2 Corinthians 7
New King James Version
The Corinthians’ Repentance
7 Therefore,(A) having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Corinthians’ Repentance
2 Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, (B)we have cheated no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn; for (C)I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 (D)Great is my boldness of speech toward you, (E)great is my boasting on your behalf. (F)I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.
5 For indeed, (G)when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but (H)we were troubled on every side. (I)Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 6 Nevertheless (J)God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by (K)the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the [a]consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8 For even if I made you (L)sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; (M)though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For (N)godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; (O)but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what (P)clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be (Q)clear in this matter. 12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, (R)but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.
The Joy of Titus
13 Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit (S)has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. 15 And his affections are greater for you as he remembers (T)the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. 16 Therefore I rejoice that (U)I have confidence in you in everything.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 7:7 comfort
2 Corinthians 7
English Standard Version
7 Since we have these promises, beloved, (A)let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body[a] and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Paul's Joy
2 (B)Make room in your hearts[b] for us. (C)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 (D)you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 I am acting with (E)great boldness toward you; (F)I have great pride in you; (G)I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.
5 For even (H)when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—(I)fighting without and fear within. 6 But (J)God, who comforts the downcast, (K)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 (L)even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though (M)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 (N)because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For (O)godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas (P)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, (Q)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 (R)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 (S)we are comforted.
And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit (T)has been refreshed by you all. 14 For (U)whatever boasts I made to him about you, I was not put to shame. But just as everything we said to you (V)was true, so also our boasting before Titus has proved true. 15 And his affection for you is even greater, as he remembers (W)the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice, because I have complete (X)confidence in you.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 Greek flesh
- 2 Corinthians 7:2 Greek lacks in your hearts
2 Corinthians 7
Expanded Bible
7 [L Therefore] ·Dear friends [Beloved], we have these promises from God, so we should make ourselves pure—free from ·anything that makes body or soul unclean [L every defilement of flesh and spirit]. ·We should try to become holy in the way we live [or …and in this way bring our holiness to completion/perfection], ·because we respect [out of reverence for; in the fear of] God.
Paul’s Joy
2 ·Open your hearts to [L Make room for] us. We have not done wrong to anyone, we have not ·ruined the faith of [L ruined; corrupted] anyone, and we have not ·cheated [exploited] anyone. 3 I do not say this to ·blame [condemn] you. [L For] I told you before that ·we love you so much [L you are in our hearts so that] we would live or die with you. 4 I ·feel very sure of you [am very confident in you; or have spoken very boldy/frankly to you] and am very proud of you. You give me much ·comfort [encouragement], and in all of our ·troubles [trials; tribulation] I ·have great [overflow with] joy.
5 [L For] When we came into Macedonia [1:16], ·we [our body/flesh] had no rest [C Here Paul picks up his account where he left off at 2:13]. We found ·trouble [trial; tribulation] all around us. We had ·fighting [battles; conflicts] on the outside and fear on the inside. 6 But God, who ·comforts [encourages] those who are ·troubled [downcast; discouraged], ·comforted [encouraged] us when Titus [2:13] came. 7 We were ·comforted [encouraged], not only by his ·coming [arrival; presence] but also by the comfort you gave him. Titus told us about your ·wish to see me [L longing] and ·that you are very sorry for what you did [L your sorrow/mourning; C regret for their treatment of Paul during his previous visit; 1:23; 2:1]. He also told me about your great ·care [or loyalty; L zeal] for me, and when I heard this, I ·was much happier [rejoiced even more].
8 [L For] Even if my letter [C Paul’s “severe” letter that he wrote after his painful visit; see 2:3–4, 9] made you ·sad [grieve], I am not sorry I wrote it. At first I was sorry, because it made you ·sad [grieve], but you ·were sad [grieved] only for a short time. 9 Now I ·am happy [rejoice], not because you were ·made sad [grieved], but because your sorrow ·made you change your lives [led to repentance]. You ·became sad [grieved] in the way God wanted you to, so you were not ·hurt by [or punished because of] us in any way [C the Corinthians’ repentance prevented further sorrow as well as discipline from God]. 10 [L For] The kind of sorrow God wants makes people ·change their hearts and lives [repent], leading to salvation, and ·you cannot be sorry for that [or there can be no regret for that kind of sorrow; L without regret]. But the kind of sorrow the world has ·brings [leads to; results in] death. 11 [L For] See what this sorrow—the sorrow God wanted you to have—has ·done to [led to/produced in] you: It has made you very ·serious [eager; earnest; zealous]. It made you want to ·restore [vindicate; defend] yourselves. It made you ·angry [indignant] and afraid. It made you ·want to see me [long for reconciliation]. It made you ·care [zealous]. It made you want to ·do the right thing [see justice done]. In every way you have ·regained your innocence [or proved yourselves innocent]. 12 I wrote that letter, not because of the one who did the wrong or because of the person who was ·hurt [wronged]. I wrote the letter so you could see, before God, the great ·care [eagerness; zeal] you have for us. 13 That is why we were ·comforted [encouraged].
Not only were we very ·comforted [encouraged], we ·were even happier [rejoiced even more] to see that Titus [2:13] was so ·happy [joyful], because all of you ·made him feel much better [L refreshed his spirit]. 14 [L For] I ·bragged [boasted] to Titus about you, and ·you showed that I was right [L I was not put to shame]. Everything we said to you was true, and you have proved that what we ·bragged [boasted] about to Titus is true. 15 And his ·love [affection; feeling] for you is ·stronger [greater still] when he remembers that you were all ready to obey. You ·welcomed [received] him with ·respect and fear [L fear and trembling]. 16 I ·am very happy [rejoice] that I can ·trust you fully [have complete confidence in you].
2 Corinthians 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
2 [a]Make room for us; we have not wronged anyone, or ruined anyone, or taken advantage of anyone. 3 I do not say this in condemnation, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, that we may die together and live together.(A) 4 I have great confidence in you, I have great pride in you; I am filled with encouragement, I am overflowing with joy all the more because of all our affliction.
C. Resolution of the Crisis[b]
Paul’s Joy in Macedonia. 5 [c]For even when we came into Macedonia,[d] our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way—external conflicts, internal fears.(B) 6 But God, who encourages the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus,(C) 7 and not only by his arrival but also by the encouragement with which he was encouraged in regard to you, as he told us of your yearning, your lament, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more. 8 [e]For even if I saddened you by my letter, I do not regret it; and if I did regret it ([for] I see that that letter saddened you, if only for a while),(D) 9 I rejoice now, not because you were saddened, but because you were saddened into repentance; for you were saddened in a godly way, so that you did not suffer loss in anything because of us. 10 For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this godly sorrow has produced for you, as well as readiness for a defense, and indignation, and fear, and yearning, and zeal, and punishment. In every way you have shown yourselves to be innocent in the matter. 12 So then even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, or on account of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your concern for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God.(E) 13 For this reason we are encouraged.
And besides our encouragement,[f] we rejoice even more because of the joy of Titus, since his spirit has been refreshed by all of you. 14 For if I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame. No, just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth. 15 And his heart goes out to you all the more, as he remembers the obedience of all of you, when you received him with fear and trembling.(F) 16 I rejoice, because I have confidence in you in every respect.
Footnotes
- 7:2–4 These verses continue the thought of 2 Cor 6:11–13, before the interruption of 2 Cor 6:14–7:1. 2 Cor 7:4 serves as a transition to the next section: the four themes it introduces (confidence; pride or “boasting”; encouragement; joy in affliction) are developed in 2 Cor 7:5–16. All have appeared previously in the letter.
- 7:5–16 This section functions as a peroration or formal summing up of the whole first part of the letter, 2 Cor 1–7. It deals with the restoration of right relations between Paul and the Corinthians, and it is marked by fullness and intensity of emotion.
- 7:5–7 Paul picks up the thread of the narrative interrupted at 2 Cor 2:13 (2 Cor 7:5) and describes the resolution of the tense situation there depicted (2 Cor 7:6–7). Finally Titus arrives and his coming puts an end to Paul’s restlessness (2 Cor 2:13; 2 Cor 7:5), casts out his fears, and reverses his mood. The theme of encouragement and affliction is reintroduced (cf. 2 Cor 1:3–11); here, too, encouragement is traced back to God and is described as contagious (2 Cor 7:6). The language of joy and sorrow also reappears in 2 Cor 7:7 (cf. 2 Cor 1:23–2:1 and the note on 2 Cor 1:23–24).
- 7:5 Macedonia: see note on 2 Cor 2:13.
- 7:8–12 Paul looks back on the episode from the viewpoint of its ending. The goal of their common activity, promotion of their joy (2 Cor 1:24), has been achieved, despite and because of the sorrow they felt. That sorrow was God-given. Its salutary effects are enumerated fully and impressively in 2 Cor 7:10–11; not the least important of these is that it has revealed to them the attachment they have to Paul.
- 7:13–16 Paul summarizes the effect of the experience on Titus: encouragement, joy, love, relief. Finally, he describes its effects on himself: encouragement, joy, confidence, pride or “boasting” (i.e., the satisfaction resulting from a boast that proves well-founded; cf. 2 Cor 7:4; 1:12, 14).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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