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2 Corinthians 7
Living Bible

7 Having such great promises as these, dear friends, let us turn away from everything wrong, whether of body or spirit, and purify ourselves, living in the wholesome fear of God, giving ourselves to him alone. 2 Please open your hearts to us again, for not one of you has suffered any wrong from us. Not one of you was led astray. We have cheated no one nor taken advantage of anyone. 3 I’m not saying this to scold or blame you, for, as I have said before, you are in my heart forever, and I live and die with you. 4 I have the highest confidence in you, and my pride in you is great. You have greatly encouraged me; you have made me so happy in spite of all my suffering.

5 When we arrived in Macedonia there was no rest for us; outside, trouble was on every hand and all around us; within us, our hearts were full of dread and fear. 6 Then God who cheers those who are discouraged refreshed us by the arrival of Titus. 7 Not only was his presence a joy, but also the news that he brought of the wonderful time he had with you. When he told me how much you were looking forward to my visit, and how sorry you were about what had happened, and about your loyalty and warm love for me, well, I overflowed with joy!

8 I am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was very sorry for a time, realizing how painful it would be to you. But it hurt you only for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you but because the pain turned you to God. It was a good kind of sorrow you felt, the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so that I need not come to you with harshness. 10 For God sometimes uses sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek eternal life. We should never regret his sending it. But the sorrow of the man who is not a Christian is not the sorrow of true repentance and does not prevent eternal death.

11 Just see how much good this grief from the Lord did for you! You no longer shrugged your shoulders but became earnest and sincere and very anxious to get rid of the sin that I wrote you about. You became frightened about what had happened and longed for me to come and help. You went right to work on the problem and cleared it up, punishing the man who sinned.[a] You have done everything you could to make it right.

12 I wrote as I did so the Lord could show how much you really do care for us. That was my purpose even more than to help the man who sinned or his father to whom he did the wrong.

13 In addition to the encouragement you gave us by your love, we were made happier still by Titus’ joy when you gave him such a fine welcome and set his mind at ease. 14 I told him how it would be—told him before he left me of my pride in 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 He loves you more than ever when he remembers the way you listened to him so willingly and received him so anxiously and with such deep concern. 16 How happy this makes me, now that I am sure all is well between us again. Once again I can have perfect confidence in you.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 7:11 punishing the man who sinned, implied. Also in v. 12.
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2 Corinthians 7
New English Translation

Self-Purification

7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves[a] from everything that could defile the body[b] and the spirit, and thus accomplish[c] holiness out of reverence for God.[d] 2 Make room for us in your hearts;[e] we have wronged no one, we have ruined no one,[f] we have exploited no one.[g] 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before[h] that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you.[i]

A Letter That Caused Sadness

4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride[j] on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement;[k] I am overflowing with joy in the midst of[l] all our suffering. 5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our body[m] had no rest at all, but we were troubled in every way—struggles from the outside, fears from within. 6 But God, who encourages[n] the downhearted, encouraged[o] us by the arrival of Titus. 7 We were encouraged[p] not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement[q] you gave[r] him, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning,[s] your deep concern[t] for me, so that I rejoiced more than ever. 8 For even if I made you sad[u] by my letter,[v] I do not regret having written it[w] (even though I did regret it,[x] for[y] I see that my letter made you sad,[z] though only for a short time). 9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad,[aa] but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended,[ab] so that you were not harmed[ac] in any way by us. 10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death. 11 For see what this very thing, this sadness[ad] as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves,[ae] what indignation,[af] what alarm, what longing, what deep concern,[ag] what punishment![ah] In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12 So then, even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong, or on account of the one who was wronged, but to reveal to you your eagerness on our behalf[ai] before God. 13 Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit.[aj] 14 For if I have boasted to him about anything concerning you, I have not been embarrassed by you,[ak] but just as everything we said to you was true,[al] so our boasting to Titus about you[am] has proved true as well. 15 And his affection for you is much greater[an] when he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice because in everything I am fully confident in you.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tn Or “purify ourselves.”
  2. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tn Grk “from every defilement of the flesh.”
  3. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tn Grk “accomplishing.” The participle has been translated as a finite verb due to considerations of contemporary English style, and “thus” has been supplied to indicate that it represents a result of the previous cleansing.
  4. 2 Corinthians 7:1 tn Grk “in the fear of God.”
  5. 2 Corinthians 7:2 tn The phrase “in your hearts” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
  6. 2 Corinthians 7:2 tn “We have ruined no one” may refer to financial loss (“we have caused no one to suffer financial loss”) but it may also refer to the undermining of faith (“we have corrupted no one’s faith,”). Both options are mentioned in L&N 20.23.
  7. 2 Corinthians 7:2 tn Or “we have taken advantage of no one.”
  8. 2 Corinthians 7:3 sn See 2 Cor 1:4-7.
  9. 2 Corinthians 7:3 tn The words “with you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
  10. 2 Corinthians 7:4 tn Grk “great is my boasting.”
  11. 2 Corinthians 7:4 tn Or “comfort.”
  12. 2 Corinthians 7:4 tn Grk “I am overflowing with joy in all our suffering”; the words “in the midst of” are not in the Greek text but are supplied to clarify that Paul is not rejoicing in the suffering itself, but in his relationship with the Corinthians in the midst of all his suffering.
  13. 2 Corinthians 7:5 tn Grk “our flesh.”
  14. 2 Corinthians 7:6 tn Or “comforts,” “consoles.”
  15. 2 Corinthians 7:6 tn Or “comforted,” “consoled.”
  16. 2 Corinthians 7:7 tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “We were encouraged.”
  17. 2 Corinthians 7:7 tn Or “comfort,” “consolation.”
  18. 2 Corinthians 7:7 tn Grk “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged by you.” The passive construction was translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the repeated word “encouraged” was replaced in the translation by “gave” to avoid redundancy in the translation.
  19. 2 Corinthians 7:7 tn Or “your grieving,” “your deep sorrow.”
  20. 2 Corinthians 7:7 tn Or “your zeal.”
  21. 2 Corinthians 7:8 tn Grk “if I grieved you.”
  22. 2 Corinthians 7:8 sn My letter. Paul is referring to the “severe” letter mentioned in 2 Cor 2:4.
  23. 2 Corinthians 7:8 tn Grk “I do not regret”; direct objects in Greek must often be supplied from the context. Here one could simply supply “it,” but since Paul is referring to the effects of his previous letter, clarity is improved if “having written it” is supplied.
  24. 2 Corinthians 7:8 tn Grk “I did regret”; the direct object “it” must be supplied from the context.
  25. 2 Corinthians 7:8 tc A few significant mss (P46c B D* it sa) lack γάρ (gar, “for”), while the majority of witnesses have it (א C D1 F G Ψ 0243 33 1739 1881 M sy bo). Even though P46* omits γάρ, it has the same sense (viz., a subordinate clause) because it reads the participle βλέπων (blepōn, “seeing”; the Vulgate does the same). A decision is difficult because although the overwhelming external evidence is on the side of the conjunction, the lack of γάρ is a significantly harder reading, for the whole clause is something of an anacoluthon. Without the conjunction, the sentence reads more harshly. This would fit with Paul’s “vehemence of spirit” (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 435) that is found especially in 2 Corinthians and Galatians. However, the mss that omit the conjunction are prone to such tendencies at times. In this instance, the conjunction should probably stand.
  26. 2 Corinthians 7:8 tn Grk “my letter grieved you.”
  27. 2 Corinthians 7:9 tn Grk “were grieved” (so also twice later in the verse).
  28. 2 Corinthians 7:9 tn Grk “corresponding to God,” that is, corresponding to God’s will (κατὰ θεόν, kata theon). The same phrase occurs in vv. 10 and 11.
  29. 2 Corinthians 7:9 tn Grk “so that you did not suffer loss.”
  30. 2 Corinthians 7:11 tn Grk “this very thing, to be grieved.”
  31. 2 Corinthians 7:11 tn The words “of yourselves” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
  32. 2 Corinthians 7:11 sn What indignation refers to the Corinthians’ indignation at the offender.
  33. 2 Corinthians 7:11 tn Or “what zeal.”
  34. 2 Corinthians 7:11 sn That is, punishment for the offender.
  35. 2 Corinthians 7:12 tn Grk “but in order that your eagerness on our behalf might be revealed to you.”
  36. 2 Corinthians 7:13 tn Or “all of you have put his mind at ease.”
  37. 2 Corinthians 7:14 tn Grk “I have not been put to shame”; the words “by you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
  38. 2 Corinthians 7:14 tn Grk “just as we spoke everything to you in truth.”
  39. 2 Corinthians 7:14 tn The words “about you” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
  40. 2 Corinthians 7:15 tn Or “is all the more.”
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2 Corinthians 6
2 Corinthians 8
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