2 Corinthians 7:8-11

Expanded Bible

⁸ [^LFor] Even if my letter [^CPaul’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 [^Cthe Corinthians’ repentance prevented further sorrow as well as discipline from God]. ¹⁰ [^LFor] 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; ^Lwithout regret]. But the kind of sorrow the world has ·brings [leads to; results in] death. ¹¹ [^LFor] 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].