Self-denial in behalf of Others

15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^(A)those without strength, and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to ^(B)please his neighbor ^[a]for his good, to his ^(C)edification. ³ For even ^(D)Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “^(E)The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.” ⁴ For ^(F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ Now may the ^(G)God ^[b]who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you ^(H)to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one purpose and one ^[c]voice you may glorify ^(I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, ^[d](J)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted ^[e]us, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ has become a servant to ^(K)the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm ^(L)the promises given to the fathers, ⁹ and for ^(M)the Gentiles to ^(N)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written:

¹⁰ Again he says,

¹¹ And again,

¹² Again Isaiah says,

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all ^(U)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope ^(V)by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴ And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of ^(W)goodness, filled with ^(X)all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. ¹⁵ But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of ^(Y)the grace that was given to me ^[g]from God, ¹⁶ to be ^(Z)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the ^(AA)gospel of God, so that my ^(AB)offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found ^(AC)reason for boasting in ^(AD)things pertaining to God. ^18 (AE)For I will not presume to speak of anything ^[h]except what ^(AF)Christ has accomplished through me, ^[i]resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, ¹⁹ in the power of ^[j](AG)signs and wonders, ^(AH)in the power of the Spirit; so that ^(AI)from Jerusalem and all around as ^(AJ)far as Illyricum I have ^[k]fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ And in this way I aspired to ^(AK)preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, ^(AL)so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; ²¹ but just as it is written:

²² For this reason ^(AN)I have often been prevented from coming to you; ²³ but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I ^(AO)have had for many years a longing to come to you ²⁴ whenever I ^(AP)go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be ^(AQ)helped on my way there by you, when I have first ^(AR)enjoyed your company ^[l]for a while— ²⁵ but now, ^(AS)I am going to Jerusalem, ^(AT)serving the ^[m]saints. ²⁶ For ^(AU)Macedonia and ^(AV)Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the ^[n]saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For ^(AW)if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things. ²⁸ Therefore, when I have finished this, and ^(AX)have ^[o]put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will ^(AY)go on by way of you to Spain. ²⁹ I know that when ^(AZ)I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(BA)the love of the Spirit, to ^(BB)strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, ³¹ that I may be ^(BC)rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my ^(BD)service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the ^[p](BE)saints; ³² so that ^(BF)I may come to you in joy by ^(BG)the will of God and relax in your company. ³³ Now ^(BH)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Greetings and Love Expressed

16 I ^(BI)recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ^[q]servant of the church which is at ^(BJ)Cenchrea, ² that you ^(BK)receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the ^[r](BL)saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, ^[s]and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(BM)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers ^(BN)in ^(BO)Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; ⁵ also greet ^(BP)the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the ^(BQ)first convert to Christ from ^[t](BR)Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and ^[u]Junia, my ^(BS)kinsfolk and my ^(BT)fellow prisoners, who are outstanding in the view of the apostles, who also ^[v]were ^(BU)in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker ^(BV)in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, the approved ^(BW)in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my ^(BX)kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet ^(BY)Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all ^(BZ)the ^[w]saints who are with them. ^16 (CA)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and ^[x]hindrances ^(CB)contrary to the teaching which you learned, and ^(CC)turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are ^(CD)slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of ^(CE)their own ^[y]appetites; and by their ^(CF)smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience ^(CG)has reached everyone; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but ^(CH)I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. ^20 (CI)The God of peace will soon crush ^(CJ)Satan under your feet.

^(CK)The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

^21 (CL)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and so do ^(CM)Lucius, ^(CN)Jason, and ^(CO)Sosipater, my ^(CP)kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, who have ^(CQ)written this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (CR)Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. ^(CS)Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.^[z]

^25 (CT)Now to Him who is able to establish you ^(CU)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of ^(CV)the mystery which has been kept secret for ^(CW)long ages past, ²⁶ but now has been disclosed, and through ^(CX)the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to ^(CY)obedience of faith; ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, ^(CZ)be the glory forever. Amen.

Introduction

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle of ^(B)Christ Jesus ^(C)by the will of God, and our brother ^(D)Timothy,

To ^(E)the church of God which is at ^(F)Corinth with all the ^[a]saints who are throughout ^(G)Achaia:

^2 (H)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^3 (I)Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and ^(J)God of all comfort, ⁴ who ^(K)comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^[b]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ For just ^(L)as the sufferings of Christ are ^[c]ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. ⁶ But if we are afflicted, it is ^(M)for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; ⁷ and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that ^(N)as you are partners in our sufferings, so also you are in our comfort.

⁸ For ^(O)we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our ^(P)affliction which occurred in ^[d](Q)Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. ^9 [e]Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who ^(R)rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He ^[f](S)on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹ if you also join in ^(T)helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by ^(U)many persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many.

Paul’s Integrity

¹² For our ^[g]proud confidence is this: the testimony of ^(V)our conscience, that in holiness and ^(W)godly sincerity, ^(X)not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you. ¹³ For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand ^(Y)until the end; ¹⁴ just as you also partially did understand us, that we are your reason to be proud as you also are ours, on ^(Z)the day of our Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ In this confidence I intended at first to ^(AA)come to you, so that you might ^[h]twice receive a ^[i](AB)blessing; ^16 [j]that is, to ^(AC)pass ^[k]your way into ^(AD)Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be ^(AE)helped on my journey to Judea. ¹⁷ Therefore, I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I? Or what I decide, do I decide ^(AF)according to the flesh, so that with me there will be ^[l]yes, yes and no, no at the same time? ¹⁸ But as ^(AG)God is faithful, ^(AH)our word to you is not yes and no. ¹⁹ For ^(AI)the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and ^(AJ)Silvanus and ^(AK)Timothy—was not yes and no, but has been yes ^(AL)in Him. ²⁰ For ^(AM)as many as the promises of God are, ^(AN)in Him they are yes; therefore through Him also is ^(AO)our Amen to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who ^(AP)establishes us with you in Christ and ^(AQ)anointed us is God, ²² who also ^(AR)sealed us and ^(AS)gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a ^[m]pledge.

²³ But ^(AT)I call God as witness to my soul, that it was ^(AU)to spare you that I did not come again to ^(AV)Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we ^(AW)domineer over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy; for in your faith you are ^(AX)standing firm.

Reaffirm Your Love

2 But I decided this ^[n]for my own sake, that I ^(AY)would not come to you in sorrow again. ² For if I ^(AZ)cause you sorrow, who then will be the one making me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? ³ This is the very thing I ^(BA)wrote you, so that ^(BB)when I came, I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice; having ^(BC)confidence in you all that my joy was the joy of you all. ⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I ^(BD)wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.