saw that I had been made responsible for preaching the good news to those without circumcision, even as Peter had been for those of the circumcision

For before certain men came from James, he did take food with the Gentiles: but when they came, he went back and made himself separate, fearing those who were of the circumcision.

For if I put up again those things which I gave to destruction, I am seen to be a wrongdoer.

For I, through the law, have become dead to the law, so that I might be living to God.

I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, gave himself up for me.

I do not make the grace of God of no effect: because if righteousness is through the law, then Christ was put to death for nothing.

For all who are of the works of the law are under a curse: because it is said in the Writings, A curse is on everyone who does not keep on doing all the things which are ordered in the book of the law.

Christ has made us free from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: because it is said in the Writings, A curse on everyone who is put to death by hanging on a tree:

Now this I say: The law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not put an end to the agreement made before by God, so as to make the undertaking without effect.

However, the holy Writings have put all things under sin, so that that for which God gave the undertaking, based on faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who have such faith.

But before faith came, we were kept in prison under the law, waiting for the revelation of the faith which was to come.

For all those of you who were given baptism into Christ did put on Christ.

There is no Jew or Greek, servant or free, male or female: because you are all one in Jesus Christ.

That he might make them free who were under the law, and that we might be given the place of sons.

I am in fear of you, that I may have been working for you to no purpose.

My desire for you, brothers, is that you may be as I am, because I am as you are. You have done me no wrong;

Truly my desire is to be present with you now, using a changed voice; for I am troubled about you.

Because it is in the Writings, that Abraham had two sons, one by the servant-woman, and one by the free woman.