2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11

Contemporary English Version

²³ God is my witness that I stayed away from Corinth, just to keep from being hard on you. ²⁴ We are not bosses who tell you what to believe. We are working with you to make you glad, because your faith is strong.

2 I have decided not to make my next visit with you so painful. ² If I make you feel bad, who would be left to cheer me up, except the people I had made to feel bad? ³ The reason I want to be happy is to make you happy. I wrote as I did because I didn't want to visit you and be made to feel bad, when you should make me feel happy. ⁴ At the time I wrote, I was suffering terribly. My eyes were full of tears, and my heart was broken. But I didn't want to make you feel bad. I only wanted to let you know how much I cared for you.

Forgiveness

⁵ I don't want to be hard on you. But if one of you has made someone feel bad, I am not really the one who has been made to feel bad. Some of you are the ones. ⁶ Most of you have already pointed out the wrong that person did, and this is punishment enough for what was done.

⁷ When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair. ⁸ You should make them sure of your love for them.

⁹ I also wrote because I wanted to test you and find out if you would follow my instructions. ¹⁰ I will forgive anyone you forgive. Yes, for your sake and with Christ as my witness, I have forgiven whatever needed to be forgiven. ¹¹ I have done this to keep Satan from getting the better of us. We all know what goes on in his mind.