Paul Reveals His Heart

7 Therefore, having these promises, ^(A)beloved, ^(B)let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

^2 (C)Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³ I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said ^(D)before that you are ^(E)in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴ My ^(F)confidence ^[a]in you is great; my ^(G)boasting in your behalf is great. I am filled with ^(H)comfort; I am overflowing with ^(I)joy in all our affliction.

⁵ For even when we came into ^(J)Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were ^(K)afflicted on every side: ^(L)conflicts on the outside, fears inside. ⁶ But ^(M)God, who comforts the ^[b]discouraged, ^(N)comforted us by the arrival of ^(O)Titus; ⁷ and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted among you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸ For though I ^(P)caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— ⁹ I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything ^[c]through us. ¹⁰ For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a ^(Q)repentance ^[d]without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For behold what earnestness this very thing, this ^[e]godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what ^(R)longing, what zeal, what ^(S)punishment of wrong! In everything you ^(T)demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. ¹² So although ^(U)I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of ^(V)the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness in our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. ¹³ Because of this, we have been ^(W)comforted.

And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of ^(X)Titus, because his ^(Y)spirit has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ For if I have ^(Z)boasted to him about you regarding anything, I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before ^(AA)Titus proved to be the truth. ¹⁵ His ^[f]affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the ^(AB)obedience of you all, how you received him with ^(AC)fear and trembling. ¹⁶ I rejoice that in everything ^(AD)I have confidence in you.

Great Generosity

8 Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been ^(AE)given in the churches of ^(AF)Macedonia, ² that in a ^[g]great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the ^(AG)wealth of their liberality. ³ For I testify that ^(AH)according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, ⁴ begging us with much urging for the ^(AI)favor ^[h]of participation in the ^[i](AJ)support of the ^[j]saints, ⁵ and this, not as we had ^[k]expected, but they first ^(AK)gave themselves to the Lord and to us by ^(AL)the will of God. ⁶ So we ^(AM)urged ^(AN)Titus that as he had previously ^(AO)made a beginning, so he would also complete in you ^(AP)this gracious work as well.

⁷ But just as you ^(AQ)excel ^(AR)in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the ^[l]love we inspired in you, see that you also ^(AS)excel in this gracious work. ⁸ I ^(AT)am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well. ⁹ For you know ^(AU)the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ^(AV)though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ I ^(AW)give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin ^(AX)a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ But now finish ^[m]doing it also, so that just as there was the ^(AY)willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. ¹² For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable ^(AZ)according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality— ¹⁴ at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for ^(BA)their need, so that their abundance also may ^[n]serve as assistance for ^(BB)your need, so that there may be equality; ¹⁵ as it is written: “^(BC)The one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little.”

¹⁶ But ^(BD)thanks be to God who ^(BE)puts the same earnestness in your behalf in the heart of ^(BF)Titus. ¹⁷ For he not only accepted our ^(BG)appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ We have sent along with him ^(BH)the brother whose fame in the things of the ^(BI)gospel has spread through ^(BJ)all the churches; ^19 (BK)and not only that, but he has also been ^(BL)appointed by the churches to travel with us in ^(BM)this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our ^(BN)readiness, ^20 [o]taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; ²¹ for we ^(BO)have regard for what is honorable, not only in ^(BP)the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of other people. ²² We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³ As for ^(BQ)Titus, he is my ^(BR)partner and fellow worker ^[p]among you; as for our ^(BS)brothers, they are ^[q](BT)messengers of the churches, ^(BU)a glory to Christ. ²⁴ Therefore, ^[r]openly before the churches, ^[s]show them the proof of your love and of our ^(BV)reason for boasting about you.

The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.