2 Corinthians 7
New Testament for Everyone
7 So, my beloved people, with promises like these, let’s make ourselves clean from everything that defiles us, outside and inside, and let’s become completely holy in the fear of God.
The God who comforts the downcast
2 Make room for us! We haven’t wronged anybody, we haven’t ruined anybody, we haven’t taken advantage of anybody. 3 I’m not saying this to pass judgment against you; I’ve already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I speak to you freely and openly; I regularly boast about you; I am full of comfort, and fuller still of joy, over and above all our trouble.
5 You see, even when we arrived in Macedonia, we couldn’t relax or rest. We were troubled in every way; there were battles outside and fears inside. 6 But the God who comforts the downcast comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and not only by his arrival but in the comfort he had received from you, as he told us about your longing for us, your lamenting, and your enthusiasm for me personally.
As a result, I was more inclined to celebrate; 8 because, if I did make you sad by my letter, I don’t regret it; and, if I did regret it, it was because I saw that I made you sad for a while by what I had written. 9 Anyway, I’m celebrating now, not because you were saddened, but because your sadness brought you to repentance. It was a sadness from God, you see, and it did you no harm at all on our account; 10 because God’s way of sadness is designed to produce a repentance which leads to salvation, and there’s nothing to regret there! But the world’s way of sadness produces death.
Our boasting proved true!
11 Just look and see what effect God’s way of sadness has had among you! It’s produced eagerness, explanations, indignation, fear, longing, keenness, and punishment. You have shown yourselves faultless in the whole business. 12 So if I’m writing to you, it’s not because of the person who’s done the wrong, nor because of the people who were wronged, but so that you can recognize for yourselves, in God’s presence, just how eager you really have been for us. 13 We have been comforted by all of this.
On top of all our comfort, though, the real celebration came because Titus was so overjoyed. You really did cheer him up and set his mind at rest. 14 I wasn’t ashamed of the various boasts I had made to him about you. Just as I had always spoken the truth to you, so our boast to Titus turned out to be true as well. 15 He is constantly yearning for you deeply as he remembers the obedience you showed, all of you, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 16 I am celebrating the fact that I have confidence in you in everything.
2 Corinzi 7
La Bibbia della Gioia
7 Con premesse di questo genere, cari fratelli, lasciamo perdere tutto ciò che è male, sia nel corpo che nello spirito; ripuliamoci e viviamo nel timore di Dio, consacrandoci soltanto a lui. 2 Cercate di capirci: non abbiamo fatto torti a nessuno. Non abbiamo sviato, né imbrogliato, né sfruttato nessuno. 3 Non dico questo per riprendervi, né per sgridarvi, perché, come ho detto prima, voi siete sempre nel mio cuore per la vita e per la morte. 4 In voi ho riposto tutta la mia fiducia e sono fiero di voi; mi avete tanto incoraggiato e mi avete fatto felice, nonostante tutte le mie sofferenze.
Il dolore può fare bene
5 Infatti, anche dopo il nostro arrivo in Macedonia, non abbiamo avuto un momento di pace. Abbiamo passato ogni sorta di guai: attacchi dal di fuori, paura e apprensioni dentro di noi. 6 Ma Dio, che conforta quelli che sono abbattuti, ci ha consolato con lʼarrivo di Tito. 7 E non è stata soltanto la sua presenza a farci contenti, ma anche ciò che ci ha raccontato del meraviglioso periodo passato con voi. Quando mi ha detto che eravate così ansiosi di vedermi, quando mi ha descritto il vostro dispiacere per ciò che era accaduto, parlandomi della vostra lealtà e del profondo affetto che avete per me, ebbene non sono stato più in me dalla gioia!
8 Non mi dispiace più di avervi mandato quella lettera. Dapprima mi era dispiaciuto, perché avevo visto quanto vi aveva rattristato, sia pure per breve tempo.
9 Ora invece sono contento di averla mandata, non per il dispiacere che vi ha dato, ma perché quel dispiacere vi ha portati al pentimento. Ciò che avete provato era il tipo di tristezza dolore che Dio vuole dai suoi, quindi io non vi ho fatto alcun danno. 10 La tristezza che rientra nei piani di Dio, porta al pentimento per la salvezza, senza lasciare amarezza, mentre la tristezza del mondo porta alla morte.
11 Vedete dunque quanto bene vi ha fatto questo dispiacere che il Signore vi ha mandato! Come ha suscitato in voi il desiderio di difendervi! E non solo questo. Ha risvegliato la vostra indignazione e avete avuto paura di quanto era successo. Così non avete perso tempo: siete arrivati al nocciolo del problema e lʼavete risolto (punendo lʼuomo che aveva peccato). Avete fatto tutto ciò che era possibile e avete dimostrato in ogni modo che non avevate colpa in quella faccenda.
12 Vi ho scritto quella lettera, perché vi poteste rendere conto davanti a Dio di quanto in realtà vi stavamo a cuore. Questo era il mio scopo, molto più che accusare quellʼuomo che aveva peccato, o difendere suo padre, a cui aveva fatto il torto.
13 Oltre alla consolazione che ci ha dato il vostro modo dʼagire, ci ha fatto piacere più che mai vedere Tito così contento per lʼaccoglienza che tutti voi gli avete fatto: lʼavete tranquillizzato. 14 Mi ero vantato un poʼ di voi con Tito, così non mi avete smentito. Come ho sempre detto la verità a voi, così è risultato vero anche lʼelogio di voi che avevo fatto a Tito. 15 Il suo affetto per voi aumenta ancora quando si ricorda come avete ubbidito e come lo avete accolto con premura e profondo rispetto. 16 Non potete immaginare quanto tutto questo mi faccia felice, ora che sono sicuro di poter contare su di voi in ogni occasione.
2 Corinthians 7
EasyEnglish Bible
Paul loves the believers at Corinth
7 So, my friends, God has promised these things to us. So we must keep ourselves clean from everything that makes our bodies or our spirits unclean. We must respect and obey God. Then we will become more and more like him.
2 Be friends with us. We have done nothing wrong to any of you. We have not hurt anyone. We have not cheated anyone. 3 I am not saying this to make you feel ashamed. As I have told you before, you are our special friends. We will continue to love you, whether we live together or we die together.
4 I know you and I trust you. I am proud of you. You have helped me to be strong. So, even when we have many troubles, I am still very happy.
5 When we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies did not rest at all.[a] We had many kinds of trouble. All round us, people quarrelled with us. Inside us, we were afraid. 6 But when people feel upset, God helps them to be strong. And God made us happy when Titus arrived. 7 God comforted us not only because Titus came to us. He comforted us also by what Titus told us about you. He said that you had helped him to be strong. He told us that you want to see me. He told us that you are very sad about what happened. He told us also that you are ready to help me. Because of what Titus told us about you, I was very happy.
8 But even if I made you sad by my letter, I am not sorry about that. At one time, I was sorry that I had written it. I saw that my letter had made you sad. But you were sad only for a short time. 9 So now I am happy, but not because my letter made you sad. No, I am happy because it made you turn away from wrong things. You became sad as God wanted you to be sad. So, when the letter made you sad, we did not really hurt you. 10 People need to become sad in the way that God wants. When they are sad like that, it causes them to turn away from wrong things. Then God saves them from their sins. They will never be sorry about that! But when people become sad in the way that the world wants, it does not help them. They do not turn to God and they die in their spirits.
11 You became sad in the way that God wanted. And see what good results that has brought! It has made you work hard to do good things. You want to show people that you do what is right. You are angry against sin. You want to obey God. You want to make things right again. You want to please God. You want to punish anyone who does wrong things. In all these ways, you have shown that you are right. You have done everything that was necessary in this matter.
12 So why did I write that letter to you? It was not because of the person who did the wrong thing. Nor was it to help the person that he hurt. No. I wrote the letter to show you something about yourselves. I wanted God to show you that you do really love us and you respect us. 13 That is how God has comforted us.
It was not only us that God comforted. When Titus came, we were very happy to see how happy he was too. He was happy because all of you had taken care of him. 14 I had told Titus that I was very proud of you. When he came to you, you showed that I was right about you. We have always spoken only true things to you. And when we said good things about you to Titus, you showed that those things were also true. 15 Now, when Titus thinks about you, he loves you even more. He remembers that you were ready to obey him. You respected his authority and you received him into your homes.
16 So now I am very happy because I trust you to do what is right.
Footnotes
- 7:5 Macedonia was north from the country that we call Greece today.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
La Bibbia della Gioia Copyright © 1997, 2006 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.