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2 Corinthians 1
New International Version
2 Corinthians 1
New International Version
1 Paul, an apostle(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,(B) and Timothy(C) our brother,
To the church of God(D) in Corinth,(E) together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:(F)
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.(G)
Praise to the God of All Comfort
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,(H) the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us(I) in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,(J) so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;(K) if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings,(L) so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed,(M) brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced(N) in the province of Asia.(O) We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,(P) who raises the dead.(Q) 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril,(R) and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope(S) that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers.(T) Then many will give thanks(U) on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Paul’s Change of Plans
12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience(V) testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity[b](W) and godly sincerity.(X) We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom(Y) but on God’s grace. 13 For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, 14 as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.(Z)
15 Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you(AA) first so that you might benefit twice.(AB) 16 I wanted to visit you on my way(AC) to Macedonia(AD) and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way(AE) to Judea.(AF) 17 Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner(AG) so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?
18 But as surely as God is faithful,(AH) our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God,(AI) Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c](AJ) and Timothy(AK)—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always(AL) been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises(AM) God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen”(AN) is spoken by us to the glory of God.(AO) 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm(AP) in Christ. He anointed(AQ) us, 22 set his seal(AR) of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.(AS)
23 I call God as my witness(AT)—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you(AU) that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over(AV) your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.(AW)
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 1:8 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 8:1; 13:11.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 Many manuscripts holiness
- 2 Corinthians 1:19 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
2 Corinthians 1
The Message
2 Corinthians 1
The Message
1 1-2 I, Paul, have been sent on a special mission by the Messiah, Jesus, planned by God himself. I write this to God’s congregation in Corinth, and to believers all over Achaia province. May all the gifts and benefits that come from God our Father and the Master, Jesus Christ, be yours! Timothy, someone you know and trust, joins me in this greeting.
The Rescue
3-5 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too.
6-7 When we suffer for Jesus, it works out for your healing and salvation. If we are treated well, given a helping hand and encouraging word, that also works to your benefit, spurring you on, face forward, unflinching. Your hard times are also our hard times. When we see that you’re just as willing to endure the hard times as to enjoy the good times, we know you’re going to make it, no doubt about it.
8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.
12-14 Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised. Don’t try to read between the lines or look for hidden meanings in this letter. We’re writing plain, unembellished truth, hoping that you’ll now see the whole picture as well as you’ve seen some of the details. We want you to be as proud of us as we are of you when we stand together before our Master Jesus.
15-16 Confident of your welcome, I had originally planned two great visits with you—coming by on my way to Macedonia province, and then again on my return trip. Then we could have had a bon-voyage party as you sent me off to Judea. That was the plan.
17-19 Are you now going to accuse me of flip-flopping with my promises because it didn’t work out? Do you think I talk out of both sides of my mouth—a glib yes one moment, a glib no the next? Well, you’re wrong. I try to be as true to my word as God is to his. Our word to you wasn’t a careless yes canceled by an indifferent no. How could it be? When Silas and Timothy and I proclaimed the Son of God among you, did you pick up on any yes-and-no, on-again, off-again waffling? Wasn’t it a clean, strong Yes?
20-22 Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.
23 Now, are you ready for the real reason I didn’t visit you in Corinth? As God is my witness, the only reason I didn’t come was to spare you pain. I was being considerate of you, not indifferent, not manipulative.
24 We’re not in charge of how you live out the faith, looking over your shoulders, suspiciously critical. We’re partners, working alongside you, joyfully expectant. I know that you stand by your own faith, not by ours.
2 Corinthians 1
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
2 Corinthians 1
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother: to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in all Achaia:
2 Grace unto you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation; that we also may be able to comfort them who are in all distress, by the exhortation wherewith we also are exhorted by God.
5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our comfort abound.
6 Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation: or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which worketh the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.
7 That our hope for you may be steadfast: knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation.
8 For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, of our tribulation, which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above our strength, so that we were weary even of life.
9 But we had in ourselves the answer of death, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead.
10 Who hath delivered and doth deliver us out of so great dangers: in whom we trust that he will yet also deliver us.
11 You helping withal in prayer for us: that for this gift obtained for us, by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many in our behalf.
12 For our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity of heart and sincerity of God, and not in carnal wisdom, but in the grace of God, we have conversed in this world: and more abundantly towards you.
13 For we write no other things to you than what you have read and known. And I hope that you shall know unto the end:
14 As also you have known us in part, that we are your glory, as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 And in this confidence I had a mind to come to you before, that you might have a second grace:
16 And to pass by you into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come to you, and by you to be brought on my way towards Judea.
17 Whereas then I was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or, the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that there should be with me, It is, and It is not?
18 But God is faithful, for our preaching which was to you, was not, It is, and It is not.
19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ who was preached among you by us, by me, and Sylvanus, and Timothy, was not, It is and It is not, but, It is, was in him.
20 For all the promises of God are in him, It is; therefore also by him, amen to God, unto our glory.
21 Now he that confirmeth us with you in Christ, and that hath anointed us, is God:
22 Who also hath sealed us, and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts.
23 But I call God to witness upon my soul, that to spare you, I came not any more to Corinth: not because we exercise dominion over your faith: but we are helpers of your joy: for in faith you stand.
2 Corinthians 1
Expanded Bible
2 Corinthians 1
Expanded Bible
1 From Paul, an ·apostle [messenger] of Christ Jesus. ·I am an apostle because that is what God wanted [L …by the will of God]. Also from Timothy [Acts 16:1–5; 1 Cor. 16:10–11; Phil. 2:19–24; 1–2 Timothy] our ·brother in Christ [L brother].
To the church of God in Corinth, and to all ·of God’s people [T the saints] everywhere in Achaia [C the Roman province where the city of Corinth was located, present day southern Greece]:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul Gives Thanks to God
3 ·Praise be to [Blessed is/be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father who is full of ·mercy [compassion] and all ·comfort [encouragement]. 4 He ·comforts [encourages] us ·every time we have [L in all our] ·troubles [trials; tribulation], so when others have ·trouble [any trials/tribulation], we can ·comfort [encourage] them with the same ·comfort [encouragement] God gives us. 5 [L For just as] ·We share in the many sufferings of Christ [L Christ’s sufferings abound in us]. In the same way, ·much comfort comes to us [L our comfort abounds] through Christ. 6 If we have ·troubles [trials; tribulation], it is for your ·comfort [encouragement] and salvation, and if we ·have comfort [are encouraged], ·you also have comfort [or it is for your comfort/encouragement]. This helps you to accept patiently the same sufferings we have. 7 Our hope for you is ·strong [unshaken; firm], knowing that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the ·comfort [encouragement] we receive.
8 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the ·trouble [trial; tribulation] we suffered in Asia [C a Roman province in present-day western Turkey]. We had great burdens there that were beyond our own strength, so that we even ·gave up hope of living [L despaired of life]. 9 Truly, in our own hearts we believed we ·would die [L had been sentenced to death]. But this happened so we would not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from the dead. 10 God ·saved [rescued; delivered] us from these great dangers of death, and he will continue to ·save [rescue; deliver] us. We have put our hope in him, and he will ·save [rescue; deliver] us again. 11 ·And you can [or …as you] help us with your prayers. Then many people will give thanks for us—·that God blessed [for the gift/favor given to] us because of their many prayers.
The Change in Paul’s Plans
12 This is ·what we are proud of [L our boast], ·and I can say it with a clear conscience [L the testimony/witness of our conscience]: In everything we have done in the world, and especially with you, we have had an ·honest[a] [or generous] and sincere heart from God. We did this by God’s grace, not by ·the kind of wisdom the world has [worldly/fleshly wisdom].
15 I was so sure of all this that I made plans to visit you first so you could ·be blessed twice [L have a second grace]. 16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia [C the northern part of present-day Greece; Acts 19:21; 20:1, 2] and again on my way back [C the visit anticipated in 1 Cor. 16:5]. I wanted to ·get help from you for my trip [L be sent by you] to Judea. 17 [L So; Therefore] Do you think that I made these plans ·without really meaning it [lightly; with vacillation]? Or maybe you think I make plans ·as the world does [or using only human standards/reason; L according to the flesh], so that I say yes, yes and at the same time no, no.
18 But ·since you can believe God [L God is trustworthy/faithful], you can believe that what we tell you is never both yes and no. 19 [L For] The Son of God, Jesus Christ, that Silas and Timothy and I preached to you, was not yes and no. [L But; Rather] In ·Christ [L him] it has always been yes. 20 The yes to all of God’s promises is in ·Christ [L him], and through Christ we say ·yes [L amen; C from a Hebrew term meaning “yes,” or “it is true”] to the glory of God. 21 Remember, God is the One who makes you and us ·strong [stand firm; established] in Christ. God ·made us his chosen people [or commissioned us; L anointed us]. 22 He put his ·mark on us to show that we are his [L seal on us; C of ownership], and he put his Spirit in our hearts ·to be a guarantee for all he has promised [L as a pledge/deposit/downpayment].
23 Now I ·ask [call on; appeal to] God to be my witness ·that this is true [or staking my life on it; L against my soul/life; C a very serious vow or oath]: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was to ·keep you from being punished or hurt [L spare you]. 24 We are not trying to ·control [rule; lord it over] your faith. You ·are strong [stand firm; are well established] in faith. But we are workers with you for your own joy.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 honest Some Greek copies read “holy.”
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
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Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.