2 Corinthians 7:2-8:15

English Standard Version

Paul's Joy

^2 (A)Make room in your hearts^[a] for us. ^(B)We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I said before that ^(C)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ I am acting with ^(D)great boldness toward you; ^(E)I have great pride in you; ^(F)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

⁵ For even ^(G)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—^(H)fighting without and fear within. ⁶ But ^(I)God, who comforts the downcast, ^(J)comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. ⁸ For ^(K)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though ^(L)I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. ⁹ As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but ^(M)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

¹⁰ For ^(N)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas ^(O)worldly grief produces death. ¹¹ For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, ^(P)what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. ¹² So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one ^(Q)who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. ¹³ Therefore ^(R)we are comforted.

And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^(S)has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For ^(T)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you ^(U)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. ¹⁵ And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers ^(V)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I rejoice, because I have complete ^(W)confidence in you.

Encouragement to Give Generously

8 We want you to know, brothers,^[b] about the grace of God that has been ^(X)given among the churches of Macedonia, ² for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and ^(Y)their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³ For they gave ^(Z)according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴ begging us earnestly ^(AA)for the favor^[c] of taking part in ^(AB)the relief of the saints— ⁵ and this, not as we expected, but they ^(AC)gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶ Accordingly, ^(AD)we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you ^(AE)this act of grace. ⁷ But as ^(AF)you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you^[d]—^(AG)see that you excel in this act of grace also.

^8 (AH)I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(AI)though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ And in this matter ^(AJ)I give my judgment: ^(AK)this benefits you, who ^(AL)a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable ^(AM)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness ¹⁴ your abundance at the present time should supply ^(AN)their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵ As it is written, ^(AO)“Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”