²³ I call God to be my witness. May he take my life if I’m lying. I wanted to spare you, so I didn’t return to Corinth. ²⁴ Your faith is not under our control. You remain strong in your own faith. But we work together with you for your joy. 2 ¹ So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. ² If I make you sad, who is going to make me glad? Only you, the people I made sad. ³ What I wrote to you I wrote for a special reason. When I came, I didn’t want to be troubled by those who should make me glad. I was sure that all of you would share my joy. ⁴ I was very troubled when I wrote to you. My heart was sad. My eyes were full of tears. I didn’t want to make you sad. I wanted to let you know that I love you very deeply.