Therefore, since we have these promises,(A) dear friends,(B) let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness(C) out of reverence for God.

Paul’s Joy Over the Church’s Repentance

Make room for us in your hearts.(D) We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts(E) that we would live or die with you. I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you.(F) I am greatly encouraged;(G) in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.(H)

For when we came into Macedonia,(I) we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn(J)—conflicts on the outside, fears within.(K) But God, who comforts the downcast,(L) comforted us by the coming of Titus,(M) and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter,(N) I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation(O) and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern,(P) what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So even though I wrote to you,(Q) it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong(R) nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 13 By all this we are encouraged.

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus(S) was, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14 I had boasted to him about you,(T) and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus(U) has proved to be true as well. 15 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient,(V) receiving him with fear and trembling.(W) 16 I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.(X)

Paul Reveals His Heart

Therefore, having these promises, (A)beloved, (B)let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

(C)Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said (D)before that you are (E)in our hearts, to die together and to live together. My (F)confidence [a]in you is great; my (G)boasting in your behalf is great. I am filled with (H)comfort; I am overflowing with (I)joy in all our affliction.

For even when we came into (J)Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were (K)afflicted on every side: (L)conflicts on the outside, fears inside. But (M)God, who comforts the [b]discouraged, (N)comforted us by the arrival of (O)Titus; and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted among you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. For though I (P)caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything [c]through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a (Q)repentance [d]without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this [e]godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what (R)longing, what zeal, what (S)punishment of wrong! In everything you (T)demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. 12 So although (U)I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of (V)the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness in our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. 13 Because of this, we have been (W)comforted.

And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of (X)Titus, because his (Y)spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if I have (Z)boasted to him about you regarding anything, I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before (AA)Titus proved to be the truth. 15 His [f]affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the (AB)obedience of you all, how you received him with (AC)fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice that in everything (AD)I have confidence in you.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 7:4 Lit toward
  2. 2 Corinthians 7:6 Or lowly
  3. 2 Corinthians 7:9 Lit from
  4. 2 Corinthians 7:10 Or leading to a salvation without regret
  5. 2 Corinthians 7:11 Lit sorrow according to God
  6. 2 Corinthians 7:15 Lit inward parts

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.(A)

Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance

Make room in your hearts[a] for us; we have wronged no one; we have corrupted no one; we have taken advantage of no one.(B) I do not say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.(C) I am being completely frank with you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am overjoyed in all our affliction.(D)

For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way—disputes without and fears within.(E) But God, who consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of Titus,(F) and not only by his arrival but also by the consolation with which he was consoled about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For although I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it (for[b] I see that that letter caused you grief, though only briefly), now I rejoice, not because you were grieved but because your grief led to repentance, for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.(G) 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves guiltless in the matter. 12 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 made known to you before God.(H) 13 In this we have found consolation.

In addition to our own consolation, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his mind has been set at rest by all of you.(I) 14 For if I have been somewhat boastful about you to him, I was not put to shame, but just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus has proved true as well.(J) 15 And his heart goes out all the more to you, as he remembers the obedience of all of you and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.(K) 16 I rejoice because I have complete confidence in you.(L)

Footnotes

  1. 7.2 Gk lacks in your hearts
  2. 7.8 Other ancient witnesses lack for

Since we have these promises, beloved, (A)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Paul's Joy

(B)Make room in your hearts[b] for us. (C)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that (D)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. I am acting with (E)great boldness toward you; (F)I have great pride in you; (G)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

For even (H)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—(I)fighting without and fear within. But (J)God, who comforts the downcast, (K)comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For (L)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though (M)I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but (N)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

10 For (O)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas (P)worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, (Q)what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one (R)who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore (S)we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit (T)has been refreshed by you all. 14 For (U)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you (V)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers (W)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have complete (X)confidence in you.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 7:1 Greek flesh
  2. 2 Corinthians 7:2 Greek lacks in your hearts

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.

Please open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone, nor led anyone astray, nor taken advantage of anyone. I’m not saying this to condemn you. I said before that you are in our hearts, and we live or die together with you. I have the highest confidence in you, and I take great pride in you. You have greatly encouraged me and made me happy despite all our troubles.

Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance

When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus. His presence was a joy, but so was the news he brought of the encouragement he received from you. When he told us how much you long to see me, and how sorry you are for what happened, and how loyal you are to me, I was filled with joy!

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. 12 My purpose, then, was not to write about who did the wrong or who was wronged. I wrote to you so that in the sight of God you could see for yourselves how loyal you are to us. 13 We have been greatly encouraged by this.

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was about the way all of you welcomed him and set his mind[a] at ease. 14 I had told him how proud I was of you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! 15 Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way all of you obeyed him and welcomed him with such fear and deep respect. 16 I am very happy now because I have complete confidence in you.

Footnotes

  1. 7:13 Greek his spirit.